TENS machine

[Ginger]

hello, i've just hired a TENS machine to help with pain relief for this labour, on the advice of my OB.
has anyone used a TENS machine and can tell me a bit about it?
any success stories would be great
tia

[Junglemum]

i used one Rainy and i found it great. Although, as you know, my cicumstances didnt allow for me to use it all the way through labour, it did how ever get me to 5cm with minimal discomfort. Certainly doesn't take the pain away but is a great distraction. No harm in having one, f it doesn't work for you then you can turf it. You can hire them from a place in cheltenham that i know..... let me know if you want the details.
Down side is that you can't bath or shower with it on.

[jackrose]

In my life pre-baby I worked in health and often used them on patients for pain relief with great success, I even lent mine to a client who's wife was due to have a baby and he brought it back with a great success story saying that it had been fantastic for his wife. It was a no-brainer therefore for me to use one.

I found it was really helpful in my extended labour - (30 hours in hospital not counting the labouring at home before hand!) I started with it at home and used it all the time except when I used the shower for pain relief.

I did find that the midwives were a bit unsupportive in my case - they pretty much suggested that it was a placebo - but I didn't care and I don't think that my experience is indicative of normal attitude of midwives.

They basically work on the principal of pain gating which is an effective and natural pain management approach. The most important thing is to get it on in early labour at a low level and amp it up as necessary. If you miss the early window, the pain relief is said to be less effective.

I think it is a great opportunity to arm yourself with a safe, easy and effective pain relief technique to help hold off the need for more invasive pain management and possibly interventions as labour progresses.
Good luck!

Edit: I should add that I made it to the 35 hour mark in my labour with only the Tens for pain relief then resorted to the gas...

[Ginger]

thank you so much ladies!

falguni- i'm getting one posted out from brighton- maybe it's the same place you're thinking of?

jackrose- thanks for your very positive reply, that's great that you made it to 35hrs. i am really hoping to just use the tens and gas this time, depending on the circumstances.

[Mumma2three]

I used one but my labour was very very short, so I would say it's better for longer labours. Saying that, it certainly kept me occupied on the trip to hospital.. also it's very cheap to hire, so I'd say go for it and it doesn't matter if it's not your cup of tea. Also I hired it about a month earlier to test it and get used to it and learn how to use it. Well worth doing. xo

[~Raven~]

I've used one all 4 times and found it to be a help!