Positive birth stories/pain relief experiences please!

[muriwai]

Sorry, a bit of a long one. I've been reading Toothache's 'Why are women treated like idiots...' thread with growing dismay. I'm a first timer due in August and attended an all-day ante-natal class at my local hospital a few weeks ago. We spent a lot of time talking about different types of pain relief and the assumption of the MWs really seemed to be that because we were all first time mums we would all progress from gas & air, to pethedine and then probably on to an epidural. This is not what I want at all -I'm worried about pethedine because of effect on baby and losing control myself and epidural because of lack of mobility etc. My question is, are there any mums out there who managed to get through their first births with just gas & air?

My first baby i had an epidural, i hated it cause i was stuck on a bed for hours and hours and hours. Second one i just went natural and had gas and air at the end, because i liked that i could walk around, but i had to be quite strong mentally to tell myself that i didn'tneed any pain relief. So i had a much better birth the second time around, in the bath by accident.

Muriwai, I was incredibly lucky and got through my first birth without any pain relief, mainly because it was pretty quick.
Agree with dinosaur - see if they have a birthing pool at the hospital. Also try to go in with an open mind about what you want, rather than go in determined not to have pain relief, it may be the best thing for you at the time.

Ds1 was born at home and began with gas and air but the cannister was faulty and m/w had no spare! So basically had nothing. Both dd and ds 2 were born with no pain relief but my labours were very quick so this helped. Just be open minded: there is no shame in changing your mind or intending to have no pain relief but ending up begging for everything they've got .

Thanks for the quick responses.

Dino - unfortunately they got rid of the birth pool at the hospital because not enough women were using it! That would definitely have been my preferred option - I guess I'll just have to make do with a bath.

OK, a story not from me, but from my best mate. She did her first delivery with no pain relief at all! Not even gas and air. She had her second at home with just gass and air.

Can I put in my positive experinces of analgsia in childbirth? This is not being sarcastic, I had a very positive birth with my first, even though it ended up as a section.

My waters broke while I was in hospital for pre eclampsia, contractions started and getting a bit sore so the MW ran be a warm bath, great, and just what I needed at that stage. THings took a while and I was getting more sore so they suggested a TENS machine. I gave it a go and it was great. a Day after my waters had broken I still wasn't progressing so I was put on a drip. At this point I was having strong contractions 3 muns apart. THe tens machine was still doing well but after 5-6 hours of this I was in more disconfort and had some gas and air. And that was great and didn't make me feel sick. Hours later, still no more movement on the deleivery front I had diamorphine and when that wore off I had another shot. Great stuff, I slept. In the end I had an epidural which was wonderful but it was becoming obvious that after 2 days in labour the babe was not coming out and I asked for, and the doctors agreed , a section .

At no time did I feel out of control. The decisions made were mine and in the end I had a healthy babe. Success!

My only advive is be prepared to be flexable. You might be like my best mate, you could be like me. Either way, no worries. Good luck.

I had gas and air and pethidine both times but found the pethidine great, wasn't sick, experienced no loss of control, no effects on baby either time. I had expressed both times that I would prefer not to have an epidural if possible and that was respected both times, the midwives were really encouraging and supportive of my choices.

I found both experiences very positive and was pleased with the care I had in our local hospital.

Yes, that has become quite a scary thread, hasn't it? I don't recognise my own experience in those stories, and I think lots of people would say the same.

I think the key with labour is to keep an open mind. I've had completely different labours with all three, and in each case I've felt the doctors/midwives were doing all they could to support me and help me make the right choices.

I did end up having an epidural with dd1 because she was posterior, and wasn't moving anywhere while the contractions kept cranking up and up. Like you, I really didn't want to have one, but when I made the decision to go for it, it was the right thing to do IYSWIM. 9 years ago an epidural did pretty much mean immobility, but I believe that's not the case now.

