Epidural

Orlaithc9

Just something I dont think was mentioned in the thread yet about the epi...After having it I found I went extermely cold. My feet were like ice blocks and I was shivering so much

Moonbeam

I avoided it but wish I had known how to use gas and air better:)
I wouldn't get it unless I actually needed it for an emergency c section or similar.

fi1979

I'd be planning the same as hacked, not definately opting for it unless I really feel I need it. I have started researching the tens machines, they don't seem expensive from what I saw on ebay, and have other uses too, so not just for the labour!:D

angeldelight

You can also rent the TENS - I know Boots do it, I'm sure other places do too

houseman

ok i have to ask, whats a TENS machine?

foxy06

I've had 3 labours one with epidural and 2 without. Both times I went without I was screaming for it but didn't get it in time so had to do without. These labours were much faster and I felt a lot better after and could leave the hospital a lot quicker than I could have if I had had the epi.

My advice would be don't go into the hospital planning on having the epi. If you really really need it get it but you might be able to manage without and you will feel a lot better after baby is born and you will be more mobile. There are no medals for going without though so if you or the midwife thinks it may be a long haul you can decide then whether to get it or not.

All the best girls!

crazy cat lady

houseman wrote: »

ok i have to ask, whats a TENS machine?

Its a little machine that has pads attached to it which stick on your back and send little electric pulses through. Its supposed to intercept the pain from the contraction and stop it travelling up the spine to the brain to be acknowledged.

For some women it works really well, especially in early labour. I've bought one, think it was about 25 sterling (got it half price while I was in England), but I do know that there are a few places that hire them out.

If you do buy one, make sure its a TENS machine for labour. These ones come with the boost button whereas not all of them do

bogtotty

I rented a TENS maching from Medicare - they deliver it to you 2 weeks before your due date and send it back after - it's one of the most recommended models. I can't give any feedback though, my labour kicked off fairly quickly and dramatically and I completely forgot I even had the damned thing! Don't get the M0thercare one, I hear the sticky pads have a tendency to fall off. The trick is to start using it the minute your labour begins, as it works by sort of tricking your brain into thinking the contractions don't really exist. If you wait until the contractions have become hot and heavy there's no fooling even the most gullible of brains...

Back to the OP, if you do decide to go with gas & air rather than epi, make sure you do loads of breathing technique practice beforehand, as it makes G&A a much more effective method of pain relief. Get your birth person onside too, so that if you feel you want the epi during the labout they get you to wait another 5 mins, by which time you might have decided you can manage without after all.

hacked

Like I said, I'm going to put the epi down on my birth plan, but wait to see if I will really need it. I could hack the pain if it were a shorter labour!
I do want to use the gas and air anyway though part of it makes me nervous. A lot of my friends got stoned off their faces on it and some weren't allowed hold their babies after because the doctors thought they would drop them!! Is this common? I don't want to be denied my baby!

Vel

eviltwin wrote: »

..couldnt have done it without them

You might think this is the case but you can ! I opted for an epidural but it didn't work at all. At the time, my whole world fell apart as I had mentally prepared myself for it and was desperate for some relief. I was so upset when we realised it wasn't working, however I then went on to have the baby without it and yes, it was hard work and a lot of pain but I did it and was glad in the end that I didn't have the epidural.

Next time around, I hope to go through it without getting an epidural. Its hard to stop yourself from asking for it but definetely worth it if you can do it without

So when you feel like you really really can't go on, you actually can, as I proved to myself!

Khannie

hacked wrote: »

A lot of my friends got stoned off their faces on it and some weren't allowed hold their babies after because the doctors thought they would drop them!! Is this common? I don't want to be denied my baby!

:eek:

Never heard that before. It usually wears off very fast when you stop taking it. I tried some when the midwife left the room last time.

Vel

hacked wrote: »

I do want to use the gas and air anyway though part of it makes me nervous. A lot of my friends got stoned off their faces on it and some weren't allowed hold their babies after because the doctors thought they would drop them!! Is this common? I don't want to be denied my baby!

I didn't really get any relief from the gas and air but what I did find with it was that I used it as a focus, so when a contraction came I would kind of bite down on nozzle and scream into it! When they took it away for the pushing part I wasn't impressed!

