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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Anyone had Syntocin drip but managed without epidural?

60 replies

wafflesmum · 07/03/2010 11:18

I am being induced at 38 weeks for underlying medical reasons. Not particularly keen but not prepared to take risks with the baby. Just wondered if anyone has had the Syntocin drip but managed without an epidural? I have heard that contractions can be much more intense with the drip. I really don't want to be stuck on my back and unable to move. Thanks.

OP posts:

piratecat · 07/03/2010 17:54

They speeded me up too, and i apparently had a very low dose. Yet the word brutal is one way i would describe also. I managed on G+A, but like others had nothing to compare it too, and i felt that it was very painful, and traumatic.

I would never have it again, if it could be helped, but i was hooked up to monitors, on my back with SPD.

I still think it haunts me tbh 8 yrs on.

CarGirl · 07/03/2010 18:13

My first 3 inductions were with continuous monitoring it was only for the 4th one it occurred to me to refuse, it was a fabulous birth far more managable in every way and I did feel much more in control. You do have to have continuous monitoring for the initial 45 mins after the pessaries and when you have ARM - not sure with the drip tbh.

Upsidedowncake · 07/03/2010 18:27

I had 24 hours of synto and an epidural with my first
And 3 hours of synto, pethidine and G&A with my second

I recovered so much faster after the pethidine and G&A. It certainly is possible - but it depends on how long you go on for.

Never had a normal contraction so don't know what they feel like, but the synto ones were pretty bloody intense. I had a doula who showed me how to use the G&A and it was great.

I wouldn't close the door to either situation. It's all so unpredictable.

Good luck

SinginHinny · 07/03/2010 18:31

Yes. It hurt. But DD3 was back to back and big so that counts for some of the agony pain.

It was very quick though.

I had g&a but it made me sick.

Never had an epidural. Scared of needles

I hope it all goes smoothly and quickly and you have your lovely baby soon

dawntigga · 07/03/2010 18:31

Me, I had gas and air and diamorphine for the last big push hour.

ItWasn'tPleasantButDoableTiggaxx

weegiemum · 07/03/2010 18:33

I had a syntocin drip as augmentation with my first - for several hours (dh "doesn't have a clue" how long it was for) with no epidural.

Was induced with dd2 (dc3) but had no drip, just the gel (at 37 weeks for my underlying medical reasons).

More intense both times.

I knew I would be nuts to have an epi as months after a Lumbar Puncture for suspected meningitis I was stil having headaches.

I managed - wasn't pleasant but got there in the end.

crankytwanky · 07/03/2010 18:34

Prostin
Normal delivery
Bit o'entonox.
Loverly.

MollieO · 07/03/2010 18:43

You don't always get the choice to refuse continuous monitoring. I didn't.

LittleSilver · 07/03/2010 19:03

You ALWAYS have a choice to refuse ANY kind of treatment. That said, they advise it for a very good, very evidence-based reason and I can't think why you would want to go against their advice if you understood the rationale behind it.

I've been induced twice. With DD1 I had an epidural, DD2 was natural (and I couldn't believ how less painful a natural labour is) and DD3 was without an epidural. Brutal is indeed the word.

LittleSilver · 07/03/2010 19:04

You ALWAYS have a choice to refuse ANY kind of treatment. That said, they advise it for a very good, very evidence-based reason and I can't think why you would want to go against their advice.

I've been induced twice. With DD1 I had an epidural, DD2 was natural (and I couldn't believ how less painful a natural labour is) and DD3 was without an epidural. Brutal is indeed the word.

LittleSilver · 07/03/2010 19:05

whoops.

Undutchable · 07/03/2010 19:15

DS1 was induced with a syntocin drip, and I was monitored (ie on my back) throughout. I had no pain relief at all, not even G&A as it's not available in Dutch hospitals.

My labour was 4 hours (from when the drip started and my waters were broken) and, although it was very painful, it was fine and I recovered quickly. My son was also fine and a very healthy 8lb 13oz .

I am quite hard though .

