Do I need a Tens?

[Manc451]

Hi I'm 33 weeks and starting to organise myself (by which i mean desperatelybtrybto finish the diy!). Does anyone have any advice on Tens machines? Do they really work and are they safe? And which one should I go for or wouldn't you bother? Thank you :)

I had one and loved mine. They sort of distract you from the pain of a contraction although it doesn't make it less painful IYSWIM.

Don't hire one from boots, they're massively over priced. Hire one online, just google pregnancy tens machine hire. I hired mine for 2 months and it cost me about £20!

Would recommend to anyone expecting.

I agree with the above post. I used mine from quite early on in labour, when contractions were still quite far apart. It worked really well for me, I had a water birth and kept it on right up until I got in the pool. It acts as a distraction and gives you a feeling of control in a situation where you have no control that was helpful for me. I only had gas and air and pethidine for pain relief and I think the tens machine helped me keep the drugs to a minimum. I also did hypno birthing.
I bought mine from boots but I'm planning on having more babies so thought of it as an investment. Good luck with it!

Didn't have one, don't know what one is

I used one and found it worked. I put it on in early labour to give it enough time to work. I kept it on until I got in the pool. I was 8cm when I arrived at the midwife unit.

Loved mine! Had it on from the start until I had it up full blast and it wasn't effective anymore - about 10 hours on. Would use one again

Mine was great. In fact, it really helped me. I really didn't want pethidene or an epidural. I was 29 hours from my waters breaking to DD's appearance and I only needed G&a in the last 5 hours. Would def recommend. I bought mine from babycare tens (google) for around £30. I think it was £25 to hire, but buying it was worth it for me as I will use it again this time (also DH uses it on his sore back).

I should also mention DD was back to back so a lot of the pain was in my lower back. The midwifes really were not keen for me to have the electrodes on my tummy area - which was a bit of a pain.

I had one but it stayed in dh pocket the whole time

Glad I rented it.

I ended up with gas and air and n epidural as I nearly had a cs

I found mine absolutely invaluable from fairly early on in labour until the end. It's a great distraction early on then cranked up during more intense contractions was good pain relief.
You can hire one for £10 from your local Sure Start.
DO NOT try to change the batteries whilst the thing is still on by the way - my husband nearly zapped DS2 out of me by doing so!!! Funny now but not at the time!!

It works for some people, and not at all for others. I reckon that if it works for you, it'll be the best thirty quid you ever spend. If it doesn't, thirty quid won't make much difference to your life.

Midwives have told me that most people use it too late, leaving it till the stage when they would be better off with gas and air. Its beauty is that you can use it at home, before you go to hospital, at the stage when nothing else is available.

I used it for about 4-6 hours and it was really helpful for that time.

I found it completely useless but gas and air was too.

Otoh, when I broke my leg really badly and damaged the lower back, I found one invaluable.

It's certainly worth a try.

Two very different labours here, first a long one in which tens was very helpful but only up to a point, second a shorter one in which tens was a total Godsend. Make sure your partner or birthing partner is confident in how to attach it and how it works in advance of labour if possible.

I loved mine. It was provided free of charge by the hospital, they gave it to me at 37 weeks and I just gave it back when I was finished with it. Have a word with your midwife, your hospital may do something similar?

Loved mine, got me through both pregnancies and couldn't have done without it. I got mine second hand on eBay for about £10 including p & p.

Highly recommend them.

Thank you, that's fab. I think I'll invest, worth a go. The advice about not changing the batteries while its on made me laugh out loud! 6 weeks to go and lots (!) of Braxton hicks going on so sooner rather than later I think....