TENS MACHINE- any good??

[STIGZ]

im jst wondering if anyone could let me know if it would be worth renting a tens machine for labour? r they any good?

expecting my first baby in february and beginning to obsess over labour!!!

any reviews would be great thanx ..x

To be honest, TENS is a bit suck-it-and-see. Some women find them very useful, some don't. You won't know which you are until you're in labour. I reckon it's worth the £30 hire fee to find out, because if it works for you it can be very effective.

I used TENS for both deliveries and found it hugely helpful. Top tip - whack it on as soon as the contractions get uncomfortable; TENS works best that way.

Used one for both my labours -fab for my first (all I used) but not so much use for my second as I ended up in the bath a lot so had to take it off. (But great for the early stages still.)

Some hospitals hire them out cheaply or for free - worth checking?

thanks very much... think i will go online and hire one now.........you never know unless you give it a go eh ??

Yes!! cannot recommend it enough. It lasted me right up to the pushing stage, where I just left it on constantly! The batteries died as DS was born.

Oh - if you do get one, make very very sure that your OH knows how to change the batteries very very quickly!!

Get the MW at the hospital to check the position of the pads too, so they have maximum effectiveness.

but yes, definitely worth a go.

Yes - worth a go, but check out how much they are going for on ebay at the moment as I got one for about the same price as it was to hire one (make sure you take the cost of pads into consideration) and you can then resell it afterwards if you are tight frugal like me .

I did find it fantastic when in labour! Make sure your partner knows how to turn it up too as you can crank up the juice the further on you go - thought my batteries had run out till mw cranked up the power

Another vote for TENS - I used one for my 3 babies - just that, and nothing else, but I (apparently!) do have a high pain threshold. (I'm not boasting, just repeating what the midwives said). It won't stop the pain, but it does change you perception of it. And you must have PLENTY of batteries!!

just to put a fly in the ointment, I found it made absolutely no difference to my pain and was just bloody irritating! I have friends who swear by it though, so probably worth hiring one so you can find out for yourself.

I would swear by my Tens, it was bloody brilliant. I must admit before I didn't have high hopes for it, but it kept me going and I'm certain I would have needed more than G&A without it.

Worth bearing in my mind you can get normal Tens and labour Tens (I think- I could be remembering this all wrong mind!). The one specifically for labour had 2 diff settings that I alternated depending on whether I was having contractions or not. My nans old one I was going to borrow but didn't did not do this.

Also they take a good 1/2 hr or so to be effective so you have to get through that period!

What exactly does it do?