Natural birth is not all or nothing. You can match your effort to your commitment level!
Agree. Sharing, because the OP may appreciate hearing a happy delivery story.
The women in my family all went natural and are pretty anti-medicine, so I was pretty convinced going natural was the way to be. I got basically every woman genetically related to me to tell me her birth stories. However, they all also had second to fourth degree tears. ...so... yeah, I was a bit terrified.
Anyways, I told my doctor I wanted to go natural when we were going over the birth plan, and he was like..."I'm going to put you down as a 'maybe' on the epidural. We'll have one standing by." Our hospital was an hour away, and I didn't go until my water had broken with my first. My labor went pretty quickly. I realized that I could survive natural, but decided to go with the epidural, because why suffer for no reason, and I was still worried about the "ring of fire" part of delivery. The labor pains are like the worst menstrual cramps you have ever had in your life - doable, but yuck. Getting the epidural is rough. You have to lean forward over your gigantic belly and hold really still through the contractions. The epidural itself was perfect. It felt like my waist down had gone to sleep -- those little pinprick feelings, you know? I could still move completely independently. I have heard a lot of horror stories about epidurals, so I guess I must have gotten one of the better ones. Hard labor just felt like pressure down in that area. Hard to describe to someone who hasn't felt it before, but I wouldn't describe it as bad at all. I did have to get a second degree episiotomy, but it was no big deal. I have had no problems after childbirth, other than a ton of stretchmarks that are genetic and also because I had terrible self-control during pregnancy so I gained a ridiculous amount of weight. Do lots of kegels, and be patient with the weight loss. Nine months on, nine months off. I arrived at the hospital around 3AM and my daughter was born right around 7AM. Only about 15 minutes or so of actual pushing.
Second child was even easier. The epidural didn't kick in until after he was born because the delivery happened so fast. Doctor just came in to catch.
Personally, I hated pregnancy. The last two months of lightning crotch and loose hips were uncomfortable as hell. The delivery was actually enjoyable (seriously) in comparison. It's all for a reason, I guess. The late pregnancy sleeplessness also made handling a newborn not as tough. Also, a heads up to enjoy the feeling of the actual moment of delivery. The gloopy plopping out feeling was euphoric. Haha, I don't know how to explain it. It's like all the tension in your body has been released after seven months of noticeable building. Plus, you finally get to see your baby's face. If DH and I could skip the pregnancy and just go through delivery, we would have a lot more kids. There are a lot of benefits to breastfeeding and vaginal birth, including that they are a lot cheaper, but if you have problems with either, don't feel guilty about doing what has to be done. Nursing was a struggle for me, but I toughed it out and made it 23 months with both. I completely understand that this doesn't work for everyone, but it definitely made my life a lot easier, so I hope it will work out for you, too.
So, to sum up, do your research, but understand that delivery (and parenthood) cannot be planned out. Prepare as best as you can, but once it starts, just go with the flow and things will be fine. Good luck!