Can I get through labour with no drugs?

[Dreamcatcher34]

I’m on my third baby. The previous two weren’t great births. The first I lost control, didn’t react well to pethadine and had extremely bad prostin pains. Baby was also turned a little, so didn’t come out by the crown.

Second baby was a section, when I had been planning a home birth.

Third baby, I’m open to anything so that I can feel in control and focused. I am worried about gas and air or pethadine making me feel ‘out of it’. Can I get through with no pain relief? How likely is it? I realise it’s an impossible question to answer, but I suppose I’m looking for opinions and experiences.

Thanks.

Would you consider an epidural?

My first was gas and air until pushing stage - baby then got stuck and was forceps delivery with local anaesthetic, and episiotomy. Recovery took a good 8 weeks, with episiotomy getting infected, antibiotics etc s.

My second was a long long first stage, and I requested epidural - wonderful calm and controlled delivery once it kicked into action. Could feel every push etc. But took the edge off the pain. Recovery much better too.

Gas and air wears off when you stop breathing it in so if it makes you feel weird you can easily stop. I had only gas and air with my first, including pushing for 3 hours!! With my second I had pethidine but baby crowned as it was getting injected so it wasn't in my system long enough to do anything. You can do it, pain won't kill you but it is really hard to bear over a sustained period of time.

Of course you could, you just say no.

But if you’re in pain, why would you?

I put in my birth plan that it was either G&A or epidural. I don’t like the side affects of the other pain relief options as they pass onto baby.

G&A as I found out unfortunately makes me violently sick, so after a while, I went straight for an epidural.

Make sure you’re well informed of all the different options and just go in open minded.

I delivered dc2 without any drugs, it was painful but doable. I definitely didn’t feel calm or in control, though, but that is my own reaction to pain.

I would definitely look into hypnobirthing and/or an epidural next time.

Yes you can, women have been doing so for millennia

Gas and air is very different to pethidine. I hated having pethidine with my first but birthed my second and third with just gas and air. It makes you feel out of it whilst you are breathing it in but as soon as you stop and breath normal air your head completely clears unlike pethidine where you feel out of control all the time.

You can birth with out any drugs - maybe look at hypno birth and ask about water births. Good luck

Like some of the PP I’m going to say of course you can but why would you?! My second I had only gas and air, which was great. It’s a sort of lightheaded drunk type feeling and very effective when timed right (you need to start it just before the contraction but if you get into the rhythm it’s great). It’s very short lasting so not at all like pethidine (I imagine). An epidural also feels perfectly in control mentally but does increase the risk of other interventions

The only thing I learned through six vaginal deliveries is to take each one as it comes. Some were drug free, others with gas and air, one with pethidine.

The greatest challenge is your own mind, controlling the rising panic is your best bet for having the birth you would like (barring medical complications of course).

Hi :) I gave birth 4 weeks ago had a natural labour they told me I just grazed in my lady area, absolutely stung for about 2 weeks but now I’m finding I’m so sensitive down (clit) there I’m still sore, is it normal to be still sore and sensitivity come on? I’ve had a look in the mirror and can see some redness, can anyone recommend anything or has this happened too anyone else

Maybe look into hypnobirthing?

I had an epidural with my first (hated it) but then had 2 home births, no drugs for my 2nd, some gas & air for my 3rd (back to back labour)

cookie you’ll get more responses if you start your own thread, but in my experience ‘grazes’ took longer to heal than tears - about 6 weeks or so.

I had no drugs for my 3. All vaginal births.

First got stuck and had to be turned, I don't know what it's called, but when the consultant has to reach inside and rotate the baby. That was horrible, but I got through it.

Second was back to back and I was considering pain relief but then he came out.

Third was really fast so wouldn't have needed/ had time anyway.

I think it can be done in most cases if you can relax as much as possible.
Obviously some labours are worse than others and people need it.
Maybe just try and hold out till your desperate?

Each birth is so different it's hard to plan isn't it.

