Positive pain relief stories?

[NewMama2Be]

Hi folks, I'm 37 weeks with my first so waiting on her arrival and wondered if anyone had positive pain relief stories they could share?

I had posted previously about my nervousness around gas and air and how it might make me feel, but the replies were great and really convinced me that I'll hopefully be ok with it. I think the fact it leaves the system quite fast if it didnt agree with me is a big plus 👍

I'm much more hesitant around pethidine and morphine injections atm, I really dont like how stronger PKs make me feel and
dont like the thought of feeling pretty whacked out in labour, plus i dont like the idea of it getting through to the baby and potentially having an impact on her too 🤷‍♀️

Then of course theres an epidural, I think the thought of being confined to my back and loss of sensation is what's making me most anxious - although I appreciate there could come a point where that's exactly what I'll be glad of 🤦‍♀️😂

I'm reading and watching a lot of positive birth stories / hypnobirthing, so just want to add some positive pain relief experiences into the mix if anyone has anything they can share?

TIA!

I'm going to dig out my antenatal handouts and check re the epidural at my hospital, I'm sure there was a 'new' type mentioned, that gives the same relief but is more flexible, can be topped up, wears off quicker etc but I'm sure it was mentioned that it depends if theres a specific doctor on duty to administer it, as not everyone is allowed to give it 🤔

DC1 I was induced on the syntocinon drip and ended up with epidural. Brilliant. As others have said, you generally have a button to press to top up as and when needed, could feel my legs etc. It was all in a 40 hour induction with a back to back baby and I couldn't have coped without an epidural.

DC2 was born two weeks ago and I was induced yet again, but this time I only needed to have the pessary and things progressed v v quickly. 1-2cm to babe in arms was about 90 mins, was only on the labour ward for about 30 minutes before she was born. Only had time for gas and air and although it was pretty painful, it was over quickly and only a few minor tears. Would do it all again and it's still v fresh in the memory, so that says a lot! Gas and air didn't take the pain of contractions away but helped focus my breathing and took the edge off. I would add that I didn't use G&A when pushing though as I found the physical exertion of pushing down made it impossible to take deep breaths in IYSWIM but at that point your body really does take over and although painful I couldn't have stopped pushing if I tried. Mother Nature is truly amazing!

Best of luck with whatever you decide . My tip is ask for pain relief in good time if needed! Don't labour on in agony unless you really want to go fully natural. The midwife will need to find a doctor to prescribe the stronger stuff/anaesthetist to administer an epi and that all takes time.

Gas and air does nothing for pain it makes you feel fuzzy to distract you. I had no pain relief (not by choice it all happened so fast). I had a spinal to remove my retainer placenta and if I have anymore kids I'd want an epidural the difference was amazing.

TENS machine all the,way, just make sure it is one designed for labour - our local maternity hospital lends them out and make sure you get it in plenty of time. Good luck to you

Water helped me massively, with just gas and air towards the end. I felt a lot more in control.

I had diamorphine with my first and it made me so sick!

Part of me does think it's bizarre though that women are still expected to just cope with pain in labour... I think if men gave birth this would not be the case..

Thanks @straysocks my tens arrived this morning so I'm all set 🤞

I loved my TENS machine. Bloody amazing. I recommend to everyone!

I used that, along with hypnobirthing techniques for both of my births. My second birth I took it off to get into the pool (also highly recommend by me!).

I tried G&A during first birth, but I really didn't like it.

My first birth was an induction on the drip, which supposedly is more painful, but I wasn't offered an epidural and just got on with it. Luckily it was a relatively quick birth!

@NewMama - great, have a play with the different pulses so you know what you're doing when the time comes.

I had nothing, the water helped loads - bath at home then water birth in hospital. But I'd only say about an hour of the 12 hour labour was actually painful. The rest was just intense pressure. I did hypnobirthing.

I had a water birth with gas and air, recovered very quickly once I didn't need it any more, it definitely was needed and was exactly the right level of pain relief I needed

Just take it as it comes, I had hired a TENS machine, it helped me, I didn’t have any other pain relief, however both of my labours where quite quick. I was open to anything that could help me.