Good luck! I hope it goes well.

lambanana · 07/03/2010 20:10

I had a syntocin drop with DS as my waters went but no contractions. They started it off on a "one" but then cranked it up to a "4" as nothing was happening.

It was bloody painful but I just had pethedine and gas and air. DS was born in less than 5 hours and he was my first.

Good luck OP.

fiveweeksandcounting · 07/03/2010 20:48

I did and quite frankly and honestly it was truly horrendous even though it turned out to be a fairly short labour. The contractions were continuous, I was delirious with pain and have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of my baby being born.

For my second labour I was determined to have an epidural as soon as possible but just as they put the needle in I had to push. The contractions on a non induced labour are completely different, They start slowly, reach a peak, tail off and then you get a break before they start again. I found that totally manageable.

I am also being induced this time at 38 weeks and have made it absolutely clear that I will only do it on condition of having an epidural as soon as possible and have that in writing. My midwife and consultant who will be with me during labour have assured me that it will be a mobile epidural and that I wont' be confined to bed.

mitfordsisters · 07/03/2010 20:59

I had the drip without the epidural, and found there was no recovery time between contractions - two of my friends had told me to get the epidural if I went on the drip - feel I should have followed their advice.

Original poster

wafflesmum · 07/03/2010 21:04

Wow. Loads of replies, thanks. It does seem largely as I had feared though...

OP posts:

piratecat · 07/03/2010 21:28

don't think there was any time for me to have had an epidural, the drip was put on becuase i was exhausted, and contractions had waned. i 'think' it was only about 2 hrs or so before i gave birth that they started me. mind you i was pushing for two hours, so maybe thats when they put me onit.

def no respite, i was delirious too, very bad all round.

TheFallenMadonna · 07/03/2010 21:33

I had just gas and air for 21 hours after starting induction with syntocin. I had a spinal anaesthetic in the end for a forceps delivery in theatre, ready for CS if that didn't work out.

Or at least, I didn't have gas and air for 21 hours! YKWIM...

FelB · 07/03/2010 21:35

I was induced for DC1 at 42 wks + 1, pessary on monday, waters broke monday night then drip on tuesday morning. The MW advised me to have an epidural but I wanted to see how well I would manage without. Lasted 6 hours, the last 3 of which were, as others have said, sheer agony - no recovery time between contractions. By 2pm I was exhausted, tried to use the loo and would have collapsed on the floor from the pain had DH not caught me!
I was beyond the ability to hold any sort of conversation so DH and midwives decided (with me nodding) I should be examined to check my progress. Only after I found out I was still only 3cm did I go for epidural. It was complete bliss by comparison, I progressed quickly, but then when it came to pushing later on, I was still really shattered and ended up with forceps / 3rd deg tear and blood transfusion...

DC2 is due in August (not an easy decision to go through childbirth again) and I know that if I need to be induced, I will opt for an epidural much earlier. Although I ended up with the further interventions I was trying to avoid, I know that there was no way I could have managed for much longer. Sometimes you just have to be realistic about the situation you find yourself in, no matter what you hoped for beforehand. I don't think that it is impossible to have a positive labour experience if you are induced but I do think that you are starting from a very different place and you shouldn't expect things to go as they may have if your labour begins naturally. It's the sort of thing that can fill you with negative feelings about your birth when often you are comparing yourself to people in a different situation.

One point to note, it's not easy to get an epidural in when you are having very severe contractions - I had virtually no let up between them so just had time to get onto side of bed after one lot before the next lot started. Went through 3 or 4 rounds of them before they could get it in as I couldn't hold still long enough. Was quite a tense situation for everyone.

mooki · 07/03/2010 22:02

I was induced because of pre-eclampsia:

gel on the friday night, (pethedrine for a good night's sleep) ARM on saturday morning and after 4 hrs of increasing contractions and no dilation, they went for the drip.

Because people had said things get intense and quickly I asked for the epidural at the same time. It meant I got to have a rest for a bit and then by the time it came to pushing - 9pmish, I had got enought feeling back that I could move my legs and shift around a bit. Couldn't get the hang of pushing initially though so ended up with ventouse after a 2hr second stage.