Best of luck when the time comes

I don’t know. I wouldn’t recommend it. I had no drugs (as in literally nothing at all) with my 2nd. I very much wanted drugs, however it was a bank holiday weekend and the hospital didn’t seem to understand I was about to have the baby. I couldn’t get words out as I was in so much pain, went into shock, eyes going up/back and lost control of my arms. Couldn’t hold my dd when she was born because I couldn’t control my arms for about an hour. They were shaking. So I did not feel in control. Felt more in control with the epidural I had with dc1.

Forgot to say, I was on those big bouncy balls for all of them. I didn't go on the bed at all apart from with my first when I had to have the moniter on. I felt much worse on the bed

I've had 3 births just gas and air, I'd say it is possible but I'd take the gas and air, as others have said the effects wear off straight away so if you don't like it you can stop using it. I found it takes the edge off the pain, then towards the end of labour and the actual birth, it was just something else to focus on during a contraction.

If your hospital does remifentanil you could look into that, i believe its patient controlled and also doesn't last long if you don't like it. It can make you feel sick though and my hospital give it alongside an anti sickness jag.

I’ve had one birth with epidural, one with just gas and air and one with nothing. The epidural birth was the most calm and controlled.

I found this book very helpful (I had 2 water births, no drugs) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006K1Y4UA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?tag=mumsnetforu03-21
It also recognises that whatever we plan, often medical intervention is needed, to save lives or simply because some women have ridiculously long labours!
I had my babies in a birth centre within a hospital which was perfect for me - a less stressful environment but knowing that if anything went wrong the full medical resources were just down the corridor and up in a lift.

If that's what you want then it's totally do-able. I didn't like the way gas and air made me feel light headed and sick so I pushed it away, and managed in the birthing pool with breathing exercises and moving about. Every woman and every birth is different though, you do what feels right for you at the time.

I did it with the second, but only because they didn't believe me on the phone and made me wait to go in to hospital. I was 9cms when I walked through the door, so no time for pain relief.
The first ones labour was very long and an hour before he was born I had an epidural.
I wouldn't chose to do it without painkillers and I didn't feel anymore in control with the second because I didn't have the drugs.

I had pethadine with my first too and hated it. Awful stuff.
I had my second without any pain relief whatsoever and it was wonderful. I didn't 'plan' anything, I just went in to it with an open mind. I ended up getting in a birthing pool when I got to hospital as midwife suggested it, I was always skeptical about them as I couldn't imagine water would actually help at all but by the Christ it works wonders. I kept waiting for the pain of transition and thinking 'these contractions aren't so bad, I must have a few hours left yet, they're going to get a million times worse' then next thing I knew I needed to push and I was like wtf?! Where was all the agony?! So yeah, massively recommend a water birth.

I had nothing with my first and by that I mean no paracetamol, no tens, no gas and air. It was doable

Yes, probably, but think about why you want to and what benefit it would be to you.

I didn't need pain relief for my births but that's almost entirely because they were short labours each time- none over 3 hours. Had I felt at any point that I needed or wanted pain relief I would have had it. I probably should have asked for it with my third but by the time I found I couldn't cope with the pain, I wasn't coping with anything and had pretty much lost the plot and was just rage screaming through contractions and refusing to communicate with anyone present except DH because I had decided the midwives were vile bitches (I really lost the plot, the student midwife present apparently needed a debrief afterward ).

My SIL swears by hypnobirthing.

Have you considered a TENS machine? They apply a small electric current to your back which apparently blocks the pain signals. I found it quite useful simply because twiddling all the dials on the handset to deliver the electric charge (you do this each time you feel a contraction coming) distracts you from the pain (there are several things that you have to coordinate on the handset). Mind you, I also used gas and air.

Of course you can. It’s whether or not you want to. I had two ten pound plus babies and didn’t have drugs with either of them.

Oh and I was in labour 18hrs with the first one and six with the second. I did labour in the pool though for both and gave birth in the pool for my second xx