How much would you be willing to try if you were overdue?

[christy]

ohhhh I find thats interesting. I'm not a pot smoker etc etc blah blah blah... BUT I know that I needed something that would disassociate my mind from things to get over the panic I was feeling at one point. I was all for a drug free natural labour but at one point my mind went *CRAP!!!!* so I asked for pethadine and that helped me get through everything to achieve the birth I wanted in the end.

[Arimeh]

BUT I know that I needed something that would disassociate my mind from things to get over the panic I was feeling at one point.

I think thats the point I was trying to make - to make you disassociated from all current thoughts, fears, etc that stop you going into labour (or stall) - the possibility of it helping - I think is really interesting.

(btw, I'm not saying or admitting that I'm going to turn into a huge potsmoking junkie - just that I find the actual idea of using cannabis to "let go" of your fears/issues so that birth can take its natural course is quite .. well.. interesting!)

[Lulu]

Hhmm, I think it would probably be a mistake to have a go at cannabis in order to get over the fear thingo (lulu had lotsa drinks right now, bear with me!).

If you used ganga in the past, and you knew it would get you where you needed to be....oohh I dunno. I don't think it would be an ACE idea...but then again, if I only had pot and green bananas, I know what I'd go for

[AliBaby]

No way. It has way too many bad things in it that I would not want going into me or my baby.

[sneakysparkle]

I would be interested to know if the effects of pot were worse for the baby than say, peth/epidural etc...

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

An epidural doesn't alter brain chemistry or give hallucinations (in the vast majority of cases). I'd say it had to be better.

[Lulu]

A dr told me once that it goes in and out of your body fairly quickly....

[Arimeh]

An epidural doesn't alter brain chemistry or give hallucinations (in the vast majority of cases). I'd say it had to be better.

Umm not everyone has hallucinations - apparently its a common misconception that this happens when you smoke pot (maybe weed laced with LOTS of chemicals and other nasties) what I am talking about is something like bush - no other chemicals added to it, in its natural form ya know?

[Michelle71]

I would be interested to know if the effects of pot were worse for the baby than say, peth/epidural etc...

I was thinking the same - would a joint be *safer* for the baby than pethidine I can see the theoretical use and the potential benefits. I wouldn't suggest someone try it for the first time at such an intense moment (that could make things really weird ) but if it had a relaxing effect in the past and they were unable to achieve that mental release through other means then hmmmmm .................... A very interesting question. I think I'd like your dinner parties with that sort of conversation

[Arimeh]

I think I'd like your dinner parties with that sort of conversation

PMSL.. well this started between me and DH in the car on the way to our friends place actually.. LOL

But hell, you can come for dinner anyway

ETA: Bath - I love your post. I really do.

[~clover~]

I would be interested to know if the effects of pot were worse for the baby than say, peth/epidural etc...

That's what I was thinking. All pain relief has some risk/side effect. It'd be interesting to know how it'd compare.

[KatieRabbit]

Arimeh- I get what you are saying and I wouldn't just say "no way, never" and am in agreement with Bathsheba and with Cai (I think it was). I would love to know the effect that it would have on bubs and I know you mean just a bit to bring labour on, not to be really stoned in the labour suite (or wherever you labour). I am sure, as someone said, that it must be/have been used in some societies to facilitate labour and birth and I wonder that it may be a lot safer than some things that are given to mother and baby during and after birth? I want to be on your guest list too, please, Mel.

[Miss E]

Great thread and very interesting discussion!

FWIW the midwife (an older lady in her 60's) who did our classes at the hospital was actually telling us that up until the early 80's they used to give heroin (yes heroin) to women in labor. She said it was much better than pethidine because it would really relax the woman and that it doesn't cross the placenta unlike pethidine (I was suprised by this because I thought junkies babies are often born with an addiction, but maybe it takes a long time to cross the palcenta). She said that they only stopped administering it in hospitals when heroin became a recreational drug in the early 80's and put hospitals/pharmacies etc at risk of being held up. That was apparently when they moved to pethidine...

But back to the original question. I used to smoke a fair bit of pot before I got pregnant (haven't touched it since, and honestly don't plan to smoke often after bubs arrived) and am one of the lucky people who found it was a relaxant for me (almost like having a glass of wine of evening). My father also uses it in a similar way, so how it affects you could be genetic (but that's another thread again).

Until now I had never heard of it being used to induce labour, and funnily enough I am in the position right now where I am trying everything and anything to get this bubs moving. But I'm not willing to consider having a joint... I personally find it odd that it isn't a consideration for me given it is a drug that I am very familiar with and trust its affect on my body (probably more than I do alcohol). I guess my resolve probably comes down to the fact that there is no research (or very little) about how it affects bubs. Yet I haven't ruled out the possibility of having pethidine in labour if I need it, even though there is research that shows it crosses the placenta and affects bub.

I guess what I get from this discussion is that it is funny how our attitudes to different drugs/chemicals etc are formed and guided by what society dictates rather than our own experiences...

[Bathsheba]

Very interesting.... I'm a bit mentally exhausted from injecting a lot of energy into another post... but here goes:

Firstly I have used cannabis... fairly regularly before I had children... none since.

Secondly what you have said does make sense... scientifically. However if I was to use it I wouldn't use the same amount as I used recreationally.... and I wouldn't smoke it... maybe ingest instead... to limit the effect on the baby.

Thirdly regarding risks. If it was supervised by a trained carer then i would think that it would be no more harmful than pethidine or any other synthetic induction chemical (eg syncotin) which are also not without risk. Just because it's an illegal drug doesn't mean that it's more risky than legal medications if taken incorrectly.

Fourthly... Personally I also didn't like what cannabis did to my mental state... it made me feel vulnerable... out of control in a similar way to stronger doses of pethidine. Incidentally i have also taken pethidine recreationally and in small doses I actually liked the mental state it put me in. So... maybe both chemicals in high doses would make me feel crappy... I do tend to be quite sensitive to all medications I have ever been prescribed come to think of it.

I would like to see it tested more thoroughly. Cannabis, like the opiates, i think have a place in medicine. Not sure if labour is a good place... but I agree that, despite it's current status as an illegal drug, it should be viewed on par as any other pain killer and at least explored. Who knows... it could work for some women and even prove (under medical guidance) to be less risky than current chemical interventions/pain relief in labour.

ETA: I didn't have hallucination when using cannabis. My vision was altered... things seemed brighter, and kind of twinkled but i didn't see things that weren't there so to speak.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

I wasn't scared of birth, I was looking forward to it. Much as I loved pregnancy, for some reason I wanted to meet my baby. I was doing every known and legal induction method a good month before I went into labour! Even going for runs at full term. Not having the runs, going out for them. Sex, evening primrose oil, bumpy drives, curry, that tincture tea thing, homeopathic pills, long walks, telling Leibling to just come out already...

I wouldn't have tried cannabis. I wanted a drug-free birth LMAO. But in more seriousness, I wasn't scared and don't like external things altering my mind.