Midwives - The paracetamol thing is just a test isn't it?

[StarlightMcKenzie]

It must be!

And if the woman swears at you for suggesting it then she can be allowed to make her way into hospital right!?

I remember giggling and thinking 'well its not that serious then' during final bit of my crappy first labour - All very dramatic, I was tachycardic, DS was distressed. Experts were bursting into the room, machines bleeping, DH really scared, rows of concerned faces... and the midwife thrust paracetamol at me and told me to take it straightaway. I just had this sense of absurdity and thought it was far too daft a situation that could be taken so seriously yet apparently cured with paracetamol!

My midwife went from "Oh, no dear, you are far too early for any pain relief, I honestly think you should go home for a while" through "well, I can check if you really insist" to "Ah. No, you're far too late for any of that. Here's the gas and air, dear, start pushing with the next contraction" within five minutes, so at least I was spared the paracetamol question until the local had worn off and the tears and SPD were getting very painful. They very reluctantly gave me ibuprofen to shut me up some time later when I was clearly not going to go to sleep and leave them in peace without. I don't know why they are so mean about pain relief, if you had sustained the same level of injury any other way surely you would get given something that works and maybe even a little empathy as well.

I would have strangled anyone who suggested paracetamol when in labour so a dangerous test

But I have a very low pain threshold (pethidine, gas and air, about 100 epidural top ups, morphine to finish...)

Isn't codeine an opiate ? I'm sure I read somewhere recently that they recommend you stop taking it 3-4 weeks before delivery if you have to take it for SPD on the basis it can cause respiratory issues for the baby.

Clearly failed the test - stayed at home for another 8 hours with my box of paracetamol. :( Then got admitted and had every drug going. Have a new respect for those who suffer with period pain if the latent phase is described as similar. Ouch

I think paracetamol can be pretty effective, more so than we think as it's so readily available, but also I have heard it makes a good 'base' for enhancing the effectiveness of other painkillers, so can see why they would advise it.

Having said that, I did nearly punch the midwife who offered it to me in the early hours of a long induction!

I take co-dydramol for PGP so found it insulting to be offered paracetamol. I was begging for some during my birth last year, not for the labour but for my back, after the birth I said "Can I have some co-dydramole now?" "Sorry we can't give you any, the doctor put paracetamol up your bum"

Mine offered me Clary Sage, on my 2nd day of labour!!

I would have whacked her if i hadn't been so knackered, as it was I just about managed to blurble out,

'oooff, ooooof, i need drugs,nnnhh, unnh, get her away from me....'

Should I be miffed I was never offered paracetamol? Though as I went in at 5cm and g+a and tens then water were great for the next 8 hours, and then I was advised to have an epidural and syntocin to speed things up, I'm not actually complaining.

It was when I was told after birth that yes, we will ensure you aren't in pain - but instead of the 60mg codeine you've been taking with para 4x daily, here's some plain para - and no we don't do tea or toast, that I might have got a bit impolite, esp as my baby had just been carted off to special care.
The following day when I still hadn't got any codeine, but my baby was fine, and I got quizzes about my vagina yet again, was when I lost it and raged about bloody paracetamol.

This birth they told me to keep my own codiene. Much better.

Im going to take a stash in. I was given paracetamol when a haematoma was pulling my foofy stiches out.

Eventually, after feeling sorry for me, I was given that Ora-Morph stuff which was LUSH.

IS is only paracetamol they shove up your arse? Gutted, I thought it was something more exciting.

I think I might take my own in, last time they unprescribed it! I went mad! I'd been on it for 3 years in normal life how dare they tell me after I'd just delivered a baby and been dragged into stirrups against my will (against because I have PGP for which the co-dydramol are prescribed!) that I don't need any anymore! Best part was it was done over the phone, midwife calling the doctor to say she didn't think I needed anymore and the doctor had never met me! I'd even had a meeting with my consultant about pain meds following the birth because I've had so much hassle with it in the past.

After one of my births I was given a choice "paracetamol or oramorph" at each round! As much as I love oramorph I'd rather have the lesser longer term effect than deal with constant pain for 3.5 hours!

