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Original poster

Off your head in labour and....

67 replies

biscuiteer · 22/07/2023 21:54

...this happens ( insert your experience here): 'You see yourself floating mid air outside the hospital window looking in at yourself in the delivery room' 'among other stuff.
It was 10 years ago. The memory just popped into my head tonight and I realised that I've never questioned whether that is a normal labour experience when you're day 2-3 of an induced labour, on a drip, given diamorphine, gas and air. Wild..
What fuckery happened to you on all the drugs?

OP posts:
Maltybiscuit · 22/07/2023 22:15

Everything was green , the walls , the clock , the midwives , the toilet , all my notes were written in green pen, DH looked Shrek coloured, it was weird so very weird.

KeepingKeepingOn · 22/07/2023 22:24

I was given pethidine and some awful, nightmarish reaction to it - I went out of body and was staring down at myself, terrified, feeling unable to communicate how much agony I was in. I ripped DH’s shirt collar because I grabbed it so hard trying to get him as close to my mouth as possible so he could hear me, but apparently
I wasn’t speaking, was just staring at him, wild-eyed! Absolutely horrific - had no drugs apart from gas for the next birth and that was much better.

Original poster
biscuiteer · 22/07/2023 23:53

Shiit. What the fuck. We're in labour and we're tripping our tits off.

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DogSitterMum · 22/07/2023 23:58

I had pethidine and gas and air. I saw a gnu at the door and it was singing ‘I’m a gnu and I’m coming the noo’ over and over again. I only had gas and air with my second child I was too scared to have anything else after that experience.

decaffonlypls · 23/07/2023 00:20

Yes this was me. Had some gas and air, then pethidine. I floated to the ceiling and watched my self writhing in agony whilst being talked down to by the 'professionals'

decaffonlypls · 23/07/2023 00:21

It was weird how I could see exactly what was happening from the outside. Next two births totally natural

pinksquash13 · 23/07/2023 00:25

My epidural went in too far. At that moment I had a completely psychedelic moment. I was on a roulette table and everything was repeating..."Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, wait, wait, wait, baby, baby, baby". I thought I'd died and was being resuscitated. Terrifying

QueenFlamingo · 23/07/2023 00:30

I had just gas & air for all 3 DC so I'm boring! But I'm following along because I love reading these Grin

DramaAlpaca · 23/07/2023 00:32

I was off my tits on gas and air (which I loved) and shrieking that I wanted to go home.

This was DC3 and I was having a planned home birth...

Mummy08m · 23/07/2023 00:33

I was completely lucid throughout my horrific induction where I never progressed dilating...

But I had one ok moment. I finally "gave in" and accepted gas and air - I'd declined all pain relief for the first 24h in hospital due to a combination of irrational fear and pigheadedness, I was afraid it'd knock me out or make me hallucinate which scares me - Dh was watching anxiously and asked if it made anything better. I said, truthfully, no, I could still feel every contraction like before.

Then I started giggling uncontrollably like I was a drunk teenager. I was still in pain but it was funny. Gas and air is fab. I can see why people take it for fun

AbacusAvocado · 23/07/2023 00:34

Decided to go home for a break and said I’d come back in a few days to have the baby, think I was about 8cm by then.

neilyoungismyhero · 23/07/2023 00:35

I kept telling the midwife there was something in between my legs...she advised it was my baby in quite a shocked voice

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 23/07/2023 00:35

I had a great time!

I had diamorphine and slept between contractions. I had really vivid dreams which I love anyways, like watching a wee action film or something. I think me and my baby were on the run or something. Apparently I kept telling DH to duck and hide.

FuppingEll · 23/07/2023 00:39

The point where I was wondering why the fuck the Dr was dressed as a clown was the point where I decided to stop taking gas and air. For a while I had noticed things starting to take a circusy turn but seeing the Dr with his wig and red nose kind of snapped me out of it. I hate feeling out of control so tripping balls whilst giving birth was not for me.

IamAlso4eels · 23/07/2023 00:41

AbacusAvocado · 23/07/2023 00:34

Decided to go home for a break and said I’d come back in a few days to have the baby, think I was about 8cm by then.

I did that too! Told them I'd had enough for that day so I was going and that I'd come back tomorrow to finish it off, I even told DH to get my coat "right now!" (I hadn't even brought a coat with me).

At one point I had it in my head that I was at work and kept telling DH he was going to get me trouble with my manager for being there.

I was exhausted by the end (three day labour) and was passing out asleep in between contractions then getting really grumpy at being woken up when the next contraction started. It was the contractions waking me up but I kept assuming it was DH waking me up.

