Pain relief....Epidural? TENS?

This is my second labour and i'm so confused about what pain relief to use! With my first i tried gas but it didn't do anything and pethidine which didn't help the pain and i didn't like. I've never been a fan of an epidural just cause i'm paranoid about something going wrong, about it being put in the wrong spot or not working but after reading some stories on here about it, it sounds great! I'm still a little scared tho. Also my sister in law used a TENS machine and thought it was great but i read on here that it's mainly for back labour pain... I have SPD so my pelvis at the front is so sore i don't know if the TENS would really help that or not... With my DS i had pain both at the front and back. I'm so confused!!! I'm open for any ideas/views/suggestions...please!!!!! :wall:

There are lots of non-medical pain relief options you can try too if you are interested. Doulas are fabulous for drug-free births - 60% less requests for epidurals.

You can read about Doulas here: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/pregna...hat-is-a-doula

Water is a great tool along with heat packs and making sure you are not on the bed (which is guaranteed once you have an epidural).

with my first i spent alot of the time on the toilet, just sitting there cause it was the only comfy spot! In the pushing stage i was standing leaning against the bed which was great... i just dont know how i will be this time around, the pelvic pain is so much worse im guessing its only going to be worse once in labour....

Hey Nell

There's a new book out by a Sydney physiotherapist, co-authored by Sarah Murdoch called "Birthskills"...

It's all about natural pain management in labour...seems excellent!

Haven't actually used the techniques myself yet (my EDD was yesterday) but my cousin used the techniques and said they were awesome...I'm looking forward to giving them a good shot!!!

Nell, I had an epidural with DS1 and gas with DS2. In my experience the gas (or no drugs at all) is the best option. Sure, you have more pain during the labour, but it means that you can get into any position that is comfy instead of being confined to bed. Also, you are mobile afterwards and don't have to have a catheter which introduces the risk of UTI. I felt SOOOO much better after my 2nd labour (and I was really sick for 4 days beforehand) than my 1st labour - the mobility and lack of drugs in my system made such a huge difference. If you can get through without an epidural I highly recommend it - you will feel better for it after the birth. Also, it is a very empowering feeling to do it without the drugs. Best of luck to you whatever you decide.

PS I also recommend the book New Active Birth - it is great for understanding how positions affect labour.

I might check out it next time i get to the shops thanks!

Nell,

Hi I've recently labored with just gas. Similar to what you described, i sometimes felt like it wasn't really doing anything. I also know that they didn't crank it up very high.

Next time I will be having gas again, and asking for it to be higher!! I think this time I progressed quicker than they realised. But I have already decided that I would like to try the tens machine next time.

I do not ever want an epidural, and after seeing how alert my bubs was without one, and how well he feeds, I can't help but think that the drugs I didn't have impacted on this.

I'm not sure if this is also connected but I had 2nd degree tear which does not hurt anywhere near as much as others have told me it does. I didn't need saline baths or icepacks, and only had a little bit of panadein to take the edge off. I think the pain paled in comparison to the birth, which I wouldn't have felt had I had the epi.

Good point Rebecca. I tore with both births. Granted, Jack's was worse as forceps were used (thanks to the epidural no doubt - another thing to consider Nell), but I was in so much pain with it. Whereas after Tom, I didn't need any pain relief at all for the stitches.

i had a second degree tear with my first too... wan't in alot of pain after it (i was quite numb!) but just felt a bit of pressure there for a few weeks especially if i stood for too long. i've got 6 weeks to decide, no doubt im going to change my mind another 10 times by then! i am going to keep an eye out for those 2 books that were mentioned tho and a friend has a tens machine i can use if needed.. thanks everyone, keep it coming! i'm getting excited about it all (not the pain tho!)

I had an epidural with my first - a friend had recommended I request one early as they can take time to organise, so early in the piece when my contractions became uncomfortable, I asked for one. To me it was magic - pain-free labour! I was even able to have a sleep in preparation for later pushing. Midwife said it was lucky I chose epidural as baby's position was spine against spine which would have kinda hurt without pain relief.

Posterior babes can result in more backpain, but they are totally doable without epidurals, just in case anyone is wondering! :) Plus if you have someone with magic hands, pressure does wonders :) It's a good idea to do optimal fetal positioning to help the bubby turn into the right possie, and if your waters havent broken its easier...

Would have been nice to have a massage/pressure!

I just remember, when I began sobbing at the pain of contractions, the midwife said I must have a very low pain threshold and if I can't handle the initial pain stage, then I should ask for pain relief as it will only feel 100 times worse as the labour progresses.... I had read about risks of epidurals before that labour and was against the idea, but the fear of giving birth for the first time took over and I just didn't want the pain.....

