I live in a Brigham City, UT and I am due with my fourth child.  With the first 3 pregnancies I have had epidural's and 2 out of the 3 did not work.  My epidural scared both my husband and myself and we would like to avoid  that option if possible.  The problem is I feel in order to do this I need knowledge about the other options out there.  I've looked into classes and nothing is offered with in 30 minutes of me.  When I did finally find something the nearest thing was the Bradley Method Classes and after class fees, babysitting, & gas we would be paying $500 dollars just to take classes.  I found a Lamaze class but they were even farther and unreachable. 

Do you have any suggestions - I'm beginning to feel fustrated and a little overwhelmed.

I have two things to suggest: Penny Simkin's book the Birth Partner, which will give your partner all kinds of strategies to help you attain your goal of avoiding pain medication, and hire a doula, which will provide you someone trained in labor support skills to be with you and your partner throughout labor. You can find out more about doulas as well as locate a certified doula at these websites: http://dona.org/ and http://www.cappa.net/. Hiring a doula will be more expensive, of course, but many doulas will negotiate with couples in financial need, e.g. discounts, time payments, barter. I hope this helps.

-- Henci