pain relief

[2CheekyMonkeys]

just wondering about your experiences with pain relief during labour. i am a bit nervous about all the possible side effects that 'gas', 'pethedine' and 'epidural' could cause, even though they are slight possibilities. just wondering opinions about which pain relief to choose if i need to use some and lets face it i am not the best when coping with pain so i will probably need something.

[DoulaRelle]

I had the whole hog with my first baby, gas, pethidine and an epidural. I was fine with the gas and the pethidine but I did not like the epidural. I ended up with a forceps delivery and by the time my son was born (7 hours later) the epidural was not working below my waist and I felt the forcep delivery. The epidural also slowed my labour down (I had actually gone into labour naturally) and by the time I needed to push I was exhausted.

This is purely personal opinion though, my sil had a birth very similar and she raves about the epidural as she felt nothing at all. She had nothing for No 2 as well and wishes she had the epidural!

When I questioned my Ob about the epidural, he said in some cases the epidural is not completey effective and that I was one of them. I am an absolute wos with pain, but I was able to go through my second labour (which was induced) with just the gas, and felt like I was able to be much more active during that birth. (I was restricted to the bed once the epidural had been administered).

Every birth is different though and I say if you need the drugs - take them!!!!!

[hannanat]

I had everything with my first as well. First the pethidine which put me to sleep. That was probably a good thing because I was terrified. After that wore off I had the gas but was too frantic to be able to use it properly. Then the epi which was fantasic. With my 2nd labour I wasnt as scared and coped with the gas. The important thing is to learn how to use it before you REALLY need it. You have to start sucking before the contraction starts as the gas takes a few second to work. With my first I was sucking on the mouthpiece at the peak of the contraction so was feeling th benefit of the gas in between contractions. Not good.The gas is great because it really helps you to concentate on your breathing. I LOVE THE GAS!!!!!

[DoulaRelle]

I totally agree, the gas is great as a focal point as well. I found that by using the gas, I focused on my breathing more as was able to get through each contraction.

[Tobily]

I had the whole hog as well - gas, peth and epidural with a synotocin induced labour

Gas - was good early on, it worked well. But as they started turning up the drip and things got more full on I found myself constantly on it to the point I felt sick and it wasn't doing anything. Ditched that and moved onto.....

Peth - two words: never again. Totally useless for the pain, knocked me out for about an hour and according to DH I would sit bolt upright in bed and howl with every contraction before passing out again. I was totally out of it and that was not how I wanted to spend my labour. Thank god it wore off quickly. That is not an option for this birth!

Epidural - was 100% effective in terms of pain relief. I did feel her crown though and screamed my off for that, I think they may have turned it down a bit by then. But if it works properly you won't feel a thing in terms of contractions - which was a blessing for me because by the time I had it the drip was up full bore and my contractions were nearly off the charts. I was totally with it mentally and able to communicate with everyone which was great. Drawbacks - confined to bed on back for delivery, and the catheter that unfortunately comes with it. But on the whole a small price to pay for the relief, IMO.
Also in my experience once I had the epidural my dilation actually sped up (possibly because I wasn't screaming in agony I don't know). But it took me 12 hours before the epi to dilate to 4cm then I had the epi and dilated to 10 in about three hours. So it doesn't necessarily always slow things down.

[enigma]

Like most people here , Ive had it all but the gas.
I love epidural. there's no other way to say it , because my labour was induced and wasnt progressing they gave me a high dosage of syntocin... when the contractions hit they were on top of each other and i couldnt breath - as soon as that epidural went in ( at this stage i didnt care if a side effect was my legs falling off )... the pain went away straight away.. such relief i fell asleep..
I know everyone is different and responds differently to pain. so this is just my personal opinion.
If i ever have more kids id pre-order the epidural if possible hehe...

[BellyBelly]

Aren't I the odd one out!!!