Good luck OP and whatever happens when you have your baby in your arms it doesn’t matter, it is totally awesome.

I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Actually I am wrong - I said I had only had gas and air (and tried TENS). With child 5 - the second twin - but not the first twin - long story! I did have an epidural and that was fine too. I didn't need it with the other 4. Just play it by ear and have what you feel you need at the time as it is so hard to generalise.

Thanks @roselilly36 that's so lovely to hear, I'm excited!

I felt the same with pain relief. I don't drink, have anxiety and hate the feeling of being out of control.
I was really scared of gas & air at first and didn't use it properly. Once I did I actually really enjoyed it.
Due to complications I ended up having an emergency c section so had to have an epidural. The epidural always scared me because of my anxiety and not being able to move if needed to.
The epidural was a weird feeling and I did have moments of "oh god don't panic" but it was all okay in the end

Oh and a TENS machine helped SO much before I got in the birthing pool!

I wouldn't rule out any pain relief. Go in with an open mind and know you're in very capable hands

I had gas and air with my first to begin with. A great distraction but didn't really help with the pain. I found it was more of a coping mechanism.

The epidural was fantastic. That's all I have to say on that

Obviously very subjective, but I’ve broken down the wide range of pain relief I had across both births-

Paracetamol- 2/10. Good for early labour when the pains are annoying but you need to catch some sleep before things ramp up

Hypnobirthing- 0/10: I know this is controversial on MN, but no amount of positive thinking and breathing was distracting me from the fact my body was trying to expel a fully grown human

Birth Pool- 6/10: lovely and relaxing, weightless feeling was great. However I was so relaxed my contractions went from one every three minutes to one every five. Added to the fact the water kept cooling down annoyingly quickly, I was happy enough when the mw suggested getting out again.

Pethidine 6/10: great for the actual pain, but made me very sleepy and out of it. Dc was also v sleepy when born and wouldn’t latch, which scuppered breastfeeding for us.

Gas and Air 7/10: Brilliant distraction, feels like you’re in control, helps your breathing. Like being at the dentist.

Remifentanil 10/10: Fantastic. Builds up in your system over time as you administer yourself with a clicker after each contraction. I’d forgotten to keep administering it when it actually came to pushing and just used gas and air, very effective. Bounced straight up after delivery for a shower, so it had the pain killing effects of the epidural without the loss of control.

Retired anaesthetist here, and I’m very puzzled to hear you all talking of the “new” epidural!
Infusion pump and patient controlled top up epidurals have been around for 30 years in the small Scottish district general hospital I worked in. Ambulatory epidurals for at least 15.
There must be some very antiquated obstetric units still knocking around!
I suspect some midwives trot out anti epidural propaganda in antenatal classes because it removes a lot of their role in labour.
A completely comfortable, pain free woman doesn’t really need all the reassurance, pain management, people skills that midwives practise - she just needs a chat, a snooze, or a good book until it’s time to push!

no amount of positive thinking and breathing was distracting me from the fact my body was trying to expel a fully grown human

A fully grown human? I think you were doing it wrong!

For my first I wanted as little pain relief as possible but was open to all options depending on how I felt. I started with gas and air then had diamorphine, I wish I had asked for the diamorphine earlier. It did make me sleepy but I needed to rest a bit anyway. After the birth I needed a spinal block as I needed to go to theatre to repair a tear, I hated the spinal block and it took longer than they expected to wear off.

Second time I went straight to diamorphine and that was it. It's my plan with my 3rd too.

I don't think there is a perfect way of managing the pain, try to find what works for you and don't be afraid to change your mind once you are in labour.

Unfortunate typo from me WhoArtinHeaven, but to be honest at the time it did feel like a fully grown human as opposed to a 7lb baby

Ah thank you @arklover, that's really reassuring to hear

@TerribleCustomerCervix that's so helpful! And Remifentanil!! That's the one my midwife advised was available as a 'new' option but dependent on which doctors were on duty as not everyone is able to administer it 🤷‍♀️ did think that seemed a bit strange but she definitely pitched it as a great option but dont pin all my hope's on it just incase....

@NewMama2Be also forgot I used the Freya app for my contractions. You have to pay for it but I found it really useful and helped me through contractions.