Did anyone else swell up as a result of Gas & Air ?

[Leoness]

When giving birth to ds I caned the gas & air as I had some plan of a mostly natural childbirth and didn't want epidural (I feel differently about that now I've actually been through it without one! - different discussion) Anyway I'm sure the G&A made me and ds swell up causing him to get stuck and eventually leading to a forceps delivery.
Has anyone else had a similar possibly allergic reaction to the Entenox? As if it is the reason he and I was so bloated why don't we have any warning of this side effect?

[hoolagirl]

No and i've never heard of it either (which goes for nothing).
Had gas and air and pethidine.

[lulumama]

the G&A does not cross the placenta and is exhaled, so i doubt it is in your body long enough to cause swelling , but i might be wrong

where do you think you swelled up? your pelvis? and you say the baby was swelled up? was this mentioned by the midwife or doctor?

[lulumama]

only side effects i know of are nausea and light headedness...

what position did you give birth in? did you push for a long time ? what position was baby in? these things are possibly more likely to indicate why you needed forceps delivery

[Leoness]

My face and legs I noticed to be swollen up and ds had caput (sp?) on top of his head so ventouse wouldn't stick.

I was standing for a lot of my labour - I gave birth 24 hrs after my waters broke. I was so tired and out of it on the G&A that I didn't get the urge to push. At some point I was told to push and also told to be on my back which was against all my preconceived ideas. ds was the right way around.

It's only after I got home and thought about the whole thing that I arrived at the question whether it was the G&A that caused the swelling.

[lulumama]

legs can be swollen in late pregnancy anyway , due to more fluid and the weight of the pregnancy

a caput is a swelling on the babies head, but it is caused by being squeezed during labour...if the baby is not moving down , the swelling can be more pronounced...all babies tend to have some degree of moulding of the head at birth...

also, if you were tired and in an uncomfortable position and lying down, then you are pushing against gravity and that is most likely why you needed some help delivering

a long labour can mean more swelling, but that is not to do with G&A..

if you have lingering doubts about the birth and why things happened the way they did, you should see if you can go through your notes with the midwife x

[Leoness]

Thank you lulumama. I think you are probably right esp. as I spent a lot of time on my feet. But I did seem to myself almost comically swollen - perhaps that was the G&A abuse causing hallucination?
x

[lulumama]

G&A can certainly make you out of it. and say very silly things, and you are not always thinking straight in labour anyway, with or without G&A!!