Gas and air V Epidural - honest opinions please

[Trying4baby2021]

Hello everyone,

What are the thoughts on gas and air versus an epidural? I would like to have a water birth which I know you can't do with epidural. I'm worried it will be too painful with just gas and air. I'm a first timer - any advice would be welcomed x

I've had gas and air (personally found it useless), epidural (personally found it quite useless), and three water births, including one for a compound birth where things got quite awkward. I thought the water pool got rid of more pain than the pharmacological stuff. As I say, personal opinion.

If you feel tired with the contractions definitely go for the epidural. I did with my first after eleven hours of full on labour with strong contractions. Gas and air was okay for the first couple of hours but then wasn't enough. Make sure you're assertive if you need an epidural though as they'll try and put you off. Honestly when it kicked in it was like the sun had come out and I wanted to kiss the anaesthetist.

I'd just be open to whatever you need and not feel like you've failed if you need pain control of any description. No one says I'll have a natural dental filling!

5 births here... 1st one was soo long and I hadn't slept for 3 days so had Pethidine to calm me, worked a treat but baby didn't feed well after and I felt out of it after for a while too, birth 2 just gas and air and managed really well, didn't ask for anything else, then number 3 and 4 I had awful back pain and only just coped with gas and air but was a mess and would have had an epidural if I was brave enough to insist and endure staying still for a needle. Number 5 was an induction and if ever I had to do that again, I'd go for an epidural as the contractions came along twice as fast and for longer too

My epidural didn't work, so I had gas and air for 14 hrs of contractions which worked amazingly, it didn't stop the pain but it meant I literally did not care. Has an EMCS in the end though so don't know if it would have been enough right to the end

Tens machine worked better for me than gas and air.

There are other drugs to consider. I had diamorphine which really took edge off. For a while anyway. Then managed with gas abs air

Water was absolutely amazing for me and made it perfectly ok to “just” use G&A.
Although I was able to get to 8cm at home with a tens machine (highly recommend hiring one).
But if for any reason I’d been unable to use water or stay mobile then in that case I’d have taken the epidural (I assume at that point I’d have been redirected to Labour ward from mlu anyway so epidural would have them been an option).

@FudgeSundae

So if you decide to wait and see, know this: once you decide you are in enough pain to need an epidural, they will give you a sheet to read and page the anaesthetist, which could take no time or could take an hour or more. When he/she arrives, you need to sit COMPLETELY STILL while they thread a needle into your spine. While you are having contractions every minute or more frequently. It’s not fun and is a bit terrifying.

Also, I did that and then the epidural failed completely - some people have slightly unusual anatomy or the anaesthetist makes a mistake. If that happens and you’re lucky it does nothing (what I had), if you’re unlucky it can go into the wrong bit of your spine and cause varying levels of drama. This is very unusual but worth being aware of before you’re in massive pain and they hand you a consent form!

I had no choice but to go on with gas & air as there was no time to resite the epidural but in the end she was born 3 hrs later which really wasn’t too bad. I’m pregnant again and this time I’m going to try just gas & air and see how I go as the stress of the failed epidural wasn’t worth it and I clearly have weird back anatomy!

Also think about the time after your baby is born - I was able to get straight up and have a bath which was AMAZING and I’d be upset if I couldn’t do that again.

This happened to me!! I have never come across anyone else it happened to and I was really angry about it at the time. I was abroad so no gas and air either and nobody explained to me that the epidural was probably sited incorrectly (in hindsight this is probably it because I was having a hard time staying still and I still have no idea what "arch your back like a cat" means I was supposed to do). So I just got stuck without any pain relief at all and honestly it was horrific.

DH reckons this time I should have it much earlier so I'll be calmer, but I don't know if I trust it or want to go through the experience of having it put it for potentially nothing again, I think I might just book into the one hospital that has gas and air and use that.

The thing is, with my first one I had gas and air and water. I had to get out of the pool towards the end. One of my main reasons for not wanting the epidural was because I think I want to be able to move around in labour, but in actual fact with both DC, when I wasn't in water with DC1 and for the whole thing really with DC2, I wasn't capable of moving around anyway, I wasn't using positioning or movement for pain management anyway, I was to overwhelmed by the pain to do anything like that. So maybe my reasoning against the epidural isn't quite right, anyway. Hmm. You have made me think now!

Imagine someone's about to smash your hand with a hammer. You have the choice between popping two paracetamol, or having local anaesthetic injected to numb the whole area beforehand. That's what gas and air is to an epidural.

I had gas and air along with water birth for my son. Couldn't have managed solely on gas and air but the water for me made a huge difference I didn't realise til I was asked to get out for a check. I ended up then refusing to leave the water!

Do some reading into how to use gas and air properly as well its deep breathing in and out at the start of the contraction which makes the difference if you only do it when it getting to the peak its not effective

Gas & air did nothing for me. 3 failed epidural attempts. I gave up with it. Haha. I stopped the gas & air at pushing stage, felt it wasn’t making any difference. A water birth sounds amazing! I can absolutely see why nice warm water would take the edge off, if your anything like me & love a bath when your feeling rubbish.

