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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that gas and air IS pain relief

114 replies

NancyDrewRocks · 16/12/2009 07:10

OK so it is none of my business...and no woman deserves to be judged on how she gives birth and her method of pain relief...blah...blah..blah.

But got off the phone to very proud friend who tells me how wonderful her DC's recent birth was, how amazing she was and how she did it all without pain relief and I congratulate her, tell she is fabulous and how there is no way I could have managed, she must be so proud.

I then laugh at how I almost swallowed the gas tube so desperate was to cram it in my mouth...at which point she says "oh well I did have gas and air".

Now in my books that is pain relief so AIBU (or just jealous that I missed the opportunity to mention how utterly fabulous I was to give birth without pain relief because gas doesn't, apparently, count?!)

OP posts:

DisElfchanted3 · 16/12/2009 09:50

YANBU, I gave birth witout painreliefbecause I didn't use anything, just my breathing.

If I used g&a then I would say I gave birth with only g&a becuase it is pain relief.

ErikaMaye · 16/12/2009 09:56

I had my TENS machine for labour, then nothing for the birth - as they didn't have time to hook up the epidural, but had got me to take the machine off. Tried the G&A - it just made me confused and disorientated.

So I guess its a matter of opinion. G&A is classified as pain relief, but doesn't work for everyone.

claw3 · 16/12/2009 09:58

Im still not getting this, if i broke my arm, id want pain relief. If i broke my arm and refused pain relief, no one would congratulate me.

So why is it such an achievement, to be in pain, but to give birth without pain relief?

Hassled · 16/12/2009 10:00

G&A did nothing for the pain with mine - but it did make me feel away with the fairies in a very good way. At one point with DC3 I was thinking I was in the musical South Pacific.

Pethidine, though, is much more useful. For about 30 seconds.

bellissima · 16/12/2009 10:02

Totally agree with claw3. I had to have a filling replaced last week. If I came on here bragging that I'd had it done without pain relief (certainly not true!) you'd just think I was insane or had some 'Marathon Man' S-M fetish. Why on earth do people think it's an achievement to give birth without pain relief?

ErikaMaye · 16/12/2009 10:05

I agree also. And I wanted that damn epidural

LoveBeingAMummyKissingSanta · 16/12/2009 10:07

G&A did strange things to me, it was like being drunk plus i don't actually remmeber a lot (so just like being drunk)

Tortington · 16/12/2009 10:08

what is this one upmanship about birth and pain relief.

waddya want...a medal?

its the female equiv of 'i've got a bigger dick' and its bloody totally stupid.

i had pain relief

thank fuck.

expatinscotland · 16/12/2009 10:16

who gives a fuck?

i liked it because it took my back to my 20s when i used to grow pot and smoke it and get high.

it was some good shit.

jemart · 16/12/2009 10:22

I suppose yanbu as technically yes G&A is pain relief but unlike other drugs it does not affect the baby, which is probably why your friend did not view it in the same way as say pethidine.
A long drawn out labour on just G&A is no picnic, especially if its your first.

DisElfchanted3 · 16/12/2009 10:24

I don't want a medal, I tried G&A, took one puff and felt like I was gonna vomit, so just went without.

I do like the fact I did it without pain relief, but only because so many people thought I wouldn't cope and be screaming for every drug going.

Flightattendant · 16/12/2009 10:25

I didn't have G&A with my second, nothing at all in fact but blinking heck if they had had something with them that worked I would have taken it like a shot.

I'm glad in hindsight to have had an epidural with ds1 because even though it robbed me of the 'true birth experience' [HA]
it was so easy that I was happy to go ahead and have ds2. If I'd had ds2's birth with ds1 I don't know that I would have had another child at all...

StrictlyKatty · 16/12/2009 10:28

YANBU it clearly is pain relief!

LtEveDallas · 16/12/2009 10:36

Anyone have pain relief after the birth?

Had DD in Germany - no pain relief and they do do G&A over there (or at least not in my hosp).

Almost 12 hrs in labour, squeezed DD out had a cuddle and then I got an epidural......

