drugs?

[luluzulu]

this may sound silly but i'm actually scared of taking the drugs they offer you for pain relief in labour.
i have heard friends/family talk about how 'out of it' they were and how they were talking nonsense, they find it funny and i'm sure it might be but i have never taken drugs before(you know the type) as i hate the thaught of losing control of what i am doing. i know i might sound like a right square here or you may think 'ha just wait until the labour starts' but i really need some re-assurance that i'm not going to be completely off it when baby is being born because above all else i want to remember the experience

I had gas & air + pethedine in my 1st labour and just gas & air in the second. I was a bit out of it for the first - I remember the important bits like actually seeing the baby but not the stitches. For the second, I remember everything (almost too well) and was not out of it at all.

Different people may react differently, but the good thing is you don't have to decide everything in advance (birth plans are a myth because things rarely go to plan). You can just see how you get on and ask for more drugs as you need them.

I hope that helps.

pethidine will leave you completely out of it - but i think you can only have it near the beginning anyway, it has to have worn off by the time you give birth so not too much gets to the baby. IME it was pretty unpleasant (and I HAVE dabbled in my time) but I remember all the important bits. epidural is just pain relief and won't mess with your head.

I was scared before I had my daughter and therefore rejected pain relief for much longer than was good for me (was on the drip and really needed it), and got quite a stern talk from my midwife and my husband.

I found g&a awful, but Meptid helped without making me drowsy.

i didn't use any drugs for any of my births - water pool for ds1 and hypnobirthing for all 3. even without the drugs i can see how it's possible to be 'out of it' and not totally aware of everything that's happening. you do kind of go into another mind set and your body takes over. i did a lot of preparation so i knew as much about giving birth as possible - reading, watching videos. it really helps to be aware of what is going to happen so you can focus on your body and what it's doing.

also make sure your birth partner gets loads of photos as soon as the baby arrived. my ds3 arrived in such a rush my memory is a bit hazy and we didn't get any photos for a while, but my other 2 i have a few photos of those first few magic moments which really help my memories.

I found g&a quite hard to use properly as I'd been awake for 36 hours by that stage and found it difficult to take anything in. It also made me vomit but that was probably because I was breathing it in almost constantly - because it worked so well!

I also had an epidural as I was being induced via drip. I had been quite anti beforehand but it was fantastic! It allowed me to get some sleep, which I desperately needed and totally removed the pain. One thing though, when the say mobile epidural, it doesn't mean you can walk around but you can feel enough to push.

Don't rule anything out, you never know how you're going to feel on the day.

I had everything with my second so am a wealth of information on drug taking Yes pethadine does leave you out of it, but you wont be AWARE that you are out of it really so I wouldnt worry about feeling embarrased. It helped me to relax and even snooze between contractions during the first part of labour when i was exhausted after several nights of stopping and starting. Gas and air was ok, but got on my nerves after a while and made me feel dry mouthed to the extreeme which then meant I drank too much water which then made me throw up. Epidural towards the end was a blessed relief but have found that it tends to stop contractions for me (same happened with first, but had a c section for that one in the end).

I personally feel that by the time I had the epidural I was pretty close to pushing and wish I hadn't had it, but the midwives kept urging me to take medication as I was so loud and getting on ther nerves I suspect Once I had the epidural, I had a delicious sleep, and then woke up ready to push, but hte contractions had slowed so much that I need to have forceps to deliver, which I might have needed anyway but who knows. If I was to have it again, I might try to cope with jut gas and air and maybe pethadine, and then insist that I was allowed to get up off the bed for the last bit. Moving about was the thing that helped me feel in control and seemed to control the pain a bit more for me as the baby was back to back and in a very awkward position but due to having a previous c section they wanted me to lay on my side, which was hideously uncomfortable.

I loved the G&A, but you do have to do it properly (deep breaths in and out on the mouthpiece as soon as you feel the contraction starting, and stopping and breathing normally once it's over) - I didn't feel out of it, but I do remember chatting and cracking jokes with the midwife thinking I was hilarious!

Like naturalbaby says, you o go into a srt of trance like state in labour naturally due o the endorphins and hormones that are produced by your body to cope with labour. You can enhance these natural painkillers by using techniques like hypnobirthing and using a pool.
Gas and air is a good one to try because it does not cross the placenta to the baby and wears off within seconds (so if you don't like the effect it will stop pretty much as soon as uyou stop breathing it) . It can be very effective if used correcctly (Long deep breaths from the very start of a contraction, stop and breathe normal air when the contraction finishes)
Both pethedine and diamorphine are injections that can make you feel out of it (especially pethedine which can cause hallucinations) and both cross the placenta and effect the baby, making them feel out of it too, and can effect their breathing and behaviouir after birth- which is impotant if you want to bf). If you need more pain relief an epidural does not make you feel out of it, but does effect your mobility, ability to push and makes bvabies more likely to turn posterior and need assistance to be born. It also crosses the placents and effects babies behaviour after birth.
www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/10/how-does-pain-relief-in-labour-affect.html
www.maternityacupressure.com/epidural-side-effects-and-complications.html

thanks for all your responses will be keeping my options open and looking all these things up later when i have more time x

I started with TENs, paracetamol and visualisation / meditation. They gave me a cocodamol when I got to hospital.

I then went onto G&A - did throw up a couple of times, but the G&A knocked me out completely - to the point where I remember nothing up until I was pushing 7 hours later.

It was fab!

Epidural. No pain. Total clarity. Brilliant.

luluzulu Mumsnet did an interview with an obstetric anaesthetist David Bogod - it was very good. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_live_events/1160539-Live-webchat-with-David-Bogod-president-elect-of-the-Obstetric-Anaesthetists-Association-Thurs-3-March-8-9pm/AllOnOnePage

It gives you the real side effects and benefits of modern epidurals (not the risks asssociated with them when they were first invented ..there is a bit of scaremonegering!)

Good luck!

Personally I really hated the pethadine - made me feel like I was having a really bad nightmare and, yes, totally 'out of it'. In fact I felt I was on another planet. It was okay to begin with and remember commenting to
my husband that I was still in pain but 'didn't care'. Although I had a really bad experience with it though I know lots of women who absolutely swear by it!! The midwife told me that it just doesn't agree with everyone.

I am absolutely with LuckyC on this one. I had an epidural towards the end and it was fantastic. Could still feel legs, toes and to push. I only wish now I had have had it sooner and instead of the pethadine. But I can't stress enough that every woman is so different. I hope it goes well for you :)