Pain Free Pain Relief?

[thebump]

Hi Everyone.

I'm due to have my first baby in a couple of months and like a number of people, am frightened to death of needles.

Although I'd like to think I can tackle child birth with nothing but sheer determination and a small amount of gas and air, I think I may be slightly disillusioned. So I've not ruled out the epidural.
Everyone who I've spoken to so far has told me that I'll be in so much pain, that I won't even feel the needle going in (thats a lot for that guys!) but I was wondering if anyone could tell me what it really feels like?

pinkdiamond... that's how i felt! i was lying on the bed squeezing dp's hand and crying and yelling "i can't do it, make it go away"... thought i was going to die from the pain
was very embarassed when the midwife told me she could hear me down the corridor

the relief when it kicked in was sooooooooooooo brilliant, and i was soon smiling and thinking about my baby.
I was hooked up to the monitors too, so had to stay in bed, but to be honest I didn't really mind. The monitors showed when I was having a contraction, and when it was time to push it was just beginning to wear off, so that I could feel the pressure of the head pushing down which helped.

I've no idea what an epidural feels like, but having had the lumbar puncture from hell a few years previously was more than enough to give me the determination to not find out.

I also used a tens machine and a birthing pool, and went swimming a lot to try and get baby in the optimum position. Oh and I didn't slouch around in a sofa from around month 7. A combination of all of these and some luck worked for me.

thebump,
Please, please don't be scared. Like lots of the women already on here, I was terrified pre-labour of needles - cried my eyes for days in the run up to my blood tests and passed out at each and every one. But when I was in labour, the midwife hurt me more putting a drip in my arm than the epi did. I had a drip inserted int he other arm by the anaesthetist (SP?) and he sprayed the area first with soemthing to numb the skin and that was loads better so insist upon it for your drips. Dont take any sh*t, absolutely insist upon it
Also, I don't know if everyone has the same treatment country-wide, but post c-section I had a blood test the day after birth and daily injections for a week afterwards...two in my arm, two in my leg and one in my stomach. By the time I'd gone through the labour and then emergency section, I was a total hero and didn't care a jot about needles. The nurses are lovely and caring and really good about fraidy cats like us.

good luck hun x

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