Yup, just plain paracetamol they shove up there.

Bloody marvellous. I had it on demand in the end if I rang the buzzer. I self weaned myself off it in the end.

Can you buy it on the sly I wonder?

Our hospital trialed SMACS which is brilliant but they only gave it to elective sections, not crash! It contains all the pain medication you can take, you take it when you need it and write it into the little book they give you. It stays in the lockable draw in the bedside unit.

If you discover where, let me know

I said I felt great after my EMCS and they said 'that'll be the morphine suppository'. I look fab in all my immediate post-birth pictures. Highly recommended.

I got IV paracetamol in labour, I was surprised when they put that drip in!

I got a Difene suppository after last birth. Bliss.

I got paracetamol and codeine tablets to take together when I went in. But as I threw them up within 5 minutes or so, they didn't do much for the pain.

Especially as the midwife said that I couldn't have any more until the 4 hours was up in case I got an overdose. I couldn't really argue with that, as I'm rather attached to my liver, but it would have been nice if she'd offered me a different type of pain relief instead of telling me to try and relax before skipping off.

My MW suggested paracetamol. I screamed at her 'I'm having a baby, not a fucking headache!' and I got an epidural (which didn't work!!!).

I have never had a contraction as dd was born by elcs. But my reasoning is that if plain old paracetamol doesn't cut it for period pain for me, or even a bad headache, then it is unlikely to be much cop in labour either.

I got a migraine in the morning following DS's delivery, due to lack of sleep and lack of food (throwing it all up the day before). I had to beg for ibuprofen, because paracetamol doesn't touch it - but after begging for a while they did prescribe me some. Next time I'll take it in with me.

It as dawned on me reading this thread that its not widely known what mw's are allowed to give. I'll try and keep this brief.

There are some drugs that mw's are allowed to give women without a prescription from a dr. They differ from trust to trust but are mainly
In pregnancy- paracetamol, mucogel, glycerine supposittories etc, etc
In 'active' labour- entonox, pethidine, cyclazine, syntometrine.

This list does not include everything, but if you want dihydrocodeine, diclofenac, or anything else 'good', you need a script, from a dr, which can be hard to find!
Paracetamol is also used for high temperatures and tachycardia is often accompanied by pyrexia.
Paracetamol works very well in combination with other drugs and really, mw's really don't have many pharmacuetical tools in their box.

I am often asked for more pain relief from women towards the end of labour (usually using entonox) who state they don't want an epidural or pethidine, just 'more pain relief'. There really is no other options, unfortunately.
The use of a pool would be nice of course but ours is mostly 'out of use'

I've always thought of paracetamol as being utterly useless as its all my doctor suggested when I had terrible period pains as a teenager and it did nothing for me (the next GP suggested ibuprofen and it's been my painkiller of choice ever since). However having seen my niece use them for managing her sickle cell pain I now recognise that it can be a very effective painkiller.

I would have been very unhappy to be offered paracetamol in labour though, but then I was totally gutted to find that gas and air had no effect at all. I have quite a high pain threshold, but a very low psychological tolerance for being out of control.

When I was pregnant with ds1, I started getting cramps and contraction like painson the Wednesday.
By Friday morning these sharp pains through my back were 6 mind apart. Saved of at lunch time but by 5pm I was in so much pain I called the ward.
Told them how long I'd been in pain for, that it was purely my back and I couldn't take it anymore because I couldn't even sit down. She suggested a bath and paracetamol.
Told her I couldn't even get many leg high enough to get in a bath and I couldn't sit down anyway so what's the point?
Should have known then that they weren't capable of listening and the whole delivery would be a nightmare.
Internal exam last resort? Bollox.
Bunch of idiots they were. And the post natal midwives/nurses.

That's interesting to know, BadDayAtTheOrifice . I knew you needed an anaesthestist for an epidural, but hadn't considered that you might also need a doctor for some of the other pain relief.

So, when I was further on in labour, asked for more pain relief, and got offered diamorphine by the midwife, would that imply that she knew (or thought) the on-call registrar was around and not busy?

In retrospect, I'm a little surprised that she didn't suggest I tried something like gas and air first