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Childbirth

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

Original poster

Opinions on pethidine? Worth having?

52 replies

jammydodgie · 17/05/2023 12:37

Due DC2 next month and would like some kind of pain relief this time. Last time I was sent home at 2cm dilated, got back at 8cm and was told I could only have gas and air at that point, which I found I just couldn't get on with doing!

Thoughts/experiences on pethidine? X

OP posts:
GayPareeee · 17/05/2023 12:43

Horrid. Didn't take the pain away, but was completely zonked (not in a good way) did much better staying active with gas and air the two subsequent times

Thesunwillcomeoutverysoon · 17/05/2023 12:47

Awful. Had to stay in a week as dd was so drowsy.. Made bf quite a challenge.
Also gave me a rash. Unexplained.. Felt like a Leper in there...
Gas and air was all I had during the rest of my labours...

Fadeintoyou · 17/05/2023 12:48

I loved the feeling of being on pethedine....really loved it, i felt euphoric but it was so detrimental to an active labour....I couldn't function for hours and consequently things progressed very slowly with lots of intervention.

Gas and air and staying active helped with a very swift second labour with DS2!

Springbaby2023 · 17/05/2023 12:57

I was similar to you with DS1 in that I was already 8cm when I got to hospital so could only have gas and air.

With DS2 I wanted to just try with gas and air but at last minute ended up at a hospital which didn’t have it! I’d previously been against pethidine as I was worried it would make me sick but I was desperate and after talking it through with the midwife (who was very informative) I decided to go for it. So glad I did, it was brilliant! It just chilled me out enough to be able to rest between contractions. So much better than gas and air, and also for me better than the later epidural which failed for me.

I’ve heard really mixed experiences though so I guess it probably depends on how the individual person reacts to it, which unfortunately you won’t know until you try it.

Definitely worth talking through with your midwife.

Springbaby2023 · 17/05/2023 12:58

(Also to add no side effects for the baby)

poorremus · 17/05/2023 13:15

It helped me deal with the speed and severity of contractions having been induced - and I don't recall feeling particularly spaced out afterwards.

KnitFastDieWarm · 17/05/2023 13:20

it made me feel very floaty, which was a pleasant relief from the pain but not much use for active labour, moving around etc. In the end i had an epidural which also meant i couldn’t move but was at least with it enough to push, understand what was going on etc. I’d suggest gas and air and then an epidural if the pain gets too much - for me pethidine felt like it didn’t do enough pain relief wise for it to be worth it.

Nursemumma92 · 17/05/2023 14:10

I found it awful, felt out of control and didn't take any pain away. Also made me vomit a lot.
Gas and air I found far better!
But then I have friends who say the opposite so everyone is different. I am quite sensitive to the effects of opiates when I've had them in the past post surgery, some people have a stronger constitution!

TheShellBeach · 17/05/2023 14:20

I thought it was great.

hettiethehare · 17/05/2023 14:27

I had pethidine for DC3's birth and bloody loved it - I had it during the bit before active labour so I was nice and floaty and detached and got a chance to doze before things really got going. No side effects for either me or DC.

squirrelnutkins1 · 17/05/2023 14:31

I loved it!

JaninaDuszejko · 17/05/2023 14:31

I hated it, felt unpleasantly drunk for hours and hours. My birthplan for DD2 was just 'no pethidine'. I loved gas and air though. I would say that with gas and air if you don't like it it's easy to stop, with pethidine if it doesn't help you you are stuck with it in your system for hours.

devildeepbluesea · 17/05/2023 14:32

Didn’t feel any difference; it didn’t touch the sides. But I have a very high tolerance for drugs.

marriednotdead · 17/05/2023 14:37

I didn't like it at all, made me feel spaced out. Violently sick when it wore off. Much happier with my epidural.

curlymam · 17/05/2023 14:39

I had it for DS1 and like PP the only thing in my birth plan at the moment is "no pethidine". It didn't make any difference to my pain and just made DS extremely drowsy and unable to feed, so we had to stay in hospital for a few days until he came round from out.

SunshineIndoors123 · 17/05/2023 14:41

I didn't like it. It made me throw up pretty much straight away. It did make me a bit sleepy and I managed to rest a little bit more than I could have otherwise but it did nothing at all for the pain

WhiskersPete · 17/05/2023 14:42

I had diamorphine which is similar with both my labours and it was fantastic.

FTM2022SS · 17/05/2023 14:43

GayPareeee · 17/05/2023 12:43

Horrid. Didn't take the pain away, but was completely zonked (not in a good way) did much better staying active with gas and air the two subsequent times

Exactly the same experience but only one baba so far!

MrsAvocet · 17/05/2023 14:44

I declined it. Partly because several of my friends and family had said that it didn't really stop the pain, just stopped them being able to articulate that they were in pain, and partly because I'd read a (then - late 90s) fairly recently published scientific paper on the effects of pethidine on breastfeeding behaviour im the newborn, indicating potential adverse effects on rooting and suckling reflexes. I'd also had it after surgery previously and disliked the out of control feeling, though I know other people who liked that.

Jellybebe · 17/05/2023 14:48

I had Pethidine after 8 hours of contractions overnight and they were telling me I still had another few hours to go. It is useful if you need a break and some rest (I kept falling asleep between contractions) but not the best option if your are towards the end and you need to keep going.

Original poster
jammydodgie · 17/05/2023 19:49

Thanks so much everyone for your experiences. It does seem that more people than not found it not great!!

I'm thinking my second labor will be quicker anyway and so pethidine might not even be an option. Maybe I'll try getting through with gas and air again 😬

OP posts:
erikbloodaxe · 17/05/2023 20:19

I had it with my first, 33 hr labour. Awful. I was given too much and my baby had to be given Narcan. He's 29 now and fine 😁. Two more births and just had gas and air. They were fine. My baby almost died because of pethidine.

AnnaMagnani · 17/05/2023 20:22

I used to prescribe buckets of it when it was still used for post op pain relief.

Honestly it was crap, made most people throw up and if they were lucky have some mild pain relief.

BotherThat · 17/05/2023 20:22

It doesn’t work for everyone. I had it and it made not one bit of difference. I was gutted (ended up with an epidural)

WhatInTheFuckery · 17/05/2023 20:33

I absolutely hated it. It knocked me out inbetween contractions and didn't ease pain in the slightest, I only had it because that's the only thing they could prescribe on the birth centre. I had a contraction and within seconds was asleep and completely out of it until the next one, it made me feel so sick too. I didn't go near the stuff the 2nd time around and stuck with gas and air, wouldn't recommend it to anyone