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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

Anyone used pethidine?

23 replies

Boyontheway · 15/09/2014 16:22

Considering this as a possible alternative to epidural (will try TENS for early stages and G&A too) but worried about feeling out of it and having a drowsy baby who won't latch on.

Would love to hear from anyone who has used it either successfully or not

OP posts:

Mmolly2013 · 15/09/2014 16:39

I had it three weeks ago. I didn't feel any different with it, the gas and air does the job. It really affected my baby, she was drowsy when she came out and didn't cry. She struggled to feed also. On reflection I wish I had not bothered taking it.

PrincessOfChina · 15/09/2014 16:42

I had three lots as my labour was very long and I couldn't get on delivery suite. There was no gas and air on the ward. It was the only decent pain killer they offered.

DD was v drowsy and I didn't manage to breast feed her. I wouldn't recommend.

Goodwordguide · 15/09/2014 16:52

I had it, loved it as it really helped me relax during a long, painfully slow birth. but DD was drowsy, slept for three days and didn't latch on til she woke up properly. Luckily I was in Spain where you stay in hospital for three days as standard and the MWs were very supportive and saw her drowsiness as normal. DD lost a bit of weight but was absolutely fine and breast feeding was established easily and went smoothly from then on.

I think it depends how long your birth it - for a quick birth (eg, my DC3), G&A was absolutely fine. For DD1, the pethidine and epidural were fantastic and made a long tiring birth positively pleasurable.

Lookslikeimstuckhere · 15/09/2014 16:56

This is going to sound way over the top but is my honest experience of it. Remember though that everyone reacts to drugs in a different way.

I wasn't offered any alternative to pethadine and if I'd known the effects it would have on me, I wouldn't have touched it. I would have the epidural instead (which I ended up with anyway, and a spinal).

It made me pass out between contractions but woke for each one and they were just as painful. I felt like I was that awful kind of drunk - sick and totally out of control. Hideous.

By all means find a way of controlling the pain but I really would advise against pethadine (again, only based on my experience).

miniHovis · 15/09/2014 17:01

I had pethidene with my first 11 years ago, made me sick and have hallucinations which were not nice at all, ds was really sleepy and hard to feed for days,

Madratlady · 15/09/2014 17:01

I wasn't actually in labour, just in severe pain due to developing HELLP syndrome (related to pre-eclampsia). It was lovely stuff, I felt totally relaxed but it did pretty much knock me out. I then went on to have an emcs due to being so ill and ds was taken to scbu so I don't know if it made him drowsy. I then pretty much slept for the next 24 hours, again not sure if that was the pethidine or recovering from being so unwell and being up all night till they delivered him.

I'd quite like some next time if i have a vbac but i'm worried it might make the baby too drowsy to bf (I couldn't bf ds so I'm desperate to with the next one).

dobedobedo · 15/09/2014 17:04

Don't bother. Did nothing for my pain, just made me sleep between contractions. Not proper sleep but, like passed out after way too much alcohol sleep. And then when a contraction was on the way, I came round and was fully awake for it again. Except unable to function or think properly.

HollyBen · 15/09/2014 17:05

From the start of labour I was being violently sick. They wouldn't give me anything for it as I had a bleed when I got to hospital and dd's heart rate was low. I felt completely out of it. People were talking to me I thought I was answering but wasn't actually saying anything. I asked for pain relief. They have me pethadine and an anti-nausea drug. Almost immediately I felt great. Not sure it did much for pain though. I am hoping this time to make do with tens g&a. Though will be insistent on anti-nausea

MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic · 15/09/2014 17:18

My Mum had pethadine with all three of us, and according to her slept through all her labours and woke up just in time to push.

I had pethadine once when I was induced with DS2. They gave it to me at around 3.40pm, thinking I'd be in labour for 4 or 5 more hours. Bearing in mind it takes 30 minutes to kick in, it was a bit of a waste when DS2 shot out at 4pm... He had to be woken up, I was immensely chilled for the next few hours and I didn't actually get to feed him until the next morning as he slept for a solid 12 hours after we got home that evening. I found it very relaxing but it didn't make me sleepy - I'm not sure what it would have done if I had laboured for as long as they anticipated. I stuck with gas and air with DD.

GodPlayedByJamesMason · 15/09/2014 17:41

Lovely stuff! Had it for both labours, with DS1 I went to sleep until my waters broke (and then he was born 10 minutes after) so actually got a few hours of rest and respite before pushing
DS2 I didn't go to sleep but it really 'took the edge off' and I went from 4cm to 10cm in 2 or so hours and again it wore off for pushing (DS2 born at home)
No problems with either me or babies and I wouldn't have a 3rd without it!

MildDrPepperAddiction · 15/09/2014 17:45

Yes. All it did was make me too out of it to say I was still in pain. Lots of hospitals give diamorphine instead (made me sick)

etienne1 · 15/09/2014 17:48

I used it 5 weeks ago and it allowed some sleep in a loooong labour! I found its pain relief properties worked on me... it did make me feel a bit drunk but it was worth it!!

AugustRose · 15/09/2014 17:49

I had it with my first - like other posters have said it made me drowsy/sleepy between contractions without actually reducing the pain.

I didn't have it again in any of my other labours as I wanted to be in control and I didn't like the way it made me feel.