HerAvatar · 23/07/2023 00:42

I'm a bit jealous of some of these! Bastards wouldn't give me any drugs so I did the whole bloody thing (back to back labour, third degree tear and an episiotomy) on 2 paracetamol I'd taken before leaving home Sad Didn't even get to try the gas and air and not sure DH has ever forgiven me, think he was hoping for a cheeky go when the midwife wasn't looking!

Millsa · 23/07/2023 00:43

Asked DP why there was a horse in the room with us (there obviously wasn’t) I also said to him that I’m going to FaceTime my mum to see baby and he told me that I had literally just done that 20 minutes ago…could not remember doing that and still don’t to this day

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 23/07/2023 00:43

HerAvatar · 23/07/2023 00:42

I'm a bit jealous of some of these! Bastards wouldn't give me any drugs so I did the whole bloody thing (back to back labour, third degree tear and an episiotomy) on 2 paracetamol I'd taken before leaving home Sad Didn't even get to try the gas and air and not sure DH has ever forgiven me, think he was hoping for a cheeky go when the midwife wasn't looking!

Why didn't you get anything???

IamAlso4eels · 23/07/2023 00:43

I had no drugs. I was offered drugs but was a bit belligerent by that point and said I didn't want anything from anyone and wanted to be left alone. I had a few whiffs of gas and air then totally forgot it existed. I was tripping balls on pain, hormones and exhaustion.

Purpleblob · 23/07/2023 00:46

on gas and air and was convinced the midwives was talking French and I was merrily chatting to them in French. I literally know no French and was l t really talking as so out of it!

OneMoreCookieMonster · 23/07/2023 00:50

Pethidine the first time and everything had an aura. Was very nice.

Second time...it didn't even touch the sides

toomuchlaundry · 23/07/2023 00:51

@IamAlso4eels I thought I was at work too, starting talking about my boss, at which point they decided I’d better come off the gas and air!

Guiltyfeethavegotnorhythm0 · 23/07/2023 00:55

IamAlso4eels · 23/07/2023 00:41

I did that too! Told them I'd had enough for that day so I was going and that I'd come back tomorrow to finish it off, I even told DH to get my coat "right now!" (I hadn't even brought a coat with me).

At one point I had it in my head that I was at work and kept telling DH he was going to get me trouble with my manager for being there.

I was exhausted by the end (three day labour) and was passing out asleep in between contractions then getting really grumpy at being woken up when the next contraction started. It was the contractions waking me up but I kept assuming it was DH waking me up.

Show quote history

Me too , totally changed my mind about having a baby and wanted to go home . I think it's quite common .

MetalRat · 23/07/2023 01:15

For my first, gas and air after being induced on syntocinon (too pigheaded for epidural.. v v bad idea…) - floated to the ceiling to witness myself in third person wailing my head off, zoomed out again to see the whole scene from above within a video editing software window. I’m calmly looking at the screen, scrubbing forward and back in time through the footage of my awful labour, first in slow-mo then super fast forward to the moment my DC arrives, which I witness first through the editing screen and then for the “second time” in the actual delivery room. straight out of a Hunter S Thompson scene… 🤯😬

second DC had to be induced on the synto again… sensibly took the epidural and had a lovely calm delivery 🥰

HerAvatar · 23/07/2023 01:26

SliceOfCakeCupOfTea · 23/07/2023 00:43

Why didn't you get anything???

Show quote history

Combination of things, only 3 hours between arriving at hospital and delivery, awful midwife who insisted a bath was better than drugs and then disappeared to run it and didn't come back for almost 2 hours. By that time I'd descended into some kind of primal state, no break between contractions (found out later DD was back to back) and just curled up in a ball of pain. Then MW wanted to check me and attach monitors to see how DD was doing and promised gas and air when that was done but found I was 10cm and DD was in distress so then it was a mad dash to get her out and presumably too late for drugs.

Tbh no one seemed to give a shit about me or how much pain I was in, MW shouted at me at one point that I wasn't pushing hard enough and did I want my baby to die. The real kicker was they gave me a spinal to stitch me up afterwards, fat lot of good it was by then! Oh and then there were the lovely pair of (male, obviously) consultants who popped by 2 hours later to quickly scan my chart and say 'you do realise you'll likely be doubly incontinent from now on' before dropping my chart back and leaving again. I was on the ward for two days after that and the only food I got was what DH brought in at visiting time, I don't think anyone spoke to me the whole time I was there until discharge. The whole thing was bloody awful from start to finish so it seems very unfair I didn't even get any decent drugs out of it!

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