Tens??

[misty]

I used a TENS machine during labour. I couldn;t recommend it enough!!!

All four of my labours have been drug free natural births, but it was only the last one I used the TENS for. It gave me a real sense of control and reall did work to ease the pain, particularly in the early stages. There were a couple of times (near/during transition) where I questioned whether it was actually doing anything, so I stopped using it, and OMG there was an intense difference. I wish I had tried using one for previous births.

The TENs machine would work best with calm birthing methods or hypnobirthing IMHO.

My TENS machine cost me $25 on ebay (new from China). You don't 'need' a special pregnancy unit - you just need to ensure you learn how to use it and play with it before you are in labour and needing it.

[claire79]

Thanks Misty, I guess I'm sort of thinking that I like being in the water a lot and am planning on spending time in the bath / shower where you can't use the TENS but being my first don't really know what I'll want to do on the day so maybe it would be worth having it there as another option... Would be great to hear about anyone else's experiences too, thanks!