Experiences of Pethidine

[Sam29]

Hi, am due in 3 and a half weeks and have my fingers crossed for a water birth using gas and air to see me through.
However, need to have a Plan B just in case something hiccups and I can't have a water birth. Do not want to be bed bound so epidural not an option so am thinking of pethidine if I end up having to be on dry land! I know it can make the baby sleepy which concerns me as I want to get baby to breast asap but has anyone had any good / bad experiences of pethidine or tips on having it and having a relatively awake baby!

I had pethidine with dd2 but I don't really think it had time to work as she was born less than 5 minutes later, I think only draw back with it is that it 20 minutes to work. I had dd2 with just the help of gas and air and found it fab. From personal experience I would recommend as natural as possible, I had an epidural 1st time and nothing second and if i were to have another it would most definately be natural all the way.

Good look upon your new arrival and keep us all posted.

I had pethidine with my second baby, not planned but needed something more than gas and air, however dont think it made all that much difference and just really used the booster on the gas and air. Baby born with no spleepy effects, one of my worries, and she fed straight away. Good luck with water birth, spent most of my first labour in the water and it was brilliant.

I would have loved a water birth with dd1 but couldn't due to the fact that i am a very warm person (no not like that ladies) and am quite prone to fainting fits when I get too hot, the minimum temperature they have birthing pools at is too hot for me, my baths are tepid, too cold for dd1 & dd2 even, also another mark agains my having a water birth was the fact that my blood pressure was sky high.

Good luck

I didn't have pethidine when I had ds - but I've had it loads after operations. Have to say I love it... (not that I'm an addict or anything)... IME it got rid of any pain and left me feeling lovely and warm and sleepy, incapable of holding a sensible conversation and blissfully unaware of what was going on. Hence the fact that I once asked my mother to "get the dog out of here, she's going to knock the flowers over". Having said that, that was one of the reasons why I didn't go for it during labour as I figured I would talk enough xxxx without it. Don't know if they would give you the same dose though!

I tried everything during my very long labour...TENS, pethidine, gas and air, birthing pool and finally epidural. IME, pethidine was the only thing which didn't work! It made me so sleepy I was confined to my bed (in a doze) but it didn't get rid of the pain - so I kept waking up mid-contraction (not nice!). However, it does work for lots of people. I was dead against using pethidine because of its effect on the baby, but was persuaded to give it a try by MW who said that birth was a long way off (and she was right, so her advice was sensible, it's just it didn't work as a painkiller for me). I can't comment on its effect on the baby as ds was born so long after I had the pethidine it should have been well out of his system by then.

I had Pethidine with my first baby and quite liked it, but it did make me talk rubbish an dream a lot. However, I delivered 2 hours after I had it. Second time round i just had gas and air and found that it was just as effective as Pethidine but didn't make me so 'stupid'. The intensity of second stage was the same with and without pethidine. If you do not have long to go when you ask for it ( and everybody does), I would carry on with gas and air.However, if you feel you realy need something, have it. If you get too distressed you will slow your progress. The main thing is to believe in yourself and take guidance from your midwife. If you are distraught on gas and air at 2cm, you need some assistance regarding pain relief - it is not an admission of failure.

oops....all i am saying is i will never give birth without both gas and air plus pethidine working together because i end up feeling joyfully high.

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I disliked pethidine because it made me feel out of control, which I hated. It didn't affect my babies because they were born so quickly after I had the jag. I just had G&A for my last baby and that suited me better.

I had pethidine after an appendix op, and it was v good for that, but then I didn't have to give birth, I could just lie there and sleep, lol! Best wishes for the imminent arrival, Sam.

I ended up with pethidine and found it great - it sent me to sleep for two hours. My contractions continued, I eventually dilated enough and all through it ds was trying to headbang his way out. I woke up to be told I could start pushing. Ds arrived very alert and wide awake. No problems with feeding him either afterwards. I have heard of it not agreeing with people. It was only afterwards my aunt told me it runs in the family that pethidine sends us to sleep. I had no effects when I woke up either and was wide awake through the rest of my labour.

I was due to have a water birth with ds1 and on arrival at the hospital was told I wasn't far enough on to get in the pool-3cm so was given pethidine at that stage - I felt that I lost control for a couple of hours and dont really remember them - possibly a good thing as I managed to rest. I was sick as well but this is common in the early stages I believe. Anyway when they checked me after two hours I was fully dilated so too late for the pool and too late for more pethidine so finished the job on gas and air. there was no effect on the baby but then the pethidine had long worn off by the time I gave birth

So many people say that they have had positive experiences with pethidine but personally I would avoid it next time due to the out of control feeling it gave me.

Good luck - whatever you decide to do.

I think pethedine's effects vary depending on the person and the aneasthatist/dose.

I had it for a D&C and it was absolutely horrible. I could still feel everything but just felt drunk. If I had given birth in the UK I would have chosen gas and air, but they won't do that in Spanish hospitals so I had an epidural.

And it wasn't that bad! They did tell me not to get up for 24 hours, but I didn't feel woozy and could move my legs. I did have a very long labour though and the epidural could have been part of it.

To be quite honest if I were you and the water were unavailable I would go for the "walking around the room" method for early labour and G&A alone for the second part.

