Pain relief advice for Labour? 🤰

[Kayleyanniex]

Hi guys. I’m due to give birth in 4 weeks time and I’m absolutely terrified! I’m trying to do research for different times of pain relief for Labour (UK) and they all sound like they have nasty side effects. I’m considering Pethidine however I’m aware it does not take the pain away completely and it can cause horrible sickness so I don’t have a clue. Have you guys got any advice or experience you can share? I’m not keen at all on a epidural. Thank you!! ❤️

Another suggestion for looking at the labourpains.org website if you've not seen it already - lots of objective information on it and it's run by the Obstetric Anaesthetists Association so is a reliable source. It's worth finding out if you haven't already what's actually available at the place you're planning to give birth (particularly re. gas & air & remifentanil) as it may help make the decision making easier. Also definitely worth speaking to your MW (although also worth considering that a lot of them are anti-epidural) because it may be that there are features about you/your pregnancy that make one option better/worse than the others.

Epidurals are still the 'gold standard' for pain relief in labour but while what PP says about getting one at any point in labour is technically true, having one put in very late is higher risk and less likely to work in time to be useful (however, an anaesthetist would be able to help you weigh up the pros vs cons at the time if you were thinking about one).

Another PP also mentioned about opioids making the baby drowsy - that can also be true, but is also the reason the doses are carefully managed and if labour's cracking on at some speed MWs usually advise women not to have a(nother) dose of pethidine.

Most of the pain relief options are a bit like marmite - you really don't know if you'll get on with them until you try them (and for women coming a back for a second, the response can be different between pregnancies too). It's also worth remembering that while all the options for 'doing something' can have side effects, severe pain or even trauma from not 'doing something' can also be quite damaging too so you may need to reset your baseline for comparison a bit if that makes sense (you'll also probably only know what you want when the time actually comes and you know what it all feels like).

Don’t be terrified!! I’m actually quite a baby when it comes to period pains and general stomach aches etc, but I didn’t use any pain relief for birth!! The gas and air just made me feel woozy and took me out of the moment, so I didn’t use it much. Early labour was all in my back so I just rocked back and forth for hours.
transition was the hardest part but I was in the water which really helped - warm water running constantly on my back from shower head, was good distraction. Also biting on a cold flannel.
as soon as I got to pushing stage I found it really satisfying as the pushes felt like they were doing something and the pain in between them lessened. The mindset is key, and knowing that it will soon be over. Lucazade fizzy orange is amazing for energy levels. You can do it !

@Butterflysunshine01 thank you for your advise it sounds really positive! I’m struggling these past few days knowing that the time is coming around very quickly! I’m just very scared as it’s the unknown to me! My only hope it’s very quick birth that I don’t have time to think about things going wrong! Xx

Thank you guys so much for advice, I really appreciate it! It can be so scary to think about it’s the unknown when it’s your first! I have no idea what to expect I just hope that we’re both safe and get through it okay ❤️

@Fifteentreefrogs thank you for your advise! It was really good to read it! It’s been a hard couple of days for me knowing that my Labour is only around the corner! It’s hard not to get into a negative mindset about what can go wrong! I just I have very quick and easy birth so I don’t have time to think about it xx

I had pethidine with my first and it was fantastic although I progressed quicker than they thought I would (2-10cm in about 1.5h and about 1 hr after pethidine) so I was quite out of it as I was pushing.
Second time I was on gas and air and took 3 hours to get from 3-5cm, just as I asked for it as the pain got worse I went from 5-10 in about 5 minutes and then baby here 3 pushes later, so did it on gas and air.

My first labour I just used gas & air, and didn’t feel like I needed anything else. It was hard work but fine.

My second I really struggled, felt the urge to push long before I was ready (4cm). I ended up having an epidural and it was brilliant. Still could feel all the contractions, move my legs etc. but it took all the urgency out and I could rest in between contractions which I couldn’t before.

No idea why the two labours were so different but I’m glad I made the choices I did in each.

Its so subjective to what's right for you, but I would say prepare for what will happen if for any reason your chosen pain relief doesn't work.

I had pethidine on my first labour, and it did nothing so I got the epidural. This didn't work properly for me and it was still quite painful. I really wasn't prepared for that - my entire birthday plan was "epidural". In hindsight it would have been great to have prepared with breathing exercises or hypnobirthing to help manage the pain better.

Best of luck! And remember that it's only one day, you can do anything for that length of time - especially when the reward is so great. ❤️

See how it goes, I was dreading it too but it might not be as bad as you think. Both times I just had gas and air which took the edge off.

@kc92 thank you so much x

@DoAClassicCamel thank you this brings me a lot of relief!

I expected the pain to be awful and I had planned for an epidural for total pain relief. I unexpectedly ended up having pethidine once I arrived at hospital and it was great. Was able to rest a bit, progressed well, then as I felt well and I was already entering the pushing stage I decided just to use gas and air. It was fine. I don't remember the pain, just the effort.

I wish I could go back and tell my pregnant self how straightforward my experience of labour was. I am really scared of pain so was very anxious about it all. I was also worried I'd make the pain worse by not being able to relax. I realise everyone's experience is different but please remember you might not find it as painful as you fear.

Good luck!