pethadine/morphine

somone recently told me that they dont give pethadine anymore they give morphine as pain relief during labour. is this true? are the side effects of morphine the same as pethadine?

I had pethidine with DS. It was a year ago though.

I had pethadine when I had DD a year ago. I don't think the side effects are the same...I'm highly allergic to morphine so even if it was offered, I couldn't have had it. I was actually told by my midwife that they don't give morphine during labour.

Yeah, I've never heard of morphine in labour :)

I had pethadine 2.5 years ago. I didn't feel effected by it at all. I couldn't even tell i'd had it. lol I've never had morphine.

I had pethadine 12 weeks ago. :doh:

hmm.. well i dont know what the girl was on about who told me that then! LOL

i had pethadine with baby #1 and wish i had investigated the effects on bub before i ever injected it into her bloodstream (through mine!)

I had pethadine with DD#1 - 5.5 yrs ago. It was a very, very un-informed decision on my half....i felt out of it for at least 12hrs afterwards......

I was informed , but still demanded it.... regret that.:rolleyes:

I haven't heard of it being discontinued for use in labour, however I highly recommend doing a lot of research on the effects to bub. Known for causing drowsiness, breathing problems and subsequenty breastfeeding issues. It would be last on my list...

I was told before I had DD2 that they give morphine now - thats was at RBWH
When I had DD1 they still gave pethadine...

Hi I had pethadine, in Sept last year. Never had it with the other kids but this time I decided I would try it??? Did'nt do anything to help with the pain (back labour) and luckily bubs had no side effects feeding like a champ within minutes of her birth!!!
Never heard of morphine in labour just does'nt seem right???

I was offered Petadine at my hospital with Julia 2 1/2 years ago but had an Epi of Fentenyl as I am allergic to morphine.

sneaky sparkle, yep this girl i was talking to went to the RWBH where she said they dont give pethadine but morphine now. i dont want to get pethadine because of all the bad side effects but was wondering if morphine is a better option? (ideally, do drugs would be great but i am not opposed to pain relief)

It depends on the hospital which drug they give. Most have a narcotic drug option and some do use morphine instead of pethidine.

Some hospitals use pethidine, others use morphine. Supposedly, morphine has superior pain relieving effects and the same impact on the baby. Pethidine is not so good as a pain reliever.

All drugs, including gas and epidural, will affect your baby. For many people, this difference is not so apparent until they have a totally natural birth (no drugs, no induction etc) and compare it to their medicated births in the past.

Calmbirth is a great natural method to use if you're wondering what you can do to minimise your perception of the pain and avoid pain medication. Also hot packs, positioning, bath / shower .... the list goes on.

Melissa.

i had pethadine and morphine (emergency c/s). Didnt like the pethadine at all, made me feel yuck, like i was trying to recover from a really bad hang over. Morphine made me high as a kite.. but didnt make me sick, just a tad high lol

Hi Girls
Some hospitals/Obs have stopped using pethidine but others continue to use it.
The side effects are very simular however there are some suggestions that morphine does not produce as many side effects as pethidine. Morphine is also a more natural drug where pethidine is a more manmade drug. Morphine also lasts a little longer than pethidine.

I had pethidine with DD1. It was given to make me sleep. She didnt appear to have any side effects of it once born either.

I had morphine when I had dd2 a week ago that was at tweed hospital, so yeah I would assume that each hospital is different!