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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

TENS machine - is it worth it?

25 replies

CakeBump · 02/09/2012 12:43

I'm thinking of having a home birth for DC1, and here in Germany there is no form of pain relief available, not even gas and air.

I am therefore thinking of using the bath or a birthing pool, plus tens machine and possibly hypnotherapy.

However I have looked at wikipedia and apparently there is no proof that tens works, in fact the "proof" seems to point the other way....

Has anyone used tens machines effectively? I don't want to invest if its all a bit "woo" and not going to help.

Also on the subject, if we have a bath anyway, is it worth investing in a birthing pool? We're on a really tight budget so I'm trying not to spend what I don't need to.

Thanks in advance...

OP posts:

savoycabbage · 02/09/2012 12:45

I liked having one beside it gives you something to do and think about other than the contractions.

milk · 02/09/2012 13:03

You could always rent a TENs machine.

ellesabe · 02/09/2012 15:57

I liked my tens machine as it made me feel like I was in control and could manage the pain by proactively doing something about it.

WhatWouldVegansDo · 02/09/2012 16:04

Mine was fab. I also had a homebirth, laboured in a pool, but I do think the gas and air really helped a lot too. Sorry! The TENS machine was also great after the birth, as I had bad coccyx pain for a few weeks after he was born from DS being back to back for labour.
Very annoying they don't offer gas and air here in Germany, I wonder why this is.

Salbertina · 02/09/2012 16:06

They're crap IMHO, pool fab

WhatWouldVegansDo · 02/09/2012 16:06

Oh, and re the bath vs birthing pool, I guess see what your midwife says. I preferred having a pool, more room to move in, comfier sides to drape myself over, I am glad I didn't just have a bath.

MrsHelsBels74 · 02/09/2012 16:11

I swear by my Tens machine, maybe just because it gave me something else to focus on. Obviously you can't use it in a birth pool but it was great before I got to that stage.

I'm due in a few weeks & hoping to have a home birth. I have ordered a La Bassine birth pool, was £110 which works out about the same as hiring one, plus you don't have the worry of when to hire it from/until.

TimeForCake · 02/09/2012 16:11

Mine annoyed me too. Ok to start but then it felt like ants running over me and I couldn't be doing with it at all and took it off. Glad I rented it. But, I might have felt differently if I knew I wasn't going be offered gas and air!

Preedy · 02/09/2012 16:12

I had one and I used it but honestly don't think it was effective in the slightest! I actually couldn't bear to have it on any level higher than the second as it felt very uncomfortable. However, psychologically, it felt like I had done all I could do to prepare and that counted for something.

WhatWouldVegansDo · 02/09/2012 16:17

*In case of confusion, I am in Germany now but had DS when I lived in the UK, with gas and air.

Original poster

CakeBump · 02/09/2012 16:28

Thanks for the replies everyone

HelsBels I'll look into the La Bassine, thank you. We do have plenty of room for a pool so its a possibility. I don't want to go down the money saving route and then regret it when the pain really hits!

Vegan I will definitely ask my midwife if I ever get to see her

Preedy I think the psychological thing is going to be just as vital - as you say. I think possibly I'd worry of I didn't have one.

I'll the midwife about hiring one, and a pool too.

OP posts:

WhatWouldVegansDo · 02/09/2012 18:19

Hoping for another DC, and to use the pool again, which I think then makes it more economical to buy rather than hire. For both the pool and the TENS machine.
I figured we'd use the pool afterwards as a paddling pool for DS/future DC! Albeit a nice deep one! :)

DieDeutschLehrerin · 02/09/2012 20:42

I loved it. Completely distracted me from contractions and managed all the way through with it on the early labour setting. Didn't feel like I needed any other pain relief as it was so good at masking the pains. The only thing it didn't help with was having a bloody great metal ventouse up there and my wiggly boy positioned properly for exit, with a little encouragement. I would definitely use it again.

MigratingCoconuts · 02/09/2012 20:47

I loved it too...and rented one for each birth.

That and gas/air got me through..

Mmmchampagne · 02/09/2012 20:54

Agree with previous posters, great for distraction. Used mine with DS1 right through the birth and remember seeing the midwives smiling to each other as I was in the final stages of pushing him out as if to say 'there's no way it's actually making any difference' but changing the settings in preparation for the next contraction gave me something else to focus on.

happy2bhomely · 02/09/2012 21:02

I was delivering my 4th baby at home. I found the tens really helped. It felt like someone pushing their fists into my back and it felt amazing. As I changed position, I pulled one of the leads out, so it stopped working! The valve broke on the gas and air too.

I ended up with no pain relief at all for the last hour. I still managed to deliver an 11lb boy without being too traumatised!

catgirl2012 · 02/09/2012 21:14

I found it useless. Just annoyed me tbh

elizaregina · 03/09/2012 17:21

it was good up to a point, as contractions got to 4cm, it was usuful, it felt like i was doing someting gave me something to focus on - at 4 and beyond, totally inadequate! as far as i remeber it does hurt as well though!

QueenOfMuppets · 04/09/2012 00:03

I just got a cheap basic one but it did the job.I wasn't sure about it when I first put mine on- an annoying, almost painful, pins and needles type of feeling for me and I could only use it on very low settings at first.

However, once I was used to it I liked it- even if it was really just a distraction from the contractions it made them much easier to deal with.

It got me through to the transition stage- got G&A for the pushing stage but midwives didn't realise how far along I was until I needed to push so didn't get offered anything stronger till then! I think I could have done it on just tens if nothing else had been to hand.

Not sure how it would work with a water birth- as others have said you can't use it in water. I think you need to build the tens up as labour progresses- apparently it's really really annoying if put on too late on in labour. Once you'd taken it off to go in the pool there may not be any going back and putting it back on again....

Silibilimili · 04/09/2012 00:23

You can probably rent one from your local surgery or NCT. No need to buy.

Whiteshoes · 04/09/2012 00:33

I also found tens a good distraction, and wouldn't have been without it. I did read a lot of conflicting things before I bought mine. And also read that some perform less well than others. I got a basic looking boots own brand, as it seemed to get a lot of good reviews.

You also mentioned hypnobirthing, OP. I really really recommend this. I was cynical, only listened to the cd near the bitter end, do not relax easily and still found it massively helpful.

Original poster

CakeBump · 04/09/2012 11:13

Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone.

Good point Queen about not being able to use the tens in water. My plan might be to use the tens to begin with and then get into the pool for the pushing bit - does that sound feasible? I don't like the idea of being in the pool for hours anyway....

OP posts:

Original poster

CakeBump · 04/09/2012 11:14

Oh and whiteshoes my hypnotherapy CD arrived this morning so I'm going to try and start listening to it a couple of times a week... :)

OP posts:

birdofthenorth · 04/09/2012 11:22

Yes, in a word. I loved mine. Shrieked when I went in the bath and had to take it off for 20 mins. I guess you don't know until you're in labour but I'd rather have one than not at that stage! I hired mine from Tesco pharmacy.

ballroompink · 04/09/2012 12:21

I liked mine but I only found it effective up to a point. I used it for about seven hours of early labour. When I arrived at the hospital I was 6cm dilated and from then on it was less than two hours until DS was born. I found I needed to switch to G&A as TENS was no longer cutting it and I didn't want to turn it up more because I hated the way it felt when on a higher setting.

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