best pain relief during labour

[TreeTops]

It's so good to read the experiences of so many people who have done similar research to me. I've been reading up on labour for many months now, probably for at least a year before I got pregnant.

When I announced my pregnancy I had a number of people (including men) say to me 'just go the epidural', and I found it infuriating. I'm not going to just do anything becuase you say I should. I think the key is to approach labour with an understanding of the various different stages, the pros and cons of different drugs, positions etc, and an understanding that it is a natural process which shouldn't always require doctors, drugs and instruments.

[Brianna]

I had the gas and the peth for my first, I absolutely loved the gas even after it had stopped working it was like my security blanket, I wasn't too keen on the peth I didn't find it all that effective to be honest, and an epidural, that didn't even cross my mind and I don't think I could do it to be perfectly honest, my sister in law had and epi and she has been getting really strong back pains where they administered it to her and that was over 18 months ago.

[BellyBelly]

Exactly TreeTops, we go through our whole pregnancies killing ourselves wondering if we should have that panadol for that terrible backpain, yet get to labour and its a smorgasboard - and we know drugs cross the placenta!!! Pethadine effected babies are given a shot of narcan (the same stuff they give to drug effected adults) to reverse any effects of the pethadine, which is more commonly seen when the peth has been given late in labour, prior to birth. Peth effected babies are born flat, don't attach properly, breastfeeding issues... because while drugs are in and out of our system in 4 hours, the half life for drugs in a baby's system is much longer, more like 12 hours...

One of the world leading experts into drugs and breastfeeding said there are two drugs women should absolutely avoid which are highly contraindicated for breastfeeding, one was pethadine and I forget the other brain freeze. LOL. I'll come back with it. These are narcotics! The effect they can have on women in labour too isn't nice afterwards, but you don't know it could happen... i.e. loss of memory, loss of clarity...

Not trying to bad all drugs here... but we are so misguided and I even saw a report on the news the other night that Australia is becoming (or is) one of the biggest pill pushing countries in the world!!! We have something we want to take something. It is no surprise that we have one of the highest (like top few) caesarean, induction and intervention rates in the world. And its not making experiences better. We are seeing more post natal depression, more post traumatic stress disorder, and an increase in complications and infections, especially ones which are extremely difficult to treat. We need to put that into perspective, expect we will hit a crisis of confidence in labour, appreciate that you wont get continuity of care in hospital which is CRUCIAL to better outcomes and look for prevention not 'wait and see' followed by emergency quick fix. Nothing wrong with having a well thought out plan in your birthing arsenal. You are not weak for needing a doula, more support, better education and information etc.

[Toomanytoomany]

Pharmaceutical pain relief I have used - pethidine was horrible, made me very spaced out and unable to concentrate on the contractions. I totally lost control, and it didn't touch the pain. Gas and air was helpful for the peaks of transition contractions but again,the coaching on how to use it distracted me, and (in my experience) the nozzles are prone to malfunction, which is even more irritating and distracting.

Natural pain relief I have used - hot water on my back. Fantastic for back labour. Pressure on my back over the sacrum was also very helpful. Different positions - experimenting with lots of different positions was great to help things along and find the most comfortable way of labouring. I did lots of pelvic "dancing" with the last couple, circling my hips through contractions while leaning on dh. That felt amazing.

Visualisation was fantastic for me, and learning different ways of thinking. I would concentrate on what contractions felt like, such as thinking of 'stretching, burning, pushing, pressure', rather than 'pain'. Welcoming the contractions with positive noises like 'yeeeesssss' and 'open' and 'gooooood' really, really helped, rather than fighting them. Fear is a massive inhibitor of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers.

Best of luck!!