Has and air doesn't take the pain away, it kinda more distracts you from it or gives you something else to focus on ie the breathing it in. I had two water births snd was lucky enough to only need gas and air but I can totally see why for some it doesn't help as it's not really pain relieving x

Gas and air made me feel drunk which was nice for a while but then I threw up everywhere 😅
I’d say get the epidural - I wish I had. I went for the diamorphine injections in the leg and although they took the edge off I was still in a lot of pain. Good luck with everything! X

@DressingGownofDoom that’s a brilliant way to put it 😄👏

Get a tens machine for contractions at hone. I had a water birth with gas and air and it was amazing. I really didn’t want an epidural but wouldn’t have ruled it out if I couldn’t handle the pain. Go with an open mind and I really recommend hypnobirthing by the positive birth company as a first time mum who is nervous.

I didn't have either. Therefore this thread is interesting to me.

Well I had two very different births, but I was lucky they were both straightforward. Will try to summarise but the short answer is I loved gas and air, bloody wonderful stuff. Made me feel drunk / high enough that I noticed the contractions in a kind of detached way.

BABY 1: loooong latent phase at home with tens machine. Manageable. Had gas and air from about 7cm. Big tear so epidural after for stitching in theatre (didn’t like the feeling of it to be honest and was glad I hadn’t had it earlier. Also don’t know how I would have sat still during contractions to have it put in. Also the anaesthetist couldn’t find my spine so I had a massive sore bruise from the multiple attempts and it took about 45 mins to get it in. Made me go shaky and cold. Hated the catheter.

BABY 2: had read Kathryn Graves hypnobirthing book. Gas and air from about 7cm and throughout pushing and stitches. Had to do without it in the lift and that was awful so I can say it definitely helped me a lot. Also I’m a right wimp being examined so it really helped then and with the stitches . Got in the pool at 10cm (only because last bit of birth went so quickly) which was bliss. Baby born in water which was about 1000 times better in the actual birthing bit than “on land” for me. It felt more private and less invasive somehow because I had the big pool around me and no ones hands on me (mws use a mirror in the water to check you). Second degree tear but was a big baby so this may have been why. This birth was a dream.

I will say though the thing that made the most difference between my two births (no1: slightly traumatic and with a 3a tear. No 2: wonderful, with a fast recovery and I was bouncing round the room after) was FEAR. First birth I was terrified by the feeling of contractions getting more and more intense, then the feeling of my bits stretching and didn’t know how to push... basically doubted myself and my body every step of the way.

Second birth I just let go and took each moment as it came. Kind of surrendered myself to the powerful contractions. Would recommend having a look at hypnobirthing.

I had gas and air and a water birth. To be honest, I don't think the gas and air did much for the pain but it was good because it gave me something to focus on in terms of my breathing. If anything, the hot water in the birthing pool helped the most with the pain - I had a really positive experience and no interventions (or stitches)! I'd really try and go for a water birth if you can, it was great!

Gas and air was fabulous at the start of my (induced) labour. After nine long months of abstinence from alcohol it was great fun and really took the edge off the pain. I also had morphine and I was coping well and think I would have continued to cope but I was advised to then have an epidural due to some complications that arose. I had a great anaesthetist and the epidural immediately took all the pain away. Completely different experience of labour though and I would like to try with just gas and air again in future because I attribute the morphine and epidural to my baby being quite drowsy and disinterested in feeding after she was born. I also never felt that rush of love at seeing my baby that people describe and have since read up on epidurals and realised that they really interfere with your hormones.

I had gas both times initially and had planned for an epidural with both. The gas did nothing. I felt tipsy for a few minutes then nothing really. It didn't make it feel fuzzy or distant or any of the things I wa told it would. Thank god for epidurals because after almost 24houra of labour with DD I was exhausted. They put that needle in, I had a sleep for a a few hours and then popped her out with no issues.
With DS I arrived at hospital much later had gas briefly (again no effect) and then delivered just after the epidural took effect.
I could feel enough to push but with no pain.
I think my decision was helped by attending a course held by anesthetists who talked through all the drug options, how they were administered, potential side effects, etc with no scare mongering- just the facts.

Epidural with first hated it and really regretted in, couldn't feel to push ended up with forceps, episiotomy and problems after ays with catheter due to epidural.

With second I had 2 paracetamol, didn't like the gas and air so just screamed instead but he was out in 2 pushes and it was overall a much better experience also only a small graze. Felt much more in control by not having epidural and was up and showered right after birth

Gas and air made me retch. My contractions were such that I was vomiting with each contraction and at risk of dehydration. Got the epidural and hated myself for resisting it so long. It was a game changer to the extent that if it was sold on the streets, I'd be first in line for a shot! It's messed up my back though or maybe that's due to me having gained A LOT of weight in pregnancy and carrying a heavy child. Do what feels right for you. Remember the thing that matters most is a healthy (and alive) mother and baby at the end of it all. The rest is relative.

There are a few variables. How tolerant are you of pain and how long long our labour will be. You can have an idea of the former but not the later.
Gas and air gave me nausea. Horrible feeling when contracting. ! epic went well but slowed down labour. The second one only worked on the lhs of my body. Very tricky!
Third was a c - section.

Good luck.