I still had my nightdress on when I gave birth so they popped the baby on my chest inside the nightdress with his head sticking out the neck part so he was nice and safe there and of course my partner was close by to catch him if he'd fallen :D:p

hacked

Vel wrote: »

I didn't really get any relief from the gas and air but what I did find with it was that I used it as a focus, so when a contraction came I would kind of bite down on nozzle and scream into it! When they took it away for the pushing part I wasn't impressed!

I still had my nightdress on when I gave birth so they popped the baby on my chest inside the nightdress with his head sticking out the neck part so he was nice and safe there and of course my partner was close by to catch him if he'd fallen :D:p

To be honest with you, thats the main reason I want it. I don't think i will get any releif from it, but it will give me some focus! Like when you have a panic attack, you breathe into a bag. When I have a contraction, I can start breathing in something too.
Glad that that does make sense!

lalalulu

I didn't get any relief from the gas and air. I was light headed and could hear everyone's voices like an echo, it freaked me out. My sis in law has had three kids and went without the epi on all three just used gas and air and found it great.. It depend's on the person and how you handle pain...I also used the ten's machine in early labour and found it good but once i got to the hospital i got no relief from it at all.. It's definitely worth a try though.. I would highly recommend getting in the bath or shower if it's possible i had babs in holles st and the midwife suggested i get in the shower with the birthing ball. I wish i could of stayed in there for the whole labour, i got so much relief from the water.. Unfortunately it wasn't practicul to give birth in a shower

bogtotty

fi1979 wrote: »

Do long labours run in the family, or is it just that everyone is different?

I don't know, I'd say everyone is different, although short labours are fairly common in my family. My mum had short labours - 6 hours for the first, and hour shorter with each baby (she had 5, the last, my brother, pretty much popped out with one push). My maternal aunts were all fairly quick too, 6-12 hours max. On my dad's side they all went a bit longer. My sister was in labour for 16 hours and ended up with an emergency c-section (and is probably responsible for me being anti-epi as everything was going fine until she got it - I know this doesn't happen for everyone but I'd rather a bit of pain than the risk of major surgery). I had my ds in August (my first), 4 hours from first pang to having him in my arms.

Vel

lalalulu wrote: »

It depend's on the person and how you handle pain...

This is true. However, before I did it I would have been certain that I couldn't do it without an epi and as soon as I entered the labour ward I requested one. But in the end I could and did do it without.

So, I guess I am advising people who are in two minds about getting one and would prefer to do it without, that when you get to that point where you think that you just can't go on and that you would rather everything stopped and the baby stayed in there for ever (that did cross my mind at one stage:eek:!!), to just try to 'push' yourself that little bit more and you may just find that you can do it.

crazy cat lady

hacked wrote: »

I do want to use the gas and air anyway though part of it makes me nervous. A lot of my friends got stoned off their faces on it and some weren't allowed hold their babies after because the doctors thought they would drop them!! Is this common? I don't want to be denied my baby!

Personally never seen this happen and I've been with a lot of women in labour using it! The gas and air wears off very quickly in between contractions, and most women will stop using the gas and air whilst pushing so its had even longer to wear off.

Sometimes the gas and air is used after the baby is born if any stitches are needed, or if the placenta is being a bit tricky to deliver. In this case it wouldn't be adviseable that the mother is holding the baby. Daddy is usually getting a little cuddle while the 'tidy up' is going on anyway.

I would definately recommend perfecting your breathing technique if you are planning on using gas and air as you need to be taking long deep breaths, and during labour it can be easy to resort to short panicky breaths. I'm finding yoga great for breathing but I guess we'll see sometime very soon if its been helpful or not!

Das Kitty

Think you might be thinking of Pethadine hacked. Gas and air wears off after a few breaths and doesn't cross the placenta.

hacked

Das Kitty wrote: »

Think you might be thinking of Pethadine hacked. Gas and air wears off after a few breaths and doesn't cross the placenta.

I have no idea to be honest. I just know a friend of mine had a baby 3 months ago and she said she only had gas and air and that she was so stoned that the doc wouldn't let her hold her son!
However, she did have an incredibly short labour....2 hours 20 minutes, and she had a bit of clean up too, so maybe she just wasn't telling me all! (for which i am grateful...she terrified me!)