Pregnant Camilla Luddington Says She 'Would Like an Epidural': 'One of My Girlfriends Described It as Birthday Drugs'

"As soon as there's a sort of twinge that could mean I'm going into labor I'll be in the car, on the way to the hospital," says Camilla Luddington

Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty

Camilla Luddington knows what she wants.

And the expectant Grey’s Anatomy star — she and boyfriend Matthew Alan are set to welcome a daughter in April — won’t be taking any trips too far from the delivery room around the time her baby girl is due to arrive.

“At our hospital, they tell you to walk around and go see a movie when your contractions start, but they don’t realize that’s absolutely not my plan,” Luddington, 33, says in an interview with Momtastic.

“As soon as there’s a sort of twinge that could mean I’m going into labor, I’ll be in the car, on the way to the hospital,” she confesses.

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Another thing the mom-to-be is pretty set on? Getting an epidural, since dealing with the pain of childbirth is not something she thinks she’d be particularly adept at.

“If I get a paper cut, I’m in bed for an hour, so I know I would like an epidural,” Luddington jokes. “One of my girlfriends described it as birthday drugs. And she was like, ‘Get all the birthday drugs you can get!’ ”

The English actress has been keeping up with filming her role of Dr. Jo Wilson on Grey‘s, which she admits was difficult in the beginning of her pregnancy.

“I suffered from severe morning sickness for the first six months, and I ended up throwing up in the middle of a scene we were shooting,” she explains.

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“I thought, ‘Oh my God! People are going to think I’ve come into work hungover!’ ” continues Luddington. “Even though it was very early on and I was keeping my pregnancy a secret, I felt like I needed to go to Shonda [Rhimes] and tell her I was pregnant.”

Luckily (though not surprisingly), Rhimes was extremely supportive.

“Shonda is a huge advocate for women being able to work and have families, so she was happy for me,” Luddington shares. “She said that she loved ShondaLand babies and that if I needed anything to let her know.”

When asked about the challenges of going through pregnancy without her own mother, who died when Luddington was 19, the star admits she misses her deeply and that it’s been difficult.

“One of the things that I’ve found hard is I haven’t been able to pick up the phone and talk to her about her experiences while pregnant,” she shares. “During my first trimester, I was so shocked by the exhaustion and the nausea, and I had nose bleeds.”

“I had this idyllic image of me doing yoga every day and looking so chic, and that hasn’t been the case at all,” she continues. “I really wish that I could have called my mum about that stuff.”

One big thing Luddington’s mother gave her was the desire to have her own daughter, even if she originally envisioned a different scenario.

“I always imagined that I would have a son! And then when I was 19 my mum passed away and I had this hole in my heart,” she recalls. “The image changed in my head to having a daughter and I realized, ‘Oh, I’m craving that relationship,’ even though I realized that it would be me being the mum and her being the daughter.”

“And then when I did get pregnant, I knew I was having a girl. I think you end up having what you’re supposed to have and the baby is in your life to teach you something.”