I had pethidine with my first child and, luckily for me, didn't have it with my next two. I was given it on the recomendation of my midwife who thought I was out of control and "losing it" - they didn't think I was in labour and the baby was ready to be born (although I was 9 days late).

She was born within 20 minutes of the pethidine being administered and there should be a space of between 4 hours (I am sure the midwives on here will vouch for this) between pethidine being given and the baby being born as it makes them very slow to react and she had to be given the anti-dote for it when she was born as she was born too quickly after I had been given it.

I found it didn't actually work that well - I felt the gas and air was much better but that might have been because I didn't have it soon enough before my DD was born.

I had pethidine with my first baby and I didn't mind it at the time (!) but in retrospect it made me very woozy and I would never have it again. I think all opiate based drugs tend to 'blunt' your experiences, and sometimes if you have a 'bad' birth it can be good to discuss it afterwards without having your memory clouded by pethidine. It wasn't that effective as a painkiller, I think at least an epidural would leave your mind clear to concentrate.

I was induced and the contractions came very quick and hard. I stopped dilating but the contractions were still very painful so I was advised to have pethidine (in fact I had it twice) - I loved it! I had my second dose at 10.30am and didn't have my dd until 12.17am so the effects had worn off by then - I had no drugs at all for the second stage which I am very pleased about. So in all I found pethidine to be useful to give me a bit of space. I found it had no effect on dd and she bf with no problems straight after birth.
I would keep an open mind especially if this is your first baby. I was wanting an active, natural birth and didn't really have one. On a drip, monitered and eventually an epidural (which I was taken off before entering the second stage as I wanted to be able to feel my legs). But the midwives were fantastic as they felt sorry that my birth hadn't gone according to plan and when it came to the second stage they were so encouraging about me doing it with no intervention, no drugs and no doctors. So I did! Something I am very pleased about and because of that I had an enjoyable birth and can look back on it with immense joy and not be upset that it hadn't gone to plan.

I had pethidine along with gas and air when my first ds was born. The pethindine blunted the pain but not enough to stop me calling for an epidural.(I was too late to have one). I definetely remember lots about the birth and really didn't feel numbed mentally or physcially at all. It just took the edge off the pain.

My baby son latched on at first feed, despite the fact I was a totally inexperienced breast feeder. However, he was drowsy for a couple of days and didn't feed quite as long as the midwives wanted him to either. Still put on weight though, slept easily and seemed pretty contented for a newborn, so really no huge problem.

So yes, I'd go for pethidine if you don't have a water birth.

My hospital gave diamorphine rather than pethedine and that let me have a dozr inthe early stages of labour with dd.
But I did have a lot of pethedine 2nd time round. I suffered from kidney stones in my pregnancy with ds and as you cant have the painjillers they usually use for them while you are pregnant I was on pethedine for the pain - (for 8 weeks I had it every day!!). Both ds and I were addicted by the time he was born - I was given the antidote at the end of my 1st stage so that he would have it too by the time he was born. We both were a bit jittery and had trouble sleeping from 3-6 days after the birth, but that is because I had been taking so much of the darn stuff. It didnt affect breastfeeding at all and I would have it for labour if was ever having any more (which I'm not!!)
This is your first baby isn't it sam29? You might find you need something like pethedine in the first stage as it can be quite drawn out and painful first time round. But Gas&Air is great and hope all goes well

Thanks to all for those messages. quite like the comcept of it feeling like you are tipsy, after 8 months of not experiencing being tipsy! Think will need to have good chat with mw tomorrow to check out their procedures as it sounds as though different places administer it differently.

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My experiences were thw same as sb34's. Had it in both my labours.

I had pehidine with dd, despite writing in capitals all over my birth plan that I only wanted gas and air (ha ha ha - 24 hour nightmare labour followed by a section, so much for the birth plan!), but found it knocked me out. I was contracting for 1 minute every 3 or 4, so was effectively asleep for three minutes, then in excutiating pain for one minute then back to sleep again. Totally unaware and out of it. Not sure whether this was good or not.....

Some hospitals can do 'mobile' epidurals, where although you can't walk around you do have enough feeling to be able to turn around on the bed and get comfortable - might be an idea.

Sam29 - have you asked about a mobile epidural? You can still walk around with these but not all hospitals offer them. I hated pethadine when I had it for IVF egg extraction. Could still feel everything!

I didn't have pethadine, I had Diamorphine (is it tha same thing???). I had and injection at 9.30am when I was 5cm dilated and ds was born at 15.35pm. I was told that the drug normally last 3-4 hrs so should have worn off by the time ds was born, but he was VERY spaced out!! He didn't cry for about an hour, he just stared into space and looked around him. He didn't show an interest in feeding until about 3 or 4 hours later. But I was ok with that coz I was knackered!!!! That was 19mths ago and he's a perfectly healthy boisterous, cheeky boy!

Good Luck with the water birth, it sounds fantastic, I might look into to that for nunmber 2 (IF there's a number 2!).

Pethadine and diamorphine are both in the same class of drugs but they are not the same, and do have sligtly different actions, and side effects. Diamorphine is also known as heroin! I have had both, once following an operation and once in childbirth. I was very sick with pethadine (even though I was given an anti emetic) I was fine with diamorphine. I breast fed in the recovery room with Dd, but the diamorphine had worn off several hours before she was born by c -section.