My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Childbirth

Pethidine

37 replies

Rachie1986 · 01/11/2018 22:30

I'm 35w pregnant.
With my first child nearly 5yrs ago, j had gas&air and pethidine. Worked a wonder! Now a couple of friends have mentioned that they avoided pethidine because it can make babies restless for a few days? My research online can't find anything to back this up. My hospital doesn't offer many other alternatives, so it would probably have to be an epidural and that would mean labour ward not birth centre. So has anyone heard anything about these issues with pethidine or had that experience?

OP posts:
Report
Santaisgettingbusy · 01/11/2018 22:33

I had pethidine with my first dc. Had to stay in a week as she was too drowsy to feed efficiently. Never had pain relief with the rest.
Left after 6 hours generally.
Def would not recommend it.

Report
PennyMordauntsLadyBrain · 01/11/2018 22:35

I had it with dd.

It was amazing at the time, but then when she was born she was very drowsy and just wouldn’t latch at the breast. We never did get it sorted and I ff her- I’ll always wonder if it was because of the pethidine.

Report
CharlieandLolaCat · 01/11/2018 22:46

My understanding is that it depends how soon after you have it the baby is born as it can cross the placenta.

I was given it at about 6am and didn't have my DS until 10pm so not a problem but from middayish they gave me an epidural instead as my labour had progressed.

Report
CharlieandLolaCat · 01/11/2018 22:48

Naha! Knew I wasn't making this up!

www.motherandbaby.co.uk/amp/pregnancy-and-birth/birth/labour-and-birth/pethidine-the-labour-pain-relief-for-you

Have a look in the section on whether this is right for you.

I was really reluctant to take it but honestly, for me it was a godsend and then I slept through most of my later stages of labour after the epidural .... if I were to do it again (highly unlikely in my situation ) I would take ALL the drugs!

Report
NotUmbongoUnchained · 01/11/2018 22:49

I had 2 lots and I was high as a fucking kite. I asked my husband who he was.

Report
cablewable · 01/11/2018 22:51

Had it twice and was like beautiful magic! Last one I was too far gone and had to have something else morphine something? And I spent most of the time whilst it was working hallucinating about seagulls and thought my husband had gone somewhere! I would totally have pethidine again.

Report
Nix32 · 01/11/2018 22:55

I had it but probably too late - it helped with the pain but made my baby very sleepy. The midwife had mentioned this but I hadn't realised the effects would last for days! Didn't have it the next time.

Report
meow1989 · 01/11/2018 22:57

I love pethadine! Had it with DS (once at 2am, again at 11am and DS not born until past midnight (had epidural for the rest of it). DS was fine. I think it's an "old fashioned" drug according to a midwife I know but she also rated it highly.

Report
Taylor22 · 01/11/2018 23:14

I would personally never use pethidine.

When I was on the post natal ward with DS it was just me. Out of 8 beds I was alone. Then at night they brought another woman in. They put her opposite me and we smiled but didn't talk as we were both exhausted.

Not half an hour later I look over and she's got a weird look on her face as she's holding the baby under its arms.
Then she hits the alarm above her bed.
Nurses rushed in and started working on him and then took them both away.

When one of them cake over to me later I asked if he was Ok and he was he'd transferred to NICU.

Apparently the pethidine has travelled through to the baby and made him super relaxed :/

I don't know how accurate that was but it's terrified me enough to swear off it.

Report
Rachie1986 · 02/11/2018 07:39

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the experiences and advice.
Last time I had pethidine baby came a bit quicker than they expected, so was born with 3hrs of taking it. She was fine though and not at all sleepy. Obviously it makes me worried for this time though, but honestly the only alternative for my hospital seems to be an epidural Confused

OP posts:
Report
grace7 · 02/11/2018 10:30

I had pethidine, just one small dose. My son was perfect, alert and feeding well. I'd taken the pethidine around 6/7am, he was born 9:16am. Interesting to hear the varying experiences though...

Report
Charlottejade89 · 02/11/2018 15:58

I had two doses and my dd was fine but very sleepy for a day or two. She would never latch tho so I am ff, not sure if that was to do with the pethidine or not

Report
Onebiteofeverything · 02/11/2018 15:59

I had diamorphine at around 6am and baby was born at 11am. We went home the same day and had no issues feeding.

Report
Fuzzyduck21 · 02/11/2018 16:19

Had it with DS1. Instantly regretted it as I was out of it. Bany was very sleepy for one or two days which negatively impacted on bfing and we weren't successful. Ds2 just had gas and air (honestly it's easier 2nd time if no issues!) and he fed immediately and was very alert. I'd never have it again x

Report
HauntedPencil · 02/11/2018 20:21

I didn't like the feeling of being out of it it gave me. I would have preferred to just crack on with an epidural i think.