There are lots of things you aren't told about though, for example with the epidural, it lowers your blood pressure and in turn this lowers oxygen circulation to the baby. Even moreso if you are flat on your back as the uterus presses on major blood supply - so your baby can appear 'stressed' because of the lowered oxygen especially during birth. I have seen pethidine and morphine given to mums at very late stages and that was awful, mum cant move and the baby is very sleepy and they take the baby away and stimulate it vigourously, one doctor flicking them - it's awful.

I am not anti-medication though, we all get to that point where enough is enough and I have no doubt in my mind I couldn't have coped with an augmented labour without it.

Gas made me throw up and did nothing. I did not want pethidine (haha I had it in my head that an intramuscular injection would hurt and not an option!) but I had an epidural and to this day, I wouldn't have done it different in that situation. The synto drip was a nightmare, I had contractions on top of each other and was screaming and crying that I was going to die!

With Elijah I had nothing and it was a massive difference, it was a great labour, I got up as soon as the placenta had come and had a shower - it was really great to be able to do that, rather than wait for the drugs to wear off. I tried getting up too soon after the epidural and my legs collapsed under me, luckily I was near John! But I felt so well, so accomplished and happy that I had beaten them at their own game!!!

Moral - get good support, ideally a doula or birth attendant and if you want the best chance at no drugs and low intervention, have a homebirth with a private midwife! They have very low rates of induction and all the drugs and tools that you end up having after an induction.

[DoulaRelle]

I don't mean to go off the subject slighty, but I hear everyone who has had horror labours with being induced - for me this was the complete opposite. I went in to labour naturally with no 1 and had contractions so bad that I could barely breath between them, and ended up having an epidural - which I hated. wwith the second one, I requested an induction (for my own reasons) and found this labour much easier to deal with, and as a result only had gas. I was able to get up immediately and recall everything about the birth

Am I the only one who has had a positive induction?

[Tobily]

Relle - I also rate my induction as a positive experience
Even though my labour was really long and I had every drug they had I still managed to deliver her vaginally despite the fact that every aspect of my pregnancy and labour should have landed me a ceasar - GD, PROM, induced, 18 hour labour, epidural - but I still got her out myself and to me that's what mattered

[DoulaRelle]

Thanks Flea, maybe I should start a thread for positive induction! Yours is the only other positive story I have heard!

[nikbrad]

I used the gas with Mackenzie and it worked really well for me - mind you they were pulling it out of my mouth at times much to my horror!. I ended up have an emergency C/S after forceps so ended up with a spinal which was just heaven! I probably would have gone for the epidural but I was too far gone (9cm) by the time I got to the hospital.

[BellyBelly]

The reason there aren't many positive experiences with induction is because sadly many aren't. You can read my induction article for stats and more info, but artificial oxytocin often acts at a much higher level than what normal oxytocin would and it results in less oxygen circulating to baby. It means you have to be monitored continuously often resulting with mum on the bed and also doesnt act like real oxytocin, the hormone of love, when it's artifically put into your body as it can't cross barriers. Also it depends on each woman, some of us have a uterus more tolerant than the other.

We all have choice in what we want to do, but it's not something I would want to promote because fact is those who have inductions are at a very high likelyhood to have pain relief and other intervention, usually several. Not always. But the statistics reflect this. I think most of us would love to have a natural birth with no drugs if we could - but that doesn't mean it's better or essential or anything - we all have different preferences based on our own experiences. It does make me uneasy though when people post promoting pain relief and inductions. Often the only risks we are told about these things are 'you might get a headache, backache etc' but what about the baby? No-one gives you those risks. But like I mentioned, I couldn't have coped with my augmentation. My body worked perfectly fine at home with Elijah - got to hospital at 9cms and pushed him out - so don't see the point being there especially when my chances are better at home for less induction and intervention. Check out the homebirth stats in the gentle birth thread - you might be shocked especially when induction and caesarean rates in hospitals are exceeding 30%. We're losing the race for normal birth. It's sad really. It's not more dangerous being at home, many studies and independent reviews have stated this. In terms of caesars we are talking 1.5% for homebirth (inc transfers). Induction about the same. In NZ, where midwifery led care is the norm, infant mortality is at its lowest ever.

