What do people think of TENS machine?

[Merida]

I've got 5 and a half weeks left now so starting to get my hospital bag and birth plan organised. I wasn't sure whether to give a TENS machine a try, seems great but part of me thinking if was really effective wouldn't the hospital supply them? Any experiences?! Is my first so I have no idea!

[minime61]

Ooh I'm same as you - due 06.06.13. Will see what people say coz my friend has offered to lend me one but I haven't a clue. x

[Skyblueboston]

I will be using a tens machine my sister had her baby in jan and she said it was great help in early labour then she progressed to injections and epidural.

[Carren]

I used one, and, like Skyblueboston's sister found it helpful during early labour. Remember, you can't have any proper pain relief until you're in established labour, and early labour, while not nearly as painful, can last a very long time, so it's nice to have something to help, so you can save your strength for the hard bit. I honestly don't know whether it actually lessened my pain or just distracted from it, but either way, once my husband had strapped me to it, no one was taking that machine off of me for love nor money. There's no need to buy one, as there are several online stores that hire them out for a reasonable price. One word of advice though--get your own batteries in (several). The cheap one they sent with the machine ran out on me halfway through early labour, leaving my husband scurrying to the shops in the wee hours of the morning, as I was in no mood to wait until a more sociable hour to get back up and running. Then, when I popped the Energizer battery he'd bought me in, I found the thing was suddenly ten times more powerful than it ever had been with the original battery. Definitely worth it.

[tel0708]

Hi, i only found it helpful in the early stages of labour, when i was in established labour it wasnt! Thats when i needed something much more stronger!!! I would say give it a try, wish you all the best.

[Tabby101]

I found it really helpful for my labour but to be the most effective you need to put it on and starting using at the first contractions, so long before you get to the hospital. This is because it's about building up a signal/resistance. It's the only pain relief I used until I was forced to have a spinal and c-section at 10cm!

Our hospital used to lend them out but found they went missing so stopped

I also know of people who have found just the distraction of having to press a button helped and others who hated it - everyone is definitely different

[Tabby101]

If you get the chance to 'play with some (not on you) before you get one then do as the controls are all quite different and some are a pig to use!