Pain Relief During Labour And Birth??

[MinionLover]

Hi everybody!

I am currently 26+5 and I am thinking about the labour and birth [as much as I'm trying to put that off!] and I was wondering about the pain relief. What's the best one to use and if you know the side effects as well!! I was thinking of having a water birth using Entonox [Gas and Air] but I was wondering if there are any others that are good to use during labour and birth.

Thanks!!

[kerry1607]

I used a tens machine at home and was brilliant. I had a long labour and ended up having pethidine as I was so tired. Made me relax and literally nap between contractions ! Made myself and baby a little sleepy afterwards too

[MinionLover in reply to kerry1607]

I've heard about the TENS machines! They gave good results out because they didn't have side effects. I'll consider that! Thanks! xx

[KellyTrip]

I have heard good things about tens machines and think I will look into one next time!

I wanted a water birth and gas and air but decided just before giving birth that I I needed to have more then I would.

I also ended up having pethidine which had the same effect on me. I can't say it particularly helped with the contractions and because my labour was long, it ended up wearing off. I know Tha they don't like to give you pethidine close to the baby coming as it can effect them!

[MinionLover in reply to KellyTrip]

Do you think that I'll be able to have a TENS machine and have a water birth?

Did the Pethidine last two to four hours like it says it's meant too? I don't want to have Pethidine for it not to work. xx

[2princes1princess in reply to MinionLover]

Hi lovely if you start using the tens machine from right early on it will have more of an effect on you. Water birth is a fab idea, I'm hoping for a home water birth this time. I think get in water from established labour as sometimes it can slow contractions down especially in latent phase. Only thing I will say is keep an open mind to everything because we don't know how we are going to cope during labour same as with a birth plan, just go with the flow 😊 wishing you all the best xx

[NCTcharity]

We have a lot of information about pain relief in labour on our website, covering the pros and cons of several different options.

The address is: nct.org.uk/birth/pain-relie...

[MinionLover in reply to NCTcharity]

Brilliant! Thank you & I'll have a look now. xx

[KellyTrip]

I think the pethidine does take the edge off. I had a very long labour and a hormone drip so I am probably not very helpful! I did keep falling asleep for about 30 seconds in between contractions which was interesting!

The antenatal classes I went to at hospital were really useful when it came to learning about pain relief! I didn't have a clue before!! I would definitely look at a tens machine.

[hough]

I was going to have water & Gas & Air birth in April but unfortunately labour didn't go to plan & I was induced at nearly 2 weeks late - our son came Wed at 12:47am & was induced Mon round 3pm.

Went from 1cm dilated to 9cm dilated within bout 3 hours on Tues evening, so I could only have Gas & Air for delivery. It actually really helped wiv contractions, as long as you have birthing partner to help you wiv breathing 😀 (my hubby was fab).

When I was on NCT antenatal classes (We started in Feb), water birth wiv Gas & Air appeared to be best option for baby. Hoping I can do that in birth centre if there is a next time...

[fairywomble]

I did natal hypnotherapy using this book... Effective Birth Preparation: Your Practical Guide to a Better Birth amazon.co.uk/dp/1905220596/...

And the CDS that go with it... it was fantastic and worked so well... I had 2 Paracetamol at 7pm before my little boy was born at 10.25pm and that was all the pain relief I needed!

If you want to have a chat about it then please feel free to send me a message! X

[fairywomble in reply to fairywomble]

Forgot to say... there are no side effects apart from a lovely calm baby and relaxed mum! X

[Kat_C]

I second going in with an open mind. I researched all options and decided that I wanted to use the pool and gas and air with the possibility of pethidine if my pgp was bad. Unfortunately you can't plan how your labour will be and I ended up with nothing because my LO decided she wanted out incredibly quickly!

I'm sure yours will be a lot more relaxed and textbook than mine though so I will say, you know your body and your limits, there's no shame in wanting help with pain. I have a high threshold as a rule but my god did I wish I could've had something! Haha.

[LottyB]

I would absolutely keep an open mind hun. These babies do what they want, how they want. And every labour is different as is how mum handles the pain.

I went in wanting everything available just in case, and my labour wasn't great (I won't tell you as I got really annoyed when I was pregnant with labour stories!) so I ended up having diamorphine very early on in my 9 hour labour. I found it really helped me as all I can really remember is asking the boyfriend to clean out the dinosaur pen and telling the midwife I'd fixed her car! Then it was time to push, which gas and air helped me fine with.

Just remember everyone is different, there is no right or wrong answer, everyone deals with pain differently. Do what you are happy with, but have an open mind that it may not go how you wish.

However it happens, there will be a lovely baby at the end, so keep thinking positive.

😊 xx