I do know plenty of people who had their first babies with minimal pain relief, but it does seem to be the case that first labours tend to be slower and have more complications.

I would suggest you make an appointment to talk to one of the senior midwives outlining your concerns and stressing that you would like to be supported in a low-intervention birth, and see what reaction you get. Some hospitals are now opening up low-tech birthing units in parallel with their normal delivery wards where they specialise in keeping women mobile and supporting them with alternative therapies (massage, aromatherapy, water) and use intermittent monitoring via hand-held devices rather than straps. All of these things can make a difference, so do check it out and keep emphasising what you would like.

hth

muriwai, I got through both mine with no pain relief because unfortunately, gas and air made me nauseous and as I was vomiting throughout both labours, it just made things worse.

It's certainly possible - in fact, both my labours were fairly speedy as I was able to stay on my feet throughout the first stages. I moved around a lot.

I think you will be suprised that when you go into labour, midwives often have a fantastic way of delaying the pain relief (especially epidural) by saying the anaethetist "is busy" (sometimes they really are!), "he's on his way", "he'll be here soon" and by that time, you've delivered the baby! With my first I begged for an epidural but actually gave birth around 3 hours after I got to hospital (had contractions for a few hours before that) and in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't have one.

I managed first time round with just gas and air but my labour was very quick, 5 hours and 45 mins. To be honest I thought I was going to be a bit of a wimp but it really was fine in the end and I coped with the pain rather better than expected.

My second labour was quicker still (4 hours) but seemed more painful so I screamed for pethadine which the MW administered and then about 10 mins later dd was born so no ill effects on her but made me feel awful by about 3am the next morning! Having said all that, I have always approached labour with a "wait and see" attitude. I have never put specific pain relief requests down on my birth plan as each labour can be very different. Good luck and I hope it goes the way you want it to.

muriwai - 1st baby was an induction, had epidural once I reached 7 cm, but up till then had nothing at all (stupid mw didn't believe I was in labour), BUT 2nd baby was totally pain relief free, and born at home, and was over 10lb!!! I firmly believe that the more they interfere with what is basically a normal delivery, the more pain relief you need. So if they start trying to speed things up, you will probably need more pain relief. Obviously, when medical need arises, then intervention is necessary and desirable, but I think if you can get through as naturally as possible, you will find it is less painful.

Good luck - and don't worry about the horror stories - it's a sad but true thing that lots of people had less than perfect experiences, but there are really good midwives and doctors out there - the midwife I had for dd's birth was fantastic, and I have several obs/gynae doctor friends who are very pro natural birth, if possible.

A good birth plan is a really big help - even if you end up deviating completely, it is good to work out what you want before you hit labour, when it can all go out of the window. The only other thing I would suggest is keeping upright as much as possible - I would never have believed it made such a difference, but it really did with dd - I know 2nd births are generally much easier, but I'm sure the being upright helps. And also, walking around. If it's any help, the best position I found was kneeling against the bed, burying face in bed!!!

The other thing you can do at this stage is to try and get the baby into a good position (i.e. an OA or anterior position as opposed to OP or posterior ) - lots of people (me included with ds) have had OP labours, which concentrates itself in the back, and is very painful and drawn out. You need to spend time with your knees lower than your hips, so that baby can rotate into the correct position. Scrubbing the kitchen floor on hands and knees is a good position for the baby. And not slouching on a sofa, because that will put your knees above your hips.

Pupuce and mears are much much better authorities on this, but these are just some things I've gleaned along the way. Hope this helps a bit, and sorry it's so long!

oh and by the way, I was desperate to stay mobile and I found that when I told the midwives that (and I have given birth at 2 different hospitals), they were all very supportive of this and I only had to lie down when they wanted to check the baby's heartbeat or check the position of the baby.

I had my ds, my first, with just gas and air and a tens machine but I was lucky - it was all over and done with in a couple of hours.