MrsCakesPrecognition · 15/09/2014 17:52

I had pethidine with DD1 (and an epidural and diamorphine).

It didn't seem to help much with the pain, but did make me feel out of control and horrible.

DD was born at 8pm. She fed OK a couple of times immediately after her birth, but slept all night. Which was grand because I needed to sleep too. Unfortunately she was frantic throughout the second night.

cathpip · 15/09/2014 17:54

Had two lots, didn't touch the pain for me and I just felt drunk, have to agree with my bosses, they said "skip the pethidine it's shit!" They are drs :)

LegoSuperstar · 15/09/2014 17:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whatsagoodusername · 15/09/2014 18:19

I had it with both DC.

I did not get on with G&A at all with DC1. I had it about 10am, DS was born around 4. It was great. I hadn't slept the night before I went into labour, then was in labour all night, so I was completely exhausted from both lack of sleep generally and pain. It may have made me sleepy/out of it, but I was anyway, and I needed whatever relaxation it offered. I didn't notice any effect on DS, and had no trouble breastfeeding.

Had it again with DS2. Again, overnight labour so was quite nice being able to doze. I did not sleep through any contractions (I don't think), but I was able to get some rest. Probably had it in the middle of the night (labour started 9pm) DS born at 11am.

I don't think DS2 was particularly sleepy, but I lost a lot of blood (not pethidine related) so I was out of it afterwards and have no idea if I tried to breast feed then or not. He took a few days to figure it out, but that was due to slight tongue tie.

I liked the pethidine. I was anti-epidural because I didn't want to be attached to tubes and wires, an I found G&A pretty useless, although worked better second time around. I'd use it again, unless the midwife thought it would be a very quick labour.

StarlightMcKenzie · 15/09/2014 22:06

No it's crap. It shuts you up basically but doesn't touch the pain, only your ability to complain about it.

It makes you 'look' calmer, but the pain is more acutely felt because your mind is not together enough to understand and prepare for it, it just grabs you buy surprise and suppresses your natural pain-relieving endorphins.

It is probably okay in very early labour when it doesn't hurt all that much but you are panicking, but again you lose that essential time to build up your pain-dealing strategies.

Spindelina · 16/09/2014 09:17

After 2nd S&S, I had a fairly long latent stage, (2cm dilated, 1 min ctx every 3 mins for about 24 hours) which wasn't really going anywhere very fast, and I was throwing up a lot. I was thoroughly miserable, thinking I wasn't coping with what was supposed to be the easy bit. I had two lots of pethidine, which let me sleep a bit and got me through to having my waters broken (at 40+12, so technically due to dates rather than failure to progress).

After my waters were broken, everything all started going somewhere, and DD was born four hours later. That turned out to be the easy bit!

But, looking back, she was really sleepy. She hadn't fed properly before we were discharged - they'd seen her latched on sleeping, but that's not quite the same thing. She lost a lot of weight, we were readmitted, and we never managed EBF (though she was weaned at 18 months - my choice).

If I were to labour again and be in the same situation, I would like to think I could get through the first bit with less miserableness, knowing that I can do the pushing bit OK. And if not, I would insist on more BF support, and a proper plan to get back to EBF if formula top-ups were required.

CulturalBear · 16/09/2014 15:59

I actually asked for no opiates on my birth plan, but at 4cm dilated, hypercontracting on the drip and feeling a bit desperate, I turned down an epidural and went for pethidine.

It didn't do anything to the pain, but I cared less. I still needed the G&A (I think the TENS came off at around this point because I could no longer feel it), but the edge was taken off slightly.

Typically, I was fully dilated an hour and a bit later, but when things didn't progress I suppose I was just more compliant than I might ordinarily be.

DS was sleepy afterwards, but not so bad. Not sure I'd have it again, but it may have been that it had an effect of speeding things up by relaxing everything.

Thumbwitch · 16/09/2014 16:04

I had a shot of pethidine with DS1, can't say it made any noticeable difference but I was sort of "out of it" between stage 2 contractions, I suppose it might have contributed to that.

I had gas and air with DS2 - can't say that made any difference to the pain either - the MWs insisted it did, especially as I wouldn't let go of it, but as I said, it gave me something to scream into and I kept hoping it would work! Didn't (but I had the syntocin drip going with DS2 as well, the worst bit was the lack of respite between contractions)

Pootles2010 · 16/09/2014 16:09

I had it, soon as I arrived at hosp, so I was 8cm. I didn't think it helped with pain at all, didn't realise it did anything but was really out of it, reading these responses I wonder if that was why?

I wasn't 'with it' enough to remember any of my breathing etc, or all the stuff about different positions, I wonder if I'd have been better without it?

Gas and air, now thats what you want! Bloody wonderful, and if you don't like it, you just stop taking it and it wears straight off.

RugBugs · 16/09/2014 16:30

Had it with DD1 alongside G&A and even with anti-nausea I was so so sick. Like others I was passing out between contractions but it did sweet FA for the pain. I was so out of it I couldn't focus on DD1 when she was born, the mw was showing her to me saying how there was no mistaking the sex and I couldn't see so had to ask.
DD1 was born at 3.40 in the afternoon, didn't cry, fed once and then slept until the next morning much to the dismay of the mws. It also took me longer to establish bf than it did with DD2 who was born at home with G&A.

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