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

[Muffy]

lol its in the general chatter section...

[Inertia]

In answer to the original question - not that far. Mostly because I actually hated the feeling I got from pot. I felt lethargic, slow, really heavy. It really impeded my ability to function normally and I would kick myself for letting myself get talked into it again. I could only ever find the energy to go grab a bag of snacks from the kitchen, lmao.

DH only ever used the stuff once and got SO paranoid, lol. So yeah, sometimes the mental experience of maryjo is not the right reaction to be conducent to labouring.

[~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...

[Ozziehoffy]

Mel, as you know... I seriously LOVE the way you just put it out there - random thoughts and all.

I haven't read through ALL the replies. I've tried it but didn't like how it made me feel either.... I felt very spacey and just blergh to be honest. So, my short answer would be no I wouldn't try it under normal circumstances... however, I might think about it seriously (like Bath said - ingest) if it was a last resort or putting my cards on the table with all my options.

Christy - I lost the plot during labour too... lost my space but got it back when they told me if nothing serious started to happen in the next 30 mins we could be talking c/s again.... born 20 mins later...lol they scared him out!

[DoubleK]

for me, im too scared to touch it after my last experience.. actually, now that ive said that i remember during labour, when i was using the gas.. i began to feel like i was in the same 'state' as i was the last time i used it, and i got scared so i stopped using the gas!

i think it just depends on the person, and how their body handles it... for me, it just made me feel relaxed, and very un-alert (i guess you could say 'stoned' )

[rufalina]

Ok... Interesting idea Mel...

I am reading a book Spiritual Midwifery - Ina May Gaskin, and the first half is birth stories from a bunch of hippies. I am not sure of the drug states of them giving birth, but they do talk a lot about being high and having releases and being psychedelic (I am sure some of this is hippy jargon) but thes birth stories do also talk alot about emotional states of birthing mothers, and finding that emotional release and then whoosh out comes the baby.

So, in that way, if your labour was stalling due to an emotional blockage, which I believe from recent research is a real thing, and you felt pot was the way to release, the I would think it is fine.

[Jas]

Nope I wouldn't use pot to induce

[Ballerina]

I think the difference between opting for an opioid like Pethidine and ripping a cone or sucking down a big fat spliff when pregnant is a matter of personal taste.

I know if my mum did it when she was pregnant with me I would have slapped her....hard.

[lauren22]

so very interesting
my Grandmother gave birth to my father in the 50's and the doctor prescribed some sort of now ilegal drug (not sure what gotta ask her) because it was the norm apperntly
i will defs be watching this though

[lauren22]

In two Copenhagen University hospitals 12,885 pregnant women, seen during the period 1.8.1992 to 30.04.1995, answered questionnaires regarding consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other drugs. The prevalence of cannabis use was 0.8%. Women using cannabis but no other illicit drugs were each retrospectively matched with four randomly chosen pregnant women in the same period and the same age group and with same parity. Eighty-four cannabis users were included. These women were socioeconomically disadvantaged and had a higher prevalence of present and past use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. No significant difference in pregnancy, delivery or puerperal outcome was found. Children of women using cannabis were 150 g lighter, 1.2 cm shorter and had 0.2 cm smaller head circumference than the control infants. Controlling for the child's sex and maternal use of alcohol did not eliminate the significant differences in birthweight and length; however, they were eliminated by controlling for maternal tobacco smoking. It is concluded, that the use of cannabis is not a major prognostic factor regarding the outcome of pregnancy, but is an indicator of low socioeconomic status and use of other substances.



wow i just found this on the web... so interesting actually.

[{sarah}]

I've never tried it, but I think that it would be something to look into. I definitely think that it would have to be the most organic form so that there are no other chemicals or nasties that can harm the baby or mum. Theoretically it sounds like a great solution for someone like you Mel (or me if I were to go down the VBA2C path) who may have something that is blocking them from getting into the right frame of mind.

[Ballerina]

I'll try to contribute something more useful than saying I'd smack my mum.

(Sorry Arimeh, childish shot from the hip and not particularly constructive)

I do feel prescribed drugs are more appropriate than illegal drugs. Prescription drugs are scruitinised to the nth degree in a laboratory, acceptable dosage determined by scientists, and any contraindications deciphered with trials conducted on willing participants. This would make it a safe and predictable option for the hospital repetoire.

Pethedine is an opioid like morphine and heroin. But they are drastically different in potency (heroin is very, very potent) thus it wouldn't be right to classify them as the same thing. That would be like saying a few light beers is the same as a bottle of spirits because they're all alchocol.

Back to Arimeh - I don't think your friend is wrong in taking cannabis to induce her labour, I sure as hell don't have the answers! What I would love to know though, is;

a) How long does a drug remain in your system when smoked or ingested versus something administered intravenously

b) When cannabis crosses the placenta, how long is it in your baby's system and fat cells for?

c) How much cannabis is in your breast milk.

d) Considering cannabis has an effect on the synapses in your brain, and your seratonin uptake, what kind of effect does this have on the brain chemistry of your newborn? What of their long-term development? Particularly if they are pre-disposed to mental illness?

I'd like to reiterate that I don't think your friend is wrong. Do I think it's irresponsible to take something without knowing whether it has a detrimental effect on bubs? Probably....and I'm sorry if that offends

Interesting article on the Copenhagen study btw!

[Arimeh]

Ballerina - my friend DIDN'T take pot to induce her labour. And I said in my first post that my friend's actions were not up for discussion cos I don't care what people think of my friend - what she did is her choice, and I have nothing to say about it.

And I would also love to know the answers to the questions that you have raised in your post - particularly when comparing taking pot by eating it, or smoking it? It would be interesting to find some research out there on any facts - I might go a'googlin!

[Lulu]

I'd say ingesting it is far better than smoking it - all the tobacco ick in there.

[Arimeh]

you know whats funny though Lulu - when discussing this with DH he was amazed that the only way I have had it, was smoked with tobacco (which I didn't mind since I was a smoker anyway at the time!)

He said its absolutely disgusting and he would never EVER smoke it with tobacco.

So if it were to be smoked by itself - bush not other stuff with crap added it to - would that be better in some form?

[Maruschke]

I had morphine in hospital (not for labour, for something else) and it felt exactly like being stoned.

Dunno about ingesting v's smoking though, but would be very interested to find out.