I think crying in labour is also a fear thing, shame you didnt have someone to work through that stuff with you :( I work with women who think they have a low pain threshold, but I think at the end of the day having someone close to you and working with you is a huge factor with how people go. Someone affirming to you your fears that you are 'weak' or have a low pain threshold will certainly have you believe it.

I think fear of pain and "not being able to do it" is a big reason for choosing an epidural early on. I know that's why I gave in to the pressure to have one even though I had been determined not to beforehand. If I knew before my first birth what I knew before my second, things would have been very different!

Another thing I thought of Nell, was that for me, a big part of the reason the gas helped me was that it helped me to breathe properly. I think this might even have been of more use than the actual drugs and this is why I think I do it without even gas if I have another (and because I have fast labours the pain is really intense and there is no break between contractions - of course it does also help to know that I won't be in pain for as long!). After reading New Active Birth and practising positions and breathing during my painful BH, I knew what to do when in labour and it made a huge difference. If there is a third time for me (which unfortunately doesn't look likely) I will also have the added bonus of confidence - knowing I can do it because I have done it (well with gas, but not an epidural).

I had an epidural with Oscar as he was posterior (he didn't want to move around and was harder for him as my water had broken)and I was in a lot of a pain (my back) but with that said, I now wish I hadn't of and wish I had support of someone like a Doula as I had closed my mind and convinced myself I could no longer do it and I was scared of giving birth as I didn't believe in myself.(I had had no drugs at that stage and got to 9cm all on my own). I also would have liked to have tried a TENS machine and that is def an option for me next time around. IMO as Kelly has said... try pain relief techniques that are non-medical... you will be thankful later on! With that said though... if medical intervention is needed I am not against it. I had A LOT of medical intervention with my labour in the end. With what kungfubecca said though re- babys not being as alert or not feeding properly after an epidural... I don't believe this is true for everyone. Oscar was very alert after he was born and fed like a trooper. I am sure for some babies it does affect them though.

All the best for your labour and I hope it turns out to be what you want *hugs*

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Nell,

Hi I've recently labored with just gas. Similar to what you described, i sometimes felt like it wasn't really doing anything. I also know that they didn't crank it up very high.

Next time I will be having gas again, and asking for it to be higher!! I think this time I progressed quicker than they realised. But I have already decided that I would like to try the tens machine next time.

I do not ever want an epidural, and after seeing how alert my bubs was without one, and how well he feeds, I can't help but think that the drugs I didn't have impacted on this.

I'm not sure if this is also connected but I had 2nd degree tear which does not hurt anywhere near as much as others have told me it does. I didn't need saline baths or icepacks, and only had a little bit of panadein to take the edge off. I think the pain paled in comparison to the birth, which I wouldn't have felt had I had the epi.

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DITTO!!!!
I was exactly the same... although I had my gas on high!! lol
It was good to have it there to concentrate on.. but it didnt do a great deal.
To know that my body will do this all on its own was fantastic. I was all prepped for and epi etc, but was too late.
I am not against them and will have one if I need it next time.

Good luck and I hope u have the labour u want:)

I found submerging in a deep birth pool worked for me. They call it the "homebirth epidural". It helped a lot - but no side-effects that could set you up for ventouse, episiotomy etc.

Grandma (veteran of 5 births) used to tell us, "two thirds of pain is fear", so I agree that working through our natural & understandable fears during pregnancy, and having a caring support person during labour, has got to help.

Labour pain is very personal, it's very intense for some and quite manageable for others. There are factors that would make it worse for anybody - and factors that help. Try to mamximise everything that you know helps.

Danielle, I am really glad to hear that you had a good experience with the Epi and that Oscar was alert and fed well, that is really good to hear a good story as opposed to bad ones.

I agree that pain is related to fear. although I also have to admit that as the pain started to intensify I started getting scared. Lucky for me the labor progressed so fast I didn't have time to get even more scared.

My pain was starting to get really bad and the midwives were talking about waiting another hour and a half before having an internal done to check progress, I was seriously considering pethadine when they did the internal and told me how far I had left.

Because I then started getting an uncontrolable erge to push, the internal got done then, and I was 10cm's already. This could be the reason I didn't submit to more pain relief.

I do feel better about next time though.

now the fear I have is not of the pain, it's the taking a baby home :lol:

There is a vicious cycle....

Fear ---> Tension ---> Pain

You feel fearful, you get tense, then that results in more pain and your muscles are all tense. It's a natural reaction, when we are hurt or in pain, we clench, right :)

It's good to have a plan for that.