I had Pre-Eclampsia and the force of labour/birth shot my BP into orbit - the quickest way for them to bring it back down was to give me a PDA. I was pretty much away with the faries in any case (lots of sparkles in my eyes lol), but do remember wondering why the hell I hadn't done it before because it felt soooooo lovely

Bathsheba · 16/12/2009 10:38

It really only matters if you are one of these people who care about these things...

I honestly don't care in the slightest about natural child birth. Sorry. I also don;t give the slightest toss about Home Birth but I know its an obsession for some people.

I'm having DC3 in about 4-5 weeks, with an elective section, under a GA...I honestly don;t know anyone in the real world who thinks less of me for that, or who actually think they are "better" than me....

BettyButterknife · 16/12/2009 10:43

I was always a bit confused about the distinction... if G&A isn't pain relief, why the hell would you bother with it?

Lots of people say they had a drug-free birth when they mean they just had G&A. Is that different?

Flightattendant · 16/12/2009 10:44

I agree Bathsheba, although if someone could give me something to get through the morning sickness bit, I'd probably have about 20 more children...pain relief or not.

diddl · 16/12/2009 10:47

It is pain relief in that it takes the edge off & momentarily relieves the pain!

Do other methods make it pain free?

Ladyem · 16/12/2009 10:52

yanbu G&A is definitely pain relief. I had DS 4 months ago and when they transfered me from the floor that I was induced on to the delivery suite - 2 floors down and quite a way on the other side of the building - they took the g&a off me. Well, I could tell such a difference and when they finally got me to the delivery room I practically leapt onto the bed to get it back again!! I agree, though that part of it is that it provides something to focus on and distract you, but I definitely got some pain relief from it, too. I think it is fabulous stuff!!

I must admit, though, I hate all of this competitive stuff when it comes to child birth. Even though I only had G&A for both of mine I was begging for an epidural and telling DH that I was booking him in for the snip as soon as I was out of hospital , but alas I was too far gone with both of mine for anything more powerful!! Us women should be sticking together and supporting each other, not trying to out-do each other.

AmazingBouncingFerret · 16/12/2009 10:57

'dragged out of my gaping slashed vagina by some salad servers'

Original poster

NancyDrewRocks · 16/12/2009 11:01

diddl my experience having done (water/G&A/morphine/mobile epidural and regualr epidural) is that nothing can give you a pian free labour. They all helped in varying degrees but def not as expected!

However I have heard woman say that they felt nothing with their epidurals. Personally I was cursing with every contraction but then I may just be a big wimp!

OP posts:

izzybiz · 16/12/2009 11:04

I'm not competitive about childbirth at all.
Like I said I really could not give a monkeys how anyone else gives birth, I am still entitled to be proud of myself for coping with my births in the way I wanted to.

diddl · 16/12/2009 11:13

Thanks for that NancyDrew

Just wondered as I had nothing with first and G&A with second-but not whilst pushing.

I also thought with epidurals they were often done so that they wore off when it was time to push?

MamaLazarou · 16/12/2009 11:13

YANBU - I would consider it to be pain relief.

I don't agree with all this one-upmanship either... but it really does piss me off when people say, 'You don't get a medal for natural birth you know'. People don't do it for medals. they do it because they believe it to be in the best interests of their baby and themselves.

I wouldn't judge someone for having an epidural, or an elective caesarean. But I do think it is an achievement to give birth without drugs, if you can. Not necessarily one that should be congratulated as such, but certainly an achievement of which someone should rightly be proud.

It's not the same as breaking a limb or having teeth out without drugs. There is no benefit to going drug-free with these things. But there are benefits of natural labour - this is why people do it, not because they want a pat on the back.

No woman should be judged, blamed or otherwise negatively commented on for making her own choices about her own labour.

claw3 · 16/12/2009 11:18

Diddl, that was my experience of epidural, felt nothing until they let it wear off for pushing stage.

Also had epidural for c section with first, didnt feel a thing, but strange sensation, like someone washing up in my stomach.

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