To still be angry that I was refused gas & air in labour?

[DigestivesWithCheese]

I gave birth to twins two weeks ago. I was booked for a c-section because I've had two previously (one for failure to progress, one elective) and was not planning to labour naturally for any length of time so I hadn't made a birth plan or discussed pain relief options.

I was 36 weeks & was in hospital being checked because I'd been having regular, 10 minute apart contractions for two days. I had an internal exam and the Dr told me that my cervix was closed, long sand posterior (although it was soft), that labour was not imminent & that I could go home. Ten minutes later, my waters broke. I was on the ante-natal ward, not delivery.

Five minutes after my waters broke, I had an extremely painful contraction. They started coming 4/5 mins apart & after two of them I knew I needed pain relief and asked for gas & air. The midwife said no because I had just been checked & was not in active labour. They knew my waters had just broken. They kept coming and each one was stronger to the point where I felt like I was being tortured & electric shocks in my legs . I started to vomit with every one due to the pain.

With every contraction I made my way to the midwives office & BEGGED for gas & air. They kept saying it was too early & telling me I had to stay on my bed. After about half an hour the anaesthetist arrived to do a pre-op, so I begged him instead! He said that he didn't mind at all if I had gas & air and he went to talk to the midwives. They said I was allowed pethidine instead - this made me dizzy but it didn't touch the pain.

My DH arrived & found me on my own, vomiting & unable to speak, with contractions every 3/4 minutes. I was on a ward with other women who were waiting to he induced so it can't have been pleasant for them! The pain was completely out of control & I can still remember it quite clearly. DH went to speak to the midwives & they agreed to call a Dr.

When the Dr arrived, it was two hours after my waters had broken. She checked me & I was 6/7 cm and then I was told I could have the gas & air while they got me ready for the c-section! By this time, I was so out of my mind with the pain that the gas & air didn't even help. The half hour while waiting to go to theatre was horrendous and I was fighting anyone who tried to touch me . I had gas & air when I was in early labour with my son & it was brilliant. I believe if I'd been given it when I first asked, I could have stopped the fear & pain building up so much and I would have been able to stay on control for much longer.

I know it was only 2 hours that I was refused for but I am still thinking about it every day! Knowing that they had it there but were refusing to give it to me was just horrible and I felt totally helpless. The midwife kept saying that she would get into trouble if she gave it to me "too early" but it was so obvious I was in labour that I find it hard to believe that. They kept telling me that I needed to calm down . It just seems so for patients to be left in pain, in a hospital when they are asking for pain relief that could help.

YANBU I went through similar, induction and they refused to check me for hours after they told me I was 1 & 1/2 cm, refused any pain relief and the lights turned off and told to sleep. I was also left in a puddle of waters as a midwife refused to change the bed again as it had only just been changed. I had gone to 10cm quickly and was pushing in the bed on my own, I wish so much I had put a complaint in when it happened it still makes me upset now, but its now too late as my Daughter is 10 months, please put in a complaint, things need to change and that may be the only way when people speak up!

I can't believe, reading this thread, how many people have had similar experiences. I went into labour on ante natal at night & was going to see the midwives regularly & being told to go back to bed. When she finally came "to see if I was in labour" I was 7cm. Why is it that midwives on these wards want to dismiss women in this state instead of checking them or offering help? X

Get a debrief, read it thoroughly, then go to PALS if you think that they are fudging the issue. I think you've been treated terribly.

That sounds horribe, definitely complain, and mention names in the complaint if you can remember any.

If it makes you feel any better, I tried gas and air during my labour, and it did absolutely nothing except make me vomit more frequently, and i actually found it easier doing it naturally after about half an hour of trying to make the gas and air work, so you might not have missed out, espeically if that injection didn't even work for you!

And congrats on the twins!

COMPLAIN. It is the only thing that works. Trust me, I have family and friends working in the NHS and they assure me this is the case. You will find it is always the same wankers who get wards a bad name and the decent staff will be as pissed off with them as the patients.

And what the hell is wrong with midwifery that so many people are having such horrendous experiences with MWs? Bollocks to the 'understaffing' - the MWs in my local hospital always had time for a chat amongst themselves at reception while we had to wait for pain relief etc. I had a couple of nice MWs, the others were self-satisfied twats who gave a never-ending stream of conflicting advice. They sneered at my pain post ELCS (in spite of the medical history and GD that made it necessary). The doctors were my advocates far more than the MWs. Just saw a twee advert for 'Call the MW' and could barely restrain myself from spitting at the screen. The staff I saw in gynae in early and post-pregnancy were fabulous, compassionate and professional. I felt like writing to the MWs and suggesting they make a little visit to gynae to see 'how it's done'.