Felt in control though and the patch where the epidural didn't take for the first few hours convinced me I'd made the right decision.

Jaz2 · 07/03/2010 22:13

With my DS I was induced at 40+14. Had the gel and then the syntocinon. Managed with TENS and G&A for about 8 hours, then they upped the drip a lot because I wasn't dilating (when DS was born found out this was because his head was looking up or down - whichever is wrong!). At that point G&A was useless and the hospital didn't do pethadine. I was having contractions without gaps in the middle. So despite my hatred of needles (I nearly fainted in the NCT classes when they dscribed an epidural) I had an epidural. The first one didn't work but the 2nd did. And the relief was immense. Yes, I wanted my labour to be natural and mobile - but I couldn't have coped without one. In the end (after 27 hours labour) I had to have a c-section, and I because I'd had an epidural it was easier for them to set it up.

Before having DD I went to see a VBAC consultant who thought I was insane not to have had an epidiral from the outset of the syntocinon drip. When I mentionned that the NCT classes I had been too seemed to "frown upon" epidurals - the consultant just smiled and said "hmm".

With DD they broke my waters (at 40+7 - I'd had a few complications) and I then progressed normally. But after only 4 hours I was in such pain that I had an epidural. Leading me to think that maybe my body just doesn't do childbirth! DD was born after 15 hours - with ventouse. Despite the epidural I was able to feel to push (which I did for an hour) - they only used a ventouse as her heart rate started to give cause for concern.

Good luck. Go with what your body tells you it needs at the time.

TheFallenMadonna · 07/03/2010 22:32

I have to say, for me it didn't get intense quickly. Which is probably why it took so long

I went straight into the drip as my waters had broken the day before and I was having no contractions. It took a fair bit to get things going at all IIRC.

I actually found the contractions just as bad, if not worse, with DD (no induction).

ilikemrclooney · 07/03/2010 22:39

I ended up on a drip as labour wasn't progressing very quickly and my waters had broken quite a while beforehand i think they just wanted to hurry things up. I did manage with just gas and air, i think largely due to fantastic midwife who helped me to stay in up right positions despite all the monitoring and drip bits and bobs. My DH says that she kept distracting me before she turned up the drip each time, kind of like, oooh look over there.... (sneaky push of button on drip machine thingy). And needless to say it was very very painfull. BUT after DS was born i ended up with a retained placenta and went in to theatre for removal and had a epidural! which was fine really although i imagine it is all alot more stressfull when in the throws of labour. It was also nice to be completley numb for the stiching of the tear bit too. So in summary it is possible to do to without one but in my experience the epidural was fine.

Jaz2 · 07/03/2010 22:39

wafflesmum - please don't "fear" an epidural. I don't regret having one - tho didn't go into hospital wanting one.

Don't set yourself up for a disappointing childbirth experience. Surely the aim is to allow your body to cope with as much as it can bear, and then to be happy that you did your best and take advantage of drugs! And to get the baby out safely and not suffer as some mothers have done in the process of childbirth.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that labour with an epidural can be a positive birth experience. It certainly was for me, both times. I went in the first time with lots of wonderful ideas about natural births, and had to change my mind and got quite upset at the time. But I ended up with a much more positive birth experience than many of my friends. Second time around, I tried to do it "by myself" - and was sad to have an epidural again - but never regretted having it from the moment the pain relief kicked in.

HellBent · 07/03/2010 23:18

Also, you might feel as I did, glad to have midwives around through the whole experience.

With DC2 I didn't know when to go in, I'd had a show and been told I could have the baby in the next 2 weeks (helpful!) and it was not a sign of imminent labour, to wait for regular contractions lasting a minute and close together and waters breaking. COntractions weren't regular so I thought I would be troubling them if I went in early! I felt a drop then immediately felt the urge to push, DD came out in her bag 45 minutes after and I nearly had her on the way there!

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