It stings!!!

LOL.

I had it after we'd waited 10 minutes and my body wasn't doing it yet. As such 10 minutes is not a long time, but my DD had had a few problems getting going (apgars 9 at 1min, 7 at 5mins, 10 at 10mins) and needed suctioning and oxygen. For that reason the cord had been cut so they could take her to the window to assess her colour (she was going blue). Since the cord was already cut and my DD was still too dazed to breastfeed and hadn't been continuously skin-to-skin (though she was off my chest less than 2 minutes while they assessed her colour, suctioned her nose and mouth and got the oxygen set up) perhaps my oxytocin production was interfered with. In any case they looked worried and i let them give me the injection.

I was at home and for me the worry of the midwife was enough to make me choose to have it. I have never heard (until this thread) that the injection causes retained placentas. I was and am basically of the opinion that you probably don't need it, but i'd never heard that it would cause problems or harm (other than not being able to say you had a fully natural birth even if you had no other drugs). For my midwives, they were 100% responsible for my life and the life of my baby at that point in time. Even if my body was going to do it naturally, it was worth it, FOR ME, to save them some worry and have the injection.

Bec