I chose not to get the epidural because I was a high risk pregnancy with a high risk baby. It will slow the labor process, but I guess if it doesn't hurt you won't mind the time. Fortunatley I only had about 8 hour labor. I guess I am the sort of person who wants to get things over with quickly so I didn't want to do anything to delay the delivery. And it was nice to be able to walk to the bathroom right after delivery, but I guess it was pretty unusual way to go because when I was being wheeled back to the room I heard the nurses at the desk saying "she's in a chair." I later asked the nurse why they were commenting and was I supposed to be walking back... she said most women come back on a gurney because of the epidural.