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Childbirth

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

Original poster

Why did I find the drip so painful?

62 replies

Scoutingaround · 11/05/2019 04:54

Hi everyone I am hoping someone can help!
DC is 6 months old and is lovely. I had a long and relatively difficult induction as baby was overdue. I’ve made peace with it all and had debrief with midwife. However the thing that I really struggle with is the memory of being on the drip before the epidural.
I got to 3cm in the pessary and breathing techniques etc were working well. However then I was put on the drip and it was absolutely unbearable. How did I go from feeling fairly calm and in control to feeling utterly out of control in half an hour? Also this was when the drip was only on 4 - apparently it can go up to 30?! Was I just a total wimp?!
I just don’t understand how I got in such a state so quickly.

OP posts:
Original poster
Scoutingaround · 11/05/2019 05:09

Also - sorry - I felt like I was having contractions back to back but in fact according to my notes I was having 3 every 10 minutes. I just don’t understand what happened.

OP posts:
Wineandchoccy · 11/05/2019 05:43

@Scoutingaround No you were not a wimp.
I was induced 4 years ago with dd1 my waters broke at home but contractions were not regular or effective so I had the pessary and the gel and was coping ok then they put me on the drip and I have never felt pain like it I managed for 4 hours before having an epidural thank goodness because I needed an episiotomy and forceps. The whole process was 59 hours Sad

I had dd2 3 months ago and was induced again and was absolutely dreading it but I explained my fears and I had an epidural at the start of the drip and 5 hours later I had dd in a very calm and pain free way it was such a different experience.

Induced labour by the drip is horrible because there is no slow build up wham contractions start and they are intense.

Butteredghost · 11/05/2019 05:58

Everyone does I think. A lot of people advise not to allow them to start the drip without an epidural being placed first. Stand your ground even if they say "oh see how you go" or "the anaesthetist is on their way".

boredpanda84 · 11/05/2019 06:06

The hormone drip really does get things going very quickly. The rate of the drip doesn't correlate to pain...30 won't be more painful than 4, it just depends on how much you need to get to the correct number of contractions... some women will need more than others and that is probably linked to how close you were to going in to labour yourself. Lots of women have epidurals before the drip even starts. It's really tricky especially with a first baby as even if you prepare ad much as you can, you don't really know what it is going to feel like until is actually happening.

maidenover · 11/05/2019 06:18

It’s because they managed to create a synthetic version of the hormone that makes the uterus contract but didn’t include the hormone that provides natural pain relief (for want of a better term).

The contractions will also come a lot closer together, so you don’t have the break you get between natural contractions.

I lasted three hours on gas and air with it i my first labour until it became unbearable. The difference when I had natural contractions the second time round was night and day.

Pppppppp1234 · 11/05/2019 06:23

Ah I remember the drip, I got to 9cm then my body stopped contracting, I had only had gas and air leading up to it as I stayed active (pacing around to help with the pain). Then they whipped out that bad boy, and out came the diamorphine for me!!
Blooming heck it hurt, they did warm me of this though.... I was sceptical but they were so right!!! It didn’t help though as I still ended up in theatre with a spinal and forceps!

janeisnotmyname · 11/05/2019 06:40

You're not alone. The drip was absolutely ghastly. I had plans of just gas and air and a tens machine but 4 hours in I had to have diamorphine and then eventually begged for the epidural despite being so against it in my birth plan. It was the worst pain i've ever felt. Was all completely pointless as never got past 4cm and ended in emergency section. This time round I'm going ELCS

LeslieYep · 11/05/2019 06:58

I was induced too. No pessary as my waters had gone a day or two before so they just whacked me on the drip.

Contractions were manageable although felt G&A did bugger all!

Then all of a sudden (not sure if linked to drip being started) I was in agony. Not contractions but my cervix! I felt like I was having a smear test with a toilet brush. I was in tears and couldn't catch my breath and thankfully had an epidural shortly after. That anaesthetist is forever in my list of things to be grateful for.

I assumed it was my cervix opening, but I only reach 3cm and ended up with an emcs .

Opting for csec this time!

Mrsjayy · 11/05/2019 07:04

I was induced by IV drip 20 oddyears ago and I can reme,ber how intense it was.,the pain was horrific you are not alone .

Mrsjayy · 11/05/2019 07:05

Smear test with a toilet brush is about right !

Legofriday · 11/05/2019 07:09

I had the drip and the midwives spent quite a lot of time telling me to have an epidural before the drip started. I didn't want an epidural but they gave me lots of time, really encouraged it because they said the pain was so much worse. So I think it's a commonly accepted thing that the pain is just worse.

desperatelyseekingcaffeine · 11/05/2019 07:13

It made my contractions back to back too. They weren't all picked up on the trace so the midwives didn't realise until about an hour in when they put a hand on my stomach and told my husband oh she's overcontracting, we'll turn the drip down. I had told them, but unfortunately didn't have a very receptive one at that point, others were fantastic. The contractions were more intense than previous natural ones as well.

Ces6 · 11/05/2019 07:14

No you're not a wimp. I thought it was awful. I literally felt I was you g to die at one stage - dh helpfully said that according to the monitor I wasn't even contracting that strongly. I wasn't given any pain relief or gas and air either. It took me a long time to get o we it and has made me fearful of hospitals.

Ces6 · 11/05/2019 07:16

I was also with another woman beforehand when they told us they were inducing with a drip and she point blank refused (2nd baby). I should have listened to her!

MrsCollinssettled · 11/05/2019 07:26

The drip was appalling but I had no warning from the midwife about what to expect. I didn't get past 2cm. I had the drip 60 hours after the first attempt to induce me. I got an epidural and then another 10 hours before the emcs.

