Has anyone used a tens machine during labour?

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 10-09-2014 12:18pm #1

And how did ye get on? I've read that over 80% of women have found them 'helpful', but just how much relief do they give? Did they save you from having to get an epidural? And are the obstetric ones that you rent better than the ones you can buy from the chemist? I bought one a few years ago in lidl and tried it on my back but it was the biggest load of shìte ever, I'd have been better off dancing under the full moon with feathers stuck in my arse :rolleyes:

Nead21 · 10-09-2014 2:18pm

I had my first child in April last year and used a TENS machine during labour. I was really against getting an epidural. I was induced and had a very quick, intense labour. I started using the TENS machine when the contractions started to really get powerful and continued to use it until I got to 7cm. I found it really helped keep concentrated on what I was doing. I didn't need the epidural afterwards and was fine with the gas and air.

I got mine in Mothercare. It's a Obi TENS with booster. I'll definitely be using it again (fingers crossed

)

Moonbeam · 10-09-2014 5:18pm

I have had 4 with no epidural.
I bought the Elle tens machine for my 2nd and I did not find it useful at all but that was my 1st super quick labour,I had to take it off in the hospital as her heart rate dropped and it make have been interfering with machines.
On the 3rd I forgot to buy new electrodes...
I actually found it good with #4 but again I was wearing it for about 1/2 hour as I have ridiculously quick labours.

Jerrica · 10-09-2014 5:44pm

I used one, it definitely didn't stop me needing to get an epidural but my little girl was lying back to back so an epidural was almost an inevitability. I did get quite a bit of relief in the earlier stages, and I'll use it again. I think it's worth having, but for me there were limits to how much it could do. I also found it a little irritating for lighter, early contractions.

jopax · 10-09-2014 6:00pm

I used tens on my two labours, both were back labours. I found the tens useless both times and it just got on my nerves more than anything. Also ended up with epidural twice.

RentDayBlues · 10-09-2014 6:32pm

Used it on both mine, hated it first time, annoyed me and took it off too early, ended up with epidural

Second time I did not want an epidural, used it for most of labour but it was at the max speed and I found it annoying rather than helpful then, no epidural second time despite induction

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 10-09-2014 6:50pm

Thanks ladies it's a mixed reaction so. I didn't want an epidural with my first because I have back problems and I was told it could make them worse. In the end, I had to have one because of hypertension and tbh, I was kinda glad because I was induced and the contractions had become fairly intense

I would like to avoid getting one this time around if possible. I did practise a bit of hypnobirthing (just the mp3s, no actual classes) and I found it very useful for focusing through the contractions but would go for something like a tens if it would give extra relief.

RentDayBlues · 10-09-2014 8:52pm

Zackary Sticky Pinprick wrote: »

Thanks ladies it's a mixed reaction so. I didn't want an epidural with my first because I have back problems and I was told it could make them worse. In the end, I had to have one because of hypertension and tbh, I was kinda glad because I was induced and the contractions had become fairly intense I would like to avoid getting one this time around if possible. I did practise a bit of hypnobirthing (just the mp3s, no actual classes) and I found it very useful for focusing through the contractions but would go for something like a tens if it would give extra relief.

For me it worked as a distraction technique, rather than concentrating on the contraction I concentrated on the feeling of the tens. So when I stop concentrating on it and gave into the contraction I felt it stopped working for me and started to annoy me. It was a placebo but a great one that helped me to 5cm and I moved to gas and air

Penny Dreadful · 11-09-2014 9:57am

I've bought an Obstetrics one on Amazon. My baby is due October 7th. I plan to use it for the time I am at home and when I get to the hospital my intention is to work with a birthing pool (if it is available- only one in the Coombe) and gas and air.
The epidural is my last choice for now but as this is my first I'm really going to go with the flow and see how things pan out. I might well end up demanding the epidural within seconds of arriving at the hospital.

Chip Whitley · 11-09-2014 10:04am

My partner was given a TENS machine on our first by the midwife as her contractions were getting very painful and she did find it a relief for a while. It helped her concentrate on something other than the pain too, so it helped that way too. She still got the epidural (topped up twice iirc) and the labour was a long one.

On our second she had dilated loads without even knowing and when we got to the hospital things happened very fast, no time for the TENS, the midwives said an epidural would slow down the process so she went without. As the evening went on she was in a lot of pain, way more than the first birth and started asking for the epidural but the midwives talked her out of it, they gave her the gas instead and the birth was over a LOT quicker and immediately after she was glad she went without.

Good luck with whatever you decide OP!

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 11-09-2014 11:31am

The epi actually speeded my labour up, I went from 5cm to 9cm within an hour of getting it

I hated not being able to move and being stuck in bed afterwards though. I was like you Penney and was glad that I ended up keeping an open mind because it worked out for the best in the end.