I suppose it took away a chunk of the build up but I came around at around 9 CM and that was really hard.

Report
Lweji · 02/11/2018 20:25

I had pethidine during birth, but just for a few hours.

DS wasn't restless. He slept for hours the few weeks after birth.

No impact on breastfeeding. Except that the breasts engorged massively during the 4 hours he wasn't feeding. Ouch!

Not sure anecdotal evidence will help you. :)

Report
Stumpted88 · 02/11/2018 20:28

I had it, but as soon as the MW administrated it my DS I needed to do an almighty push and DS crowned!

I had a very quick labour, so will probably chose it again (if I ever get pregnant), 9 minutes I was in the delivery suite!

Report
Tronkmanton · 02/11/2018 20:32

I had pethidine to try & stop premature labour at 28 weeks. It didn’t work! The only effect it had was a shocking great bruise on my arse cheek (matched perfectly with the bruise on my other arse cheek where steroids were injected) due to the rather inept student midwives that administered it. Sadly no pain killing/hallucinogenic effects Grin

Report
Gorbie · 02/11/2018 20:35

I wouldn't ever use it again (not that I'm having any more children) my son was born at 35+6, very quick labour. I was given it at around 1am and he was then born at 3.34am floppy un-responsive not breathing but with a pulse, spent the next 24hrs on a ventilator and 10 days following in SCBU, he's a strapping 12 yr old now thou!! The next 2 babies I had I refused it and just had gas and air x

Report
BertieBotts · 02/11/2018 20:35

You are supposed to only be offered it if you're a few hours from delivery. If you have it too close to the baby being born they can struggle to breathe and be too sleepy to feed.

That's clinical guidance and I wouldn't pay attention to other things saying babies are unsettled etc - seems like more of an old wives' tale.

I'm not sure what you mean though about no other options - I thought that those three - gas and air, opiates, epidural - are the only three forms of pain relief usually available? There is fentanyl but it isn't approved by NICE I don't think so you can't get it in the UK unless I am mistaken.

Report
BertieBotts · 02/11/2018 20:38

I will add the one thing I learned from birth number 2 was that if something worked in birth number 1, don't sack it off for some half hearted reason!! I had my first in the UK and my second in another country and gas and air is very hard to find here. I had the choice of one hospital which offers it but is very "medical" or other hospitals which did not and I (stupidly) chose the one without because I didn't want to have a needle sited for a drip Confused it made such a massive difference and I found it much harder to cope without. I wish I had thought about the pain relief first and foremost.

Report
Notso · 02/11/2018 20:41

I had it for pain relief when I had a PE in my first pregnancy it made me really really sick. I had several doses. I didn't really like the way it made me feel, DH visited and I was drooling and staring at an upside down magazine! It did kill the chest pain though.

I originally said in labour I didn't want it but the midwife kept asking, she said it probably wouldn't make me sick again. I was knackered and wasn't sure how bad things would get so I accepted and was sick as a dog again.
DD was sleepy on the first few days but fed fine.
Refused pethadine in my other three births, had gas and air or nothing.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

bridgetjonesmassivepants · 02/11/2018 20:47

Pethidine is awful stuff. I only had it because I was refused an epidural and got to the stage in a very long labour where I was crying with the pain. Gas and air has never worked for me so pethidine was given. I was totally out of it and hallucinating, it was not a pleasant experience. Luckily it wore off in time for the actual birth.

DH is a doctor and very much against pethidine as he has seen too many babies come out floppy and blue as a result of the drug. It does cross the placenta and some babies have to be given a drug to reverse its effects. Not a suitable pain relief drug for labour.

Report
Lweji · 02/11/2018 20:55

I'm not sure what you mean though about no other options - I thought that those three - gas and air, opiates, epidural - are the only three forms of pain relief usually available?

I was offered a warm bath, but I couldn't stand being on my back. I could only manage pain on my hands and knees, so it didn't work.

Some people use a TENS machine.

During birth, exH massaged my lower back, which also helped, although it's not strictly pain relief. :)

Report
Mesmeri · 02/11/2018 20:57

I never got anything, not even gas & air (they don't seem to have it where I am, or maybe it's just for special occasions..) with any of my 3. But I have been pretty lucky/straightforward - only about 4 or 5 hours each time from the first contraction to the delivery. Presumably if it had gone on longer they'd have offered me something...

Before the 1st one I went to a lecture on pain relief. The 3 options at that hospital were, I think, epidural, remifentanil or pethidine. I signed up for remifentanil but like I say, never got any.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.