Inductions - To Induce or Not Induce

[enigma]

Kelly - I agree with you that at the end of the day no artificial intervention is the best way out , but i think the theory is usually thrown out the window , because once the real pain hits you dont think straight ( at least i didnt ) The doctor was going through a list of possible side effects , and i was going to tell him the possible side effects he would have if he didnt administer the epidural NOW !

[2CheekyMonkeys]

thanks for your replies. it is just such a hard decision to make. obvioulsy i would really love a risk free pain free birth!! :-) i guess it will happen the way it happens though and i should stop worrying about it until the time comes. thanks again.

[BellyBelly]

ROFL I know what you mean!!! I was exactly the same, but not with Elijah. When it was almost time I was starting to talk drugs, but the support I had got me through - I had no choice at 9cms anyway LOL!!!

This is why I do birth support now. It can be the difference between drugs and no drugs, caesar or no caesar etc. The stats are amazing. (you can see them on my birth support page).

It is still important to talk about your feelings with pain relief, so your support person / partner will know on the day, and how far to push you if you want to avoid it. Have a 'red light' arrangement.

New Active Birth by Janet Balaskas covers it all

[Liz]

I agree.. support is the key. DH was all I needed. He was my spokesperson.. went and told the midwives to stop telling me to take pain relief. And being informed of the risks of pain relief for the baby were enough to make me refuse it too.

Admittedly, I was almost ready for an epidural, coz I had no idea where I was up to.. turns out, I was pushing within the next 2 contractions I thought if the dr came and told me I was only half way I'd be asking for that epi coz I was simply exhausted! LOL. Turned out I was in transition.

Definitely read up on EVERYTHING. Even learning about the stages of labour, and knowing there's a transition stage right before pushing where you're most likely to cave and request drugs.. if you're aware of that, you know it's only a short time to go, and can cope better. And picturing the pain as being the body doing it's job opening up and moving the baby down etc makes it more bearable.

Another thing that helped me.. altho other people would probably hate it.. but I watched the clock and had goals. heh. The dr was coming back to see me in 3hrs, so as each hour went by, I was like.. ok.. that's one hour down.. I can do another hour. Once it was 1 1/2 hours.. I was halfway! hehe. My first goal was to go drug free until the OB came. Turns out I was ready to push when he came.. so I made it right through!

btw.. my labour was augmented with the drip.. so it is possible!

[Cougar]

i have had 5 births, my first 2 were all drug free nataural births, my breathing got me through it, it was like i was on my own drug, as it was like i was in my own little la la land, trying to block the pain, my 3rd was a very quick labour 25minutes, so there was no time to think of anything, but i only just made it in the door of the hoispital.......so that is why my next 2 were induced, i had a good experience, but also was a bit disapointed both the labours were around 3-4 hours long, and as the pain was not gradually getting stonger, it was just there, i was asking for all sorts of drugs, which upset me as my first 2 bubs were long labours, i eventually only took gas with my last two, but if i wasnt induced i think i would of been able to cope with the pain of labour, as i had done 3 times prior.

[kahmanya]

Every birth and labour is different, if you want pain relief in the end then it's your choice.

My first was great apart for the fact i was induced, 14 days over!!!! and i had no pain relief only a 3 hour labour. My second was horrible, induced again (due to medical condition), massive amount of pain, I knew it wasn't me as i went pain relief free for the first, it was agonizing, i was screaming for the epidural!!! After 3hours i was still only 2cm's dilated, they gave me the epidural, the anestheisiest was still standing there i felt the baby crowning, as soon as he inserted the epi i dilated to 10cm and with in 20 mins bubs was born!! He was posterior!!!!! I was in so much pain that i was tensing up and could not dilate. It really depends on the situation!!
This time around i will be open minded , i will play the wait and see game!!
Whatever decision you make it will be the right one for you.