By the sounds of it, the tens machine would probably end up annoying the crap out of me. I hate niggly twingey sensations and I prefer to focus and breath through the contractions instead of being distracted from them (I gave out to my poor oh for trying to hold my hand during them because it was breaking my concentration

)

SmokeyEyes · 13-09-2014 12:17am

I used it during early stages of labour in June, found it great for the first while but as my waters were broken things ramped up quite quickly and I found a point where it couldn't counteract the pain anymore. Had gas and air for a bit and finally an epidural although I was pretty much fully dilated at that stage. It's great for early labour and for me personally, the epidural was amazing!

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 13-09-2014 11:26am

The relief the epi gave was brilliant and I would opt for it again in a heartbeat if it weren't for the after effects. I hated the catheter and not being able to get out of bed afterwards and I was in a lot of pain with my back that probably wouldn't have been as bad if I had been able to labour in a different position and to feel what I was doing when I was pushing. There was a woman on my ward who was taken down the day after I had my baby, it was her 4th baby and she literally walked down to the labour suite, gave birth after 5 hours with just gas and air, walked back up to the post natal ward and hopped into the shower while her husband minded the baby and within an hour she was surrounded by visitors as if she had just walked to the neighbours house for a cuppa and a chat :eek: She is literally my childbirth idol

SmokeyEyes · 13-09-2014 11:36am

Zackary Sticky Pinprick wrote: »

The relief the epi gave was brilliant and I would opt for it again in a heartbeat if it weren't for the after effects. I hated the catheter and not being able to get out of bed afterwards and I was in a lot of pain with my back that probably wouldn't have been as bad if I had been able to labour in a different position and to feel what I was doing when I was pushing. There was a woman on my ward who was taken down the day after I had my baby, it was her 4th baby and she literally walked down to the labour suite, gave birth after 5 hours with just gas and air, walked back up to the post natal ward and hopped into the shower while her husband minded the baby and within an hour she was surrounded by visitors as if she had just walked to the neighbours house for a cuppa and a chat :eek: She is literally my childbirth idol

Haha that's brilliant! My epi was great in that I could still feel the sensation of contractions and could still move around a bit! Mine lasted just long enough but id say at the three hour mark it started to fade a little so I could feel some pain when I was getting stitches after! I do now get tenderness and pain In lower back that feels different to prepregnancy life though!

peter1892 · 13-09-2014 11:24pm

My OH used a TENS during labour - she said it made a huge difference. This was after her waters broke, for about 12 hours in total, it took the edge off the contractions. After 12 hours she went for the epidural though.

73trix · 14-09-2014 9:36pm

This is a silly question but what if alone at pre labour stage? Has anyone managed to put tens machine on themselves?? If it starts during the daytime and OH still at work, could waiting over an hour for him to get home...

otwb · 15-09-2014 1:36pm

I hired one so they send it out a couple of weeks before your due date and then you have (I think) 10 days after delivery to send it back. I think that it helped in that there was no way I was taking it off to check if things were more painful without it! My other half worked the controls and it gave us both something to distract us.

I got through an induction on the TENS and then gas and air so it must have done something

SmokeyEyes · 18-09-2014 2:22pm

73trix wrote: »

This is a silly question but what if alone at pre labour stage? Has anyone managed to put tens machine on themselves?? If it starts during the daytime and OH still at work, could waiting over an hour for him to get home...

Yeah first contractions are usually very manageable so you should be able to get them on with a bit of fiddling!

Penny Dreadful · 24-09-2014 12:22pm

My baby was born just over a week ago and I used one for a few hours in early labour. It certainly did help both in terms of taking the edge off the pain and also because it made me feel that I was doing something to manage things- it may sound silly but being able to decide when to press the button made me feel in charge even a little.
I'd say over all it worked for me for about 2 to 3 hours. Maybe they last longer for other people I don't know but my labour did progress very quickly so that probably affected the duration for which the TENS was going to help.
I'm glad I had it and would use it again.

SmokeyEyes · 24-09-2014 1:31pm

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

My baby was born just over a week ago and I used one for a few hours in early labour. It certainly did help both in terms of taking the edge off the pain and also because it made me feel that I was doing something to manage things- it may sound silly but being able to decide when to press the button made me feel in charge even a little.
I'd say over all it worked for me for about 2 to 3 hours. Maybe they last longer for other people I don't know but my labour did progress very quickly so that probably affected the duration for which the TENS was going to help.
I'm glad I had it and would use it again.

Yeah mine was very fast too so probably only got an hour out of it but I agree having the button to press makes you feel like you're in charge of the contraction and that you have something to alleviate it, then after that it was onto the big guns, gas and air and then the epidural!:D

Has anyone used a tens machine during labour?

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