Radio 4 just now, woman in labour 'given paracetamol' for labour pain!

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just

I was in a birthing pool within minutes of arriving at the hospital at 8cm dilated. Given pethidine, didn't help. Gas and air made me throw up and when it all ground to a halt off for an epidural and ventous. I refuse nothing but blows although I can't see me accepting paracetamol for that level of pain!

I have never seen a lovely birth on one born every minute. Only ever seen boundaries being crushed, women being spoken over, being put onto a bed and stared at, being touched without permission, being spoken to like children and no informed consent discussions shown, having tons of examinations and no privacy. Although with the latter maybe that’s not their priority if they agree to be on TV.

I was refused G&A and given two paracetamol in an NHS hospital far into labour with my second. They assumed I was in the early stages only but didn't check or hang around to observe.

I just had a third, an induced birth, in France. No paracetamol. They found some G&A for me for the final (absolutely agonising) hour but on my notes it says "no analgesia" because here they don't think it counts as pain relief!! (Everyone has an epidural and they thought I was crackers not to.)

I only had paracetamol, I also immediately vommed it back up so basically had nothing. I actually wasn’t keen on anything stronger and I knew the paracetamol was pointless but it does work as a bit of a placebo and you convince yourself you’re feeling a bit better once you’ve had it. There’s no harm in offering it as a first choice as long as the women who aren’t coping are also then offered something stronger

@EtonMessy I agree re IV paracetamol but that's not what they give you ime, it's 2 pills at a point in labour (for me at least) when I don't think I was absorbing anything via my stomach as every time I tried to eat or drink I threw up. So pretty useless.

@ilovebagpuss i had exactly your experience in the Royal Free. I don't think central london saves you!

It’s not just that women have different pain thresholds- some women are built physically different to others. I’ve recently discovered that I have a tilted cervix. My labour was agonising from the moment it started. There was no difference from 2cm -6cm: it was excruciating. I didn’t even feel them put the needle in for the epidural because it was nothing in comparison. I was vomiting so much that by the time they actually addressed me I was suffering from kidney failure from dehydration. I finally stopped vomiting once the epidural kicked in. If they’d left me to carry on without the appropriate pain relief then I don’t know what would’ve happened. They only realised there was an issue with me after monitoring the baby’s heart rate!

Yep, I was offered 2 paracetamol and told to 'get to some' when contracting every minute. Poor little first time mum, she can't POSSIBLY be in labour.

Was later offered G&A but was far too late for it to do anything - I had her 10 mins later.

If men were the 'birthing people':

• Epidurals and/or c-sections would be offered routinely
• Midwives would be the highest-paid in the hospital
• Labour generally would be treated with the same seriousness, pain relief and care as the same pain for any other reason

I wouldn’t have been able to ‘give const’ in labour if my life depended on it. I was in so many pain I couldn’t think let alone talk or make decisions. It’s a false economy because what sounds like ‘informed decision making’ is actually putting a woman on the spot to make a medical decision which she is not trained to do, when she’s in a lot of pain and stress. I’m happy to trust professionals to look after me.

I saw the documentary on maternity scandal in the U.K., and while there were some clear cases of shoddy care, there was one case of a lady who was an older mum whose last baby was an EMCS. She had chosen (against advice) to have a home birth, which went very sadly wrong and the baby died after a rushed transfer and another EMCS. Her complaint was that medical staff didn’t ‘take control’ of her situation. Now I can see what she meant, but I’m going against medical advice having ‘informed herself of the risks’ it seemed very much to me that she had taken control of the situation. I can’t see the staff would’ve had much thanks had they trampled her birth plan and whisked her in for a c section against her wishes either.

There was another thread on here sometime ago where the poster was thinking of legal action because she decided not to transfer her baby to hospital (another home birth) after ingesting meconium and the baby became unwell. She said she was in ‘no fit state’ to make this decision after giving birth and that it ‘should’ve been taken out of her hands’.

It’s a fine line and I can see how the medical staff cannot win.

I had to very firmly insist that I wanted pethidine and I was thoroughly guilt tripped for asking for it.

I usually try and bring my own painkillers/medication to hospital and hide them in my bag so they don't try and take them and dispense them back to me (i.e. make me wait until several hours after I should have had the dose and having to ask seven or eight different people before someone deigned to produce them).

You would think you'd asked someone to get naked and dance the macarena from the dirty looks you get about asking for pain relief.

Don’t know if it’s a comfort or just full on rage inducing that so many other women (not birthing people!) had the same mistreatment as me. There is no end to the cruel treatment of women by the NHS; birth, periods, menopause we are expected to get on with our silly woman problems with no complaining because it’s a natural thing we go through.