I agree that you need to keep an open mind, sometimes the choices you make beforehand are not the choices that turn out to be right on the day. Obviously you need to have a plan about how you would like things to happen but if it doesn't turn out that way you can't beat yourself up about it. They'll be far more important things to worry about!

Best of luck for the birth.

Thanks everyone. I am definitely keeping an open mind because obviously I have no idea what to expect! I think it's the idea of pethedine that really worries me because once you've had it, it takes a while to wear off and also associated probs with breastfeeding. Would almost prefer to go straight to epidural because at least then would have a clear head AND be able to get some rest if it's a long labour - or does that sound illogical?

Hi Muriwai

In answer to your question, I got through labour without the gas and air, or anything at all. I ahd a tens machine on and that was it.

My whole experience was a positive one and I feel very lucky.

Not every birth is a horror story! Please don't worry.

It was paoinful and mad but positive. I just got through the contractions at home, got on all fours and gritted my teeth for 4 hours and then went to the hospital (car journed was awful!). Was fully dilated on arrival (active bith unit so just me and D and 1 midwife, my bed with pretty duvet set and matching curtains, a stereo, tv and own bathroom). Started pushing, remained standing, one leg on bed one on floor and she was born about an hour or so later.

No matter how much it hurt I thought, it';s going to get worse than this and that's what i kept saying and it never really doid get worse so I got through it. I was determined to do it without aid of painrelief, just something I wanted to really experience without drugs etc, and was lucky that I was able to stick to that plan as there were no complications and I wasn't havingthose overwhelming contractions for more than about 3 or 4 hours so it was bearable.

Good luck, you'll be fine.

PS - are there any active birth classes near you. They train you and get you ready for a birth free on pain releif.

Muriwai - I'm sorry that thread scared you.

I had diamorphine and entonox with ds. The diamorphine did help, but like you say, it makes you feel totally out of control and ds was a bit groggy when he was born, and didn't latch on very well. I'm going to try with just entonox this time, but if necessary I'll have diamorphine again coz it definitely helped with the pain.

I just did it with gas and air.
I was already 7cm's dilated when i went in and although had been crampy all day, it was only the hour before i went to hospital that the pain got severe and i realised this is it!
So straight on the gas and air and then the pain REALLY came! I asked for the pethidine but managed (just) to restrain myself with a fantastic midwife telling me i was gonna have the baby very soon and to hang on!

muriwai, best of luck +

Oh and i agree about the birthplan, my midwife seemed to really KNOW exactly what i wanted after reading it.

Yes, I did for both mine (gas and air only). It helps if you are lucky to have a quick and straightforward labour and if you can keep upright and active.
I do think its helpful to decide in advance whether you definitely want an epidural early or if you want to 'see how it goes'. I know a lot of people with positive epidural stories, but I also knew that I would prefer to avoid one for myself. Its a very personal thing.

Don't worry Toothache - it didn't scare me that much - I've heard some pretty scary stories before, and anyway forewarned in forearmed! If anything it just made me more determined to try and stay in control of what's going on and that's why I wanted some advice from mums who've done it before.

I managed my first with just gas&air and a tens machine.

It was not terribly short, but about average for a first time. I did ask for an epidural at one point and even considered pethidine (which was a definite nono before labour started), but thanks to a great m/w and an even better husband who kept spurring me on saying you're nearly there (it felt like I was nearly there was hours...)

Another friend of mine had 2 natural labours, one in the pool and one with gas&air, she also managed to ask for an epidural (even though she was strongly opposed to that) but it was too late for that.

If you are very determined to have a natural birth, my advice is, leave as long as possible before you go to hospital, walk a lot when you're there.
Go to an active birth class or read about it. I did yoga at the Active Birth Centre, and even though I did not remember a single position once I was in labour, it gave me the confidence of trusting and listening to my body. I always felt in control (even when it did not look like it from outside IYKWIM ). I'm convinced it really helped.

Hope this helps!!