But in fairness I was not actively neglected - which you were. COMPLAIN. Don't be fobbed off with whatever bollocks they tell you. COMPLAIN.

Caz it's not too late

That's just cruel and unnecessary :(. It's hardly like gas & air is expensive and they're trying to ration it.

Who gives a shit about staffing problems; hardly need to be a rocket science to work that out: for NYE you'd need, let me think, THE SAME STAFF AS EVERY OTHER NIGHT!!!

QUOTE'Do complain, for your own peace of mind and for every other woman who will labour at that hospital. its threads like this showing how common being treated like shit whilst in labour is that means I often can't sleep at the fear I'll have to go through it again"

Most of you are too young to know this but I can remember Esther Rantzen on her 'That's Life Show' doing negative features of womens' crap NHS Maternity experiences and she freely admitted that she had much better care privately. This is 1970s I am talking about, I was a child. Epidurals had only just come in then and women had to fight to get them....so sad to see how little has changed.

I think many women seek ELCS second time round precisely because of being badly treated the first time. I actually managed to get two painfree deliveries out of UK NHS in East Sussex - one was induced forceps delivery and the second was ELCS.
I never had any PND issues - it would save the NHS a lot of money in treating PND if they ensured women got the type of births they actually want, whether that be natural or an early epidural.

It saddens me but doesn't surprise me that women don't complain afterwards - do they no longer give out those questionnaires when you leave hospital. I had good care and praised the staff accordingly. The hospital I went to at the time (my local one) showed up in the DrFoster research as being one where epidurals and pain relief was freely available.

Even there though they couldn't guarantee it during the night and so I requested an ELCS second time and got one. You and your families have paid your taxes over the years and will do so in the future so for goodness sake, have a birth plan and make it very clear what you want and have someone alongside you to advocate and to act as your witness.

If she weren't still alive, for this and Jimmy Saville, Esther would be 'turning in her grave'...if men had babies, you'd get an automatic GA.

So sorry for your experience. I don't want to add to your concerns, but it seems wrong to me that there was a two hour wait to see the doctor once your waters had broken with twins, quite apart from what pain relief was available during that wait.

I hope you are getting to enjoy your little babies.

Sorry. Not read the whole thread but I have to say that your story (not directly) contributed to the reason why I waited until I was 35 before I got pregnant. I was absolutely terrified of the whole thing, especially the pain!

I feel so lucky though that my maternity unit was quite good, although the night before I was induced I was on my hands and knees in pain in the t.v. room at 2.00 am before they gave me pethidene. I ended up having an emergency CS because my baby was 11lb and too big for me to give birth naturally.

You should complain. IMO their treatment of you was horrendous! ((hugs))

YANBU. I was also denied gas and air when in labour (back to back, ended up lasting 3 days on the labour ward before they realised she was never coming out and have me an EMCS). I was given 3 doses of pethidine which made me high as a kite but didnt really help. I had ha and air on my final labour day, when they finally burst my waters and sent me to delivery suite. It helped the pain and I was a million times calmer.

If we have number two I will have an ELCS. Nobody could persuade me to go through that again, I would rather not have another child.

I honestly don't understand in this day and age when there are available drugs and advances in medical care that it is such a problem to help somebody who is in terrible pain. I was pissed off during my labour that I had to ask for gas and air (haha how naive). I was even more pissed off when they kept moving it away from me and making me ask (sorry shout) for it in-between each contraction like it was bloody rationed or something.
I think they way you have been treated is awful. I understand that midwives are professionals and have 'rules' they have to follow too but I am a great believer in people knowing their own mind and knowing what is best for their own bodies and what pain they can physically take. X

I agree Nicola80 it makes me so angry.

The other harsh reality is that G&A generally doesn't do much for someone in terrible pain, it is only really helpful in the early stages for most people. There was a load of nonsense spouted on NCT (that I imagine is the same theory the MWs are using) that you need to wait for G&A until the pain is really bad otherwise it won't have as much effect.

I personally think this rubbish, if you can keep someone calm and manage the pain in the early stages you will have a more relaxed person when they get into the later stages and can then request other pain relief if needed.

When I went to NCT classes one of the things that the leader said was that research on birth experience has shown that how you see your birth afterwards has nothing to do with how long it was or how much pain you are in but whether you felt cared for.

