home pain relief suggestions

[breaghsmum]

i want to be able to stay at home for as long as possible before going into hospital so what things can i do/use to control contraction pain while im at home.

tens machine worked for me.

A paracetemol and a glass of wine to help you relax.
Tens.
Good DVD that is not too taxing - or other distraction techniques.
Bath/shower.

Hmm, that's all I can think of.

I had a very fast unplanned homebirth with my DS. All fours in the bath with my dh running the hot shower over my back during contractions with me screaming SHOW-ER!!!! very loudly worked pretty well for a while.

Shower/bath
Hypnobirthing
Reflexology type stuff (there's a pressure point between your thimb & finger and rubbing that can help)
Massage
Aromatherapy
Tens
Birth ball - sit on it or lean over it and rock

Hiya, the pressure point between your thumb and 1st finger is called "the great expulsion" for a very good reason. In chinese medicine it is used to abort pregnancies. It can be helpful to get labour speeding along once the time is right but have not heard of using it to decrease pain. Whatever you do don't do anything to that point on your hand during pregnancy unless you are ready for the baby to come. I am NOT a proffesional on this one, but I was told not to touch until due and then with caution.

ooh thanks all, im scared of even looking at my hand now!! lol those are all great, im going to write them down and keep them by OH's side of bed cause no doubt i'll forget them all once contractions actualy begin. thanks again

just keep walking and don't sit down

Rocking in a rocking chair if you've got one or can get one.

Rocking on a birthing ball, leaning forwards onto the side of the bed while reading a book helped me.

Oh and getting up from the rocking to go to the loo regularly.

I used Rescue Remedy to great effect, it didn't help the pain it just helped me to feel in control (or at least that I ws not losing control IYSWIM)!

TENS and a birthball got me through a lot!

Another vote for tens here used it for both of mine

tens great. also found rubbing a really hot water bottle against my lower back during contractions helped. had slight burns on my back afterwards!

The best pain relief for me was having a water birth and getting in at 10 cm dilated. it cut the pain in half or more.

also I had DC 2 at home, after hospital birth with first, and the pain was much, much more manageable.

also found it good to think where I would have the next contraction, like one squatting, one leaning on kitchen surfaces, one sitting, etc.. good luck!

also just lose control but keep breathing, just think 'yes this is bloody awful but I am just letting it happen and it's being effective.' that worked very well for me..

Oh good point gemzooks re: breathing. I found first time that doing the breathing helped a lot, whereas when I tried to ignore the contraction and talk through it, therefore staying tense, it was really difficult/impossible.

Keep in mind, too, that you just have to get through each contraction and then the pain is gone completely. So just take it one at a time.

I used nothing during my four home births. I'm not being smug. I know we're all different. I just wanted to offer it up as a possible option.

It really didn't occur to me to use any artificial pain concealment not least because I WANTED all the sensations so that I could move around and deal with them.

I found propping myself up on a table, which has to be the perfect height, went a long way toward helping me ride those contractions.

When the time came to push, I found digging my hands into my dh's shoulders and pushing down on him at the same time quite sufficient.

Bath and tens. i stayed at home for the first 6 hours of labour and was 8 cm when i arrived at hosp. baby born 3 hours later. midwife gave an amazing circular back-rub very low down, just above my bottom during contractions that really helped.