What needs to be remembered here is that each pregnancy, labour and birth is different. One woman's experience will not necessarily be another's. What's really great about the whole thing in this day and age is that couples have a great deal of choice in how they want things to go. On the other hand, that can also be daunting as there is a mountain of information out there and quite often, some of it is conflicting. I've known women who have had epidurals, had no problems, and loved them and would highly recommend them. I've known women who had epidurals and had some serious complications because of them and would never recommend them.
What's important is that a couple educate themselves on their choices: venue to give birth in, what type of care provider they prefer, what method of pain relief, etc. Weigh the pros and cons and consider the risk factors THEN make a choice that's right for YOU. Unfortunately, there may be things that happen that were not expected. The most important is that there be a healthy baby and mom in the end.