At the time I thought this was the biggest load of bollocks I had ever heard.

Dd's birth technically was horrific. She was back to back. Waters had to be broken. Got completely stuck. Failure to progress after 15 hours of "active" labour. Attempt at forceps delivery. Failed. Had to push her back up. Emergency C section. Severe PPH. Lost consciousness. Kicked husband out of theatre. Blood pressure barely detectable. Not able to be given morphine as it reduces respiratory system and mine was close to crashing anyway. Spent the first few hours of dd's life with a blood pressure monitor wailing regular alarms and the midwife terrified my heart was going to stop beating.

And you know what - 5 days later I described the entire thing to a terrified looking very pregnant friend and ended with "but despite all that it was a really positive experience." Admittedly I was in the post birth high but even so....

The midwives and doctors were wonderful. They looked after me so well. They fought to try to give me the birth I so wanted (natural) and when it didn't happen explained exactly why. They got the measure of my personality in minutes ("it is hurting a bit" means "I'm in screaming agony but would rather die than admit I can't cope) and encouraged me to have more pain relief. "The are no prizes for being in terrible pain - back to back is hard labour - you are going to get your beautiful baby either way".

When the midwife hugged me goodbye I didn't want to let go.

I was lucky - I think dd was born at a not particularly busy time - but that is how birth is supposed to be. (Apart from the back to back, getting stuck, failed etc etc etc.)

My soapbox subject is mw not listening to women when they are in labour, be it pain relief or that they are actually having their baby.

I know someone who had their 3 baby on their kit hen floor because they were sent home and I myself whilst no where near dramatic included not being believed both times I was in labour.

Yanbu. I was asking for gas and air to only be told "let's wait and see" no one took me seriously as only 3 hours into a first labour. I begged to be examined only to have the midwife realise that I was 9cm dilated......total labour 5 hours. Midwife didn't believe that I could feel the head / crowning either..... Surely the healthcare professionals should listen?

Do ask for the "listening" service, where they can talk you through your labour.

This happened to me, I'd been in labour for 17 hour's arrived at hospital at 5pm by which point I was in established labour. All I wanted to use was gas and air, they said it was to early and gave me pethidine instead. I was it so much pain I just agreed. I was finally allowed gas and air just after midnight that night, when I was 9cm dilated and taken to delivery suite. Two hours later my DD was born. She was in the back to back position so I was in a lot of pain. I thought it was disgusting that I was given pethidine, a drug I really didn't want and then only when I was pushing was I finally allowed gas and air. It would be interesting to know what hospital you were at as our stories are so similar.

According to the midwife who was supposed to be caring for me I was not in labour ever. Hours later, still not in labour supposedly, my face presenting posterior baby ducked her head brow to pubes to allow her delivery. 20 yrs on I remember that midwife's name along with the sod that repaired me with inadequate anaesthesia. One works locally and the other is retired. I feel very strong bitter emotions towards them. Would have fitted right in with a torturer the lack of compassion or empathy shown.

YADNBU... you've had awful treatment at an already emotional time. Definitely complain as soon as you get the chance.

Although your emotional reaction is totally understandable in the circumstances and is probably normal, please keep in mind that it is possible to suffer PTS, so that you can recognise if you need help to get past this. Being in terrible pain and fear and being denied help is awful and possibly traumatic, so if you feel you need to talk to someone about what happened, please do so, even if its sometime inthe future. Its not silly or weak.

I can't recall if anyone mentioned them but you might find support and information from the Birth Trauma Association helpful if the experience continues to trouble you.

Congratulations about becoming a mum of two newborns x

Kelli! Such a similar tale. The one pain relief I'd said I didn't want in my birth plan? Pethidine.

They treated us like cattle to be processed

Would never bother with Pethidine again, the needle hurt and I got no relief from it.

I didn't bother with a birth plan with dd2 because they obviously didn't even glance at the first one, printed it on pink paper especially too!
It clearly said in it that, I wanted as natural a birth as possible with ONLY gas & air.
I had dd2 15 months later at the same hospital so I don't think I was especially traumatized by it or anything, but it really pissed me off how they treat vulnerable women, who are scared & in incredible pain like they're feelings don't matter. It may not of happened in my case but it could easily lead to serious problems afterwards like pnd and as op said about the stress that is completely unavoidable. Wow, rant over.

Avoidable* damn tablet

Threads like this are incredible! Especially the post by the person who works in NHS complaints! These stories are truly disgusting!