This is not the fucking Middle Ages and we shouldn’t be allowed to suffer, pain is subjective and you shouldn’t be expected to just suck it up and accept the pain relief you’re offered or not at all. For some women it is sufficient but if you ask for something more powerful, your wish should be respected.

When my husband had kidney stones he got a flipping smorgasbord of pain relief. Me when I gave birth - paracetamol 🙄 then pethedine which made me projectile vomit all over myself (and my husband was left alone to clean me up by himself) then after days of nagging I finally got an epidural and they got shitty when I insisted they top it up before they shoved the ventouse up my fanjo cos apparently that’s ridiculous.

Paracetamol with ibuprofen does not even take the edge off my bad period pain. I expect early labour to be worse than my period so that would be useless for me.

2 paracetamol and then they tried to send me home. I'd been induced so refused.

Remained in pain for the next 8 hours - topped up with paracetamol and was told I couldn't have any stronger pain relief unless I was in active labour.

An hour later I demanded something stronger, so they examined me. Then they panicked because I was 6cm dilated...apparently my 'fault' because I was a quiet labourer and should have said something

I ended up with epidural and ventouse because DC became distressed and I was exhausted. Almost ended with a c-section. I delivered in stirrups with around 15 people in the room. Had flashbacks for a long time afterwards.

My experience was that they didn't listen and had a 'we know best' approach to the first time mum. Very different experience with my next two births where I felt more able (and confident enough) to make my voice hea.rd

It's great in early labour, but an effective painkiller for active and the late stages of labour it is absolutely not. Its just a shambles, the gas and air issue has been known about and research has been published literally decades ago- yet many trusts did nothing about it. Not sure why its suddenly come to a head without any sort of transition plan or sense of urgency in providing a viable alternative (acknowledging there's a shortage of anaesthetic staff so even if women were happy with an epidural etc there's not enough people to facilitate that rise in demand), but it's outrageous. Of course they need to protect staff but what about women?

GET SOME SLEEP*. No idea what happened there

I was given a huge amount of codeine to medically manage a MMC at home and told not to let myself be in any pain. Made me laugh as it was so far from my labour experience when I was given no pain relief after a forceps delivery.

That happened to me 22 years ago!

Yes, not 'womb havers' or some such nonsense.

Congratulations...

I listened to this segment in astonishment - not for the obvious reasons (I had no idea that gas and air is problematic for HCPs) but because nobody offered paracetamol as an option with either of my births. I was very fortunate that both were pretty straightforward - I was keen for them to be as 'natural' as possible and as it turned out I managed without anything other than some water - but whilst gas and air was mentioned several times as a possibility if I needed it, I don't recall anything else being suggested. I probably would have laughed if it had been, but it's still good to have all your options explained.

I was given suppositories when I went home early after my c section! (How was I supposed to insert those!) , my busting midwife was very angry and got me the proper painkillers, I should note I went home early because they gave me paracetamol, even though I pointed out that due to my scoliosis I normally have much , much stronger painkillers normally and hadn't had any because of pregnancy and worrying about baby being affected. So I was already in pain before labour or operation.
And they refused to bring me food and said patients were supposed to go and get it themselves!!

@Staffielove23 several studies now show the removal of gendered language in maternal care is associated with poorer outcomes for women

Because language like that is degrading. We have a perfectly good and dignified word ‘woman’. Men don’t get called ejaculators do they?

Maternity care is just abysmal. Don’t get me wrong the midwives looking after me were fantastic but apart from that it was just shit.

I had an emergency c section, I asked to leave the next day as in a quiet ward I was getting no help from midwifes with baby or personal care (covid times), I was still in a lot of pain yet they tried to fob me off with paracetamol. I fought for stronger pain relief, I got it but I know the midwife was likely rolling her eyes.

The midwife profession is a sorry state

Some of the midwives looking after me were fantastic. I remember one in particular who was a complete force of nature. She would turn up for her shift, having already read all your notes since her last one, query you on everything that had happened, and if you had any issues she dealt with them right there and then. I was in agony after a huge episiotomy, struggled all night trying not to cry with the midwife on duty just shrugging her shoulders ‘see how you go’. First midwife turned up, instantly found me some decent painkillers, examined my stitches and found them to be infected. Called a doctor to come and see me within the half an hour who prescribed antibiotics.

Some weren’t so brilliant, ranging from the ‘gossiping at the nurse’s station’ types who seemed thoroughly put out if you approached them for something, to the ones who looked disgusted if you asked them anything relating to stitches or similar one or two were almost like surly teenagers doing work experience.