[bubbles81]

Epidurals sounds quite risky and dangerous-i never realised it came with all these hidden effects, and its true everyone says to get the epi. i really hope to use only at the most gas and oxygen ? But hopefully try to avoid as much as possible. I never thought it would be possible to not use any kind of pain relief during labour-is it actually possible to rely on just breathing, hot water bottle on back or just gas? Wouldnt it hurt like hell downstairs if i was to tear-or do they numb the area? I asked my gp a while ago about epidurals and he said its absolutely fine-but i think he doesnt think that the risks are quite high now. hmmm..... its just sounds so amazing to give birth without any pain relief at all!! Im going to be giving birth at the cabrini hospital in malvern -anyone also?

[Toomanytoomany]

-is it actually possible to rely on just breathing, hot water bottle on back or just gas? Wouldnt it hurt like hell downstairs if i was to tear-or do they numb the area? I asked my gp a while ago about epidurals and he said its absolutely fine-but i think he doesnt think that the risks are quite high now. hmmm..... its just sounds so amazing to give birth without any pain relief at all!! Im going to be giving birth at the cabrini hospital in malvern -anyone also?

Absolutely it's possible!! And it's not necessarily only for heroes and martyrs And for me, I far prefer that over anything else! The pushing stage is powerful and, yes, the whole "ring of fire" thing is pretty challenging - but it can also be amazing and profound and those moments of the sensation of my babies sliding out of me are the most amazing of my life. I can't imagine being denied that feeling.

Also, I don't know about other people, but that whole pushing stage was much less painful than the transition which preceded it. I know it isn't like that for everyone and i've been blessed with being left with an intact perineum three times out of five, and only minor tears the other two times... but some of that has come about because of my choices about how I wish to labour, also.

There's nothing wrong with making an *informed* decision to have an epidural, by the way, I don't believe that at all. There are risks with induction, and I've chosen two of those for "social" reasons. But you will feel most at peace, I believe, with whatever the outcome, if you are truly prepared for the implications of any decisions you make. Epidurals *do* come with risks - you need to decide what level of risk is acceptable to you, and what you have to gain or lose by making the decision.

[tutmae]

If you practice and are prepared then breathing and hot water bottles etc are meant to be really really effective!! My mother used breathing alone (and a bit of a back rub from her then DH) and although it still hurt, she said she went into the pain and it wasn't all that bad. Apparently tearing doesn't hurt so much because everything is so stretched down there, or so I've been told by women who have torn.
I'll keep my you get the birth you want!!

[hj1981]

I had a epi and regreted it big time - the only reason being is cause i really wanted a drug free labour, but no one really supported me when the pain became too much, they all recommended the epi.
As for it completly taking the pain away - it didnt cause i asked for a very low dose of it, and if needed i would ask for it to be topped up.
I still felt every single contraction, and was still in pain, but the edge had been taken off it making it a bit more bearable and what i could handle!
As for any side affects, the epi had totally warn off when it came round to pushing and they wouldnt top it up, so i was able to push. And my recovery was pretty quick!
I felt like a failure in the end for having the epi and still gets me a bit down, even tho at the end of the day i did the pushing totally drug free.
I reccomend you do your research, and really think about if u want drugs or not!
And my biggest bit of advice - enjoy it! pain and all, its over so quick and the little bundle of joy you are left with afterwards is worth everything u go through!!!!

[tutmae]

You are not weak for needing a doula, more support, better education and information etc.

But at the same time, women who choose to have an epi are not weak either.

I have found that in all of the pg books I have they are promoting not having any drugs whatsoever and really guilt you into it ("Oh, your baby wont be able to feed properly afterwards, you wont be able to push, you'll have to have intervention" etc etc). Just as it is dangerous "promoting" epi's etc, I think it is just as dangerous to rule them out all together. If a woman is made to feel like she has made a bad/wrong decision by having one then surely this can be just as traumatic as any other negative experience in birth.

I believe that whatever you find works best for you is the best option, and you shouldn't have to feel guilty about it. 3 of my girlfriends gave birth at around the same time as me, 2 had epi's and had no intervention, 1 had no pain relief and had no intervention. They all have their babies now and no regrets about their labour and their choices. Like I said (and many have) it's all about being informed beforehand- but don't let people scare or guilt you into thinking the decisions you make are "wrong".