Best of luck

Yes, absolutley stay at home for a s long as poss. Couldn't agree more webmum. Pace the room, walk up and down the stairs, runa bath and then empty it again!

Someone told me a good way of getting through those contractions at home was to make bread!!!!!!!!!! Yeah right!!! I can see how the kneading of bread might be good but don't think I'd see it thought to the baking stage!!!!!!

i think I wore the carpert out in the hall when I was in labour!
D however barely raised his head over the newspaper!!!

muriwai, I was adamant that I did not want any pain relief and was militant about intervention etc. In the end, I felt that I had a positive experience, and was certianly supported fantastically by my MWs, with my choices and references and opinions given priority at every stage.
I was planning a home birth, and managed up until 3 hours of pushing with a Tens machine, breathing and the pool. I felt fine. I spent the whole time walking round or leaning forwards (on stairs, kitchen worktops, sofa back), and breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, going 'uuuurrrrrrh' - just to keep myself occupied, really!
In the end it was obvious even to me that DS was well and truly stuck, was OP, and we would have to go to hospital for a tug'o'war with the ventouse. At that point, the MW's were sure I could get by on gas and air, but I didn't want to try it (had become unreasonable!!) and insisted they give me an epidural as I didn't feel able to lie on my back without it.
But everyone still listened to me, explained everything to me, and even tho we had invoked every intervention known to medical science by this point, still stuck to birth plan re cord cutting etc.
Talk to your MWs, make sure your partner is clued up about all the language and choices, and BREATHE!
It didn't work out the way I hoped, but I never felt I was treated as a brainless lump!

Haven't read all the posts on here thouroughly, but it is possible. I had a water birth (fab) and managed on TENS & gas and air. Everybodys experience is different I realise that, but I kept mobile as long as possible and got up and bounced on a birthing ball for hours when the contractions woke me. The results were I was 7.5cms dilated by the time I got to hospital and 10cms by the time I walked to the home from home suite.

I had an overwhelming urge to push while they were filling the bath (much to DH's consternation) and DD was born 2.5hrs after getting to the hosp. (9hrs total)

The contractions only got REALLY painful once my waters had gone (in the taxi!), but by then I was virtually there. I don't know how I would have done if it had been longer/complications etc., but for me it was an incredibly positive experience and I have only praise for my midwives.

HTH and I hope you enjoy it if possible - it is an incredible experience!

TENS -didn't know if it worked or not tbh. Had it with DD not with DS. Gas and Air made me feel sick as a dog. With DD had Epidural - fantastic although I couldn't feel very much to push and she ended up being a Ventouse delivery, with DS I had a low dose epidural which was the best thing since sliced bread!! No pain but sensation felt and plenty of opportunity and sensation to push DS out. All done in 3 hours and home that evening(6 hour discharge) to celebrate!! Take the drugs & ignore the birth plan imo. How can you prepare for pain that you've not experienced before?? Or am I too black and white???!!!

Haven't read all the other replies but ds was op and in the end I had ventouse and episiotomy but I got through on just gas and air. Genreally I have a pretty low pain threshold so was pleasantly surprised.

I stayed at home for the first 12 hours or so, walking around and eating little bits until the contractions were every few minutes and I felt I wanted to move. I used a Tens machine for much of that time too and it was great. Once in hospital it took another 7 hours before he was born, and in retrospect I would have been better off staying at home longer, as they hooked me up to a monitor and I had to ask to go to the toilet before they would unhook it. However once the pain got unbearable (and they wanted to break my waters) I had gas and air and that saw me through. I didn't notice when the Tens machine electrodes came off! I was so happy with gas and air that I insisted on keeping it while they stitched me even though I'd had a local! Second time round I didn't have a gas and air option and did without !

Anyway it certainly is possible and if you are able, get to an NCT class or Active Birth centre where they can help you relax and think positively it may help you. However do keep an open mind as you just never know how you will feel or how labour will progress until it happens.