Sickness in Labour

[Knitella]

I'm 12 weeks pregnant with no 2 and my mind is starting to wander towards birth and whether it can be a more positive experience this time.

Last time my son was born at 36 weeks and after slow early stages he was born quite quickly and I felt wiped out by the experience and not massively "present" at the last stages of labour. I didn't get pain relief until things were well under way (long story but took ages to get a bed on labour ward and I was 8cm upon arrival). I was also really sick. I think the sickness worsened my ability to feel as much a part of what was going on than I had hoped.

Has anyone had experience of being sick and then not felt that way in subsequent births? Or are there any things that can be done in advance to prevent bad sickness before it starts? I got an anti sickness injection last time but only after I'd been really sick for a while.

Might the birth feel less violent (sounds awful but that's how it felt at the time) if the baby is bigger?

I don't feel too anxious just hoping for a more positive experience. I appreciate that getting baby out safely is the main thing.

Time to get my Ina May book out again...!

Any tips/experiences gratefully received!

I was sick in labour with DC's 2 and 5 but not with 1 and 3 (had elcs with dc4). With dc2 it was the gas and air I think as I had quite a lot of it. With dc5 I was only allowed to drink water for hours and still had morning sickness if I didn't eat regularly so that's probably what made me sick. If you talk to your community midwife you should be able to get anti sickness meds prescribed at the beginning of labour. Congratulations on dc2.

I was sick in all my labours. Basically an evacuation from all orifices except my ears.

I was sick with DD, I think it was the morphine.

I didn't have time with DS though...45 mins

Ellie - good to know some people get a mix! I had lots of gas and air again two days post birth to have my bits stitched back together (another long story) and didn't feel sick then so sadly I don't think I can blame the G&A. I'll defo ask about medication for the start of labour. Thanks!

Gin - I fear I am the same as you. I spent ages in the loo when things started to get going. I was scared I was going to have baby in the loo. I was persuaded off the loo only for the sickness to arrive. Lovely!

First labour I was so sick I ended up with ketones in urine and on a drip to rehydrate. It was horrific

Second labour not so much as a gag!

I had HG in both pregnancies and both births on gas and air

Ask for the injection when you first go to the ward this time. I did and was fine.

I was sick with contractions and part of the pushing, to the point where the midwife threatened a drip if I didn't drink fluids. My DH put lucozade sport into a cup that had a straw going down to the bottom (easier than leaning your head back to drink) and kept making me drink it, we had two big bottles of the stuff and it really helped me keep my energy levels up, I remember every part of the birth despite being sick. Also may have been that hypnobirthing kept me focussed despite it.

Thanks very much for all your advice and own experiences - some great tips and beyond that I guess I'll have to wait and see!

I was horribly sick when I was about ready to push with ds. I wasn't sick at all with dd - not even nauseous.

There was no real difference in the labours or even what I had / hadn't eaten that day, so I guess my experience with ds was just one of those things!