Does anyone actually manage a vaginal delivery after the drip or does it always end up being an emcs? Seems like it would be more sensible to go straight to cs if the initial attempts don't work rather than subjecting women to the drip. Although it did fill in the time waiting for a theatre to become available.

KeithLeMonde · 11/05/2019 07:30

Me too. DS1 is almost 15 and it still makes me angry that they hooked me up to it with no warning about the pain or offer of epidural. There were only two of us on the ward so they were hardly short staffed either.

I did have a vaginal birth but it was very touch and go. DS in distress and they kept losing the heart bear because the belt monitor was faulty (which also meant I had to lie very still on my back despite being in agony).

My second birth was so so so much better in every way. It's hard to describe how much the first one affected me.

AgentCooper · 11/05/2019 07:32

You are absolutely not alone. And it’s actually a relief for me to hear all these stories so thanks OP!

I had obstetric cholestasis and had to be induced at 37 weeks. 3 days of pessaries then that fucking drip. I found the pessaries bad enough and was exhausted and scared so I asked for the epidural. I was made to feel a bit of a wuss - young male doctor saying to me ‘well, labour is a bit more painful than the pessaries, you know.’ As if you would know, pal. I got the epidural and it lasted 4 hours of my 13 hour labour. There was no respite between contractions, just varying degrees of awful. At one point someone turned up the drip to move things along and I was in floods of tears with the pain - I begged for a section but in the end I got a spinal and forceps delivery. That was the best bit of the whole process.

It really puts me off having another child as I would be almost certain to get cholestasis and need induced again.

hopelesslyromantic93 · 11/05/2019 07:41

I wasn't induced, I went into labour spontaneously but couldn't get past 5cm! So after a while they offered the drip and the midwife heavily encouraged me to have an epidural as the baby was back to back so she said the pain will be an awful lot stronger a lot quicker. Don't think you're a wimp! I think it's widely accepted that the contractions through the drip are a lot more intense and painful.

NorthernRunner · 11/05/2019 07:45

Oh the drip is awful.
I was dead against having epidural, and then they gave me the drip because two sweeps had done nothing, and I very quickly realised I needed the epidural.
I spoke to my midwife friend (midwife of 10+yrs) and she said she had only ever seen 1 woman have the drip with no pain relief.
It’s truly intense

SingingMyOwnSpecialSong · 11/05/2019 07:57

I was induced at 38 weeks due to pre-eclampsia and had the drip after pessary and breaking my waters failed. Had not been warned that it would be more painful or offered anything more than gas and air. It was immediately horrendous. I remember thinking I was going to stop breathing because of the pain and actually loudly moaning ‘breathe’ to myself (I was barely aware of anyone else in the room and what they were doing) while I got used to it. I did end up having a painkilling injection, not sure which, and a antiemetic as I was sick. I did have a vaginal delivery thanks to my second midwife who was great.

I was very freaked out by how little I could remember of the birth, how painful it had been and how out of control I felt during it (I was monitored throughout so couldn’t move much) in the weeks after giving birth. The feeling of being not in control was compounded by DD being in neo-natal for 5 days as a newborn, leading to issues breastfeeding. My own aftercare was awful. Those feelings have got better, although I still feel a bit upset when I write it out or talk about it. DD is 4-years-old and likely to remain an only child as I am a single mum and peri-menopausal. But I think I would need some counselling about the birth process and hospital stay if I were to do it again.

keepingbees · 11/05/2019 08:00

I had my first with the drip and two after naturally. I can tell you now there is no comparison.
I thought I was a terrible wimp after my first. The pain was absolutely horrendous. Constant non stop agony that had me rocking on the end of the bed, shaking, sweating and vomiting. I literally couldn't get my breath it was relentless. And they kept turning it up and up. I battled through for about 5 hours as I was adamant I didn't want an epidural but then they made me have one at the end anyway.
With nothing to compare it to I assumed that was the pain of childbirth and I was a wimp. Until I popped my (very large) second baby out not even thinking I was very far in labour. And the same again with my third. The only contractions with them that were anywhere near comparable to the drip were a couple right at the end at transition.

superram · 11/05/2019 08:06

I was told to have the epidural first, I wanted to see how it went. It went for 2 hours before I’d had enough and had the epidural......

1Bobbinwinder · 11/05/2019 08:10

Going to add to the chorus of voices here and say the drip is truly evil. Midwife here, induced with my first. Got that epidural in place before they even started the drip! I'd seen too much. Glad I did because truly, it is agony. The women I know who have gone without epidural often come out the other side feeling traumatised.

Drip worked brilliantly for me though- 48 hours of pessary and waters broken with nothing- drip at 1 cm and 6 hours later holding my baby.

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 11/05/2019 08:10

Yes. I had the drip on my first baby, more than fifteen years ago. Waters had gone, waited for three days, induced on the drip. The pain was excruciating. I got the epidural soon afterwards.

I was also induced on my next two babies. They were overdue by ten days. Waters were intact, I got the pessary and used gas and air, no epidural. It was tough, but not as hard as being induced on the drip.

Enjoy your new baby Smile

Original poster
Scoutingaround · 11/05/2019 08:15

Wow thanks everyone! I went to sleep after writing my post and to wake up to these is so helpful. Reassuring to know I’m not the only one!
I just remember how I was on my hands and knees sobbing saying that I wanted to go home. It was awful. The epidural was amazing.
I did end up with forceps 12 hours later. Sometimes I think if I hadn’t had the epidural I might have avoided forceps - but it sounds like from these responses that managing that long on the drip without an epidural is pretty rare. Thanks everyone xx

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