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Childbirth

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

Original poster

Use of diamorphine during childbirth.

51 replies

SomewhatThere · 31/03/2010 19:30

During the delivery of my DS, my wife as given diamorphine as a pain killer. We were asked if we'd like to try an experimental form of pain control. Assuming this was all scientficly above board, and being very young and never having a child before, and just trusting the health professionals, we agreed. This was at the former Princess Mary Hospital of Newcastle Upon Tyne, back in 1991.

Immediately after the injection, my wife went all woozy, and the contractions shut down. Thankfully, ten hours later we were delivered of a healthy son. Less happily it took over a year for my wife to recover. Happily, we then went on and have two beautiful daughters, before I got the snip and put the end to all that! [grin¨]

My question is - does anyone have any knowledge of the use of diamorphine as a childbirth pain controller. FYI, diamorphine is clinical heroin.

ta

OP posts:
Mutt · 31/03/2010 21:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

smallorange · 31/03/2010 21:56

I had diamorphine in 2004 - it is widely used in Scotland, pethidine not available.

It slowed my labour right down. Ended with emcs.

Administered by injection in thigh

CarmenSanDiego · 31/03/2010 22:03

Guernsey used it (and probably still) use it as standard. They said it was more expensive and more effective than Pethidine.

With dd2, I was struggling and tired. (She was posterior and came out 'sunny side up'.) They gave me a shot of dm, I relaxed and within 5 minutes I started pushing. I found it very helpful.

Had it with dd1 and remember watching the flowers dancing on the curtains

CarmelitaMiggs · 31/03/2010 22:07

I was given it, into a vein in my hand I think, in 2005. It didn't slow up anything: DS was born a few mins later, moments after I got into the labour ward.

I can remember stagging down the corridor shouting, "I want the drugs NOW". Guess this was the only one that seemed suitable.

The m/w said later that she'd never seen it administered that way before.

stanausauruswrecks · 31/03/2010 22:11

I had diamorphine during labour with ds 4 years ago.Great stuff He was born after a 10 hr labour. (Had the diamorph after about 3 hours.)Had to have ventouse & episiotomy, but that was due to his massive head..

Shaz10 · 31/03/2010 22:11

It's standard in a hospital where I live (north west, don't really want to say more than that). Two of my friends had it last year. One of them said the walls started melting, the other one didn't say it did anything weird. Both gave birth fairly quickly.

nancydrewrocks · 31/03/2010 22:23

snorkie I also had it after my DS died. I was able to administer it myself through a drip and I was absolutely totally mentally out of it although the physical pain was barely touched.

I actually regret it enormously now as I remember very little of the reality of my DS's bith. Even several hours after I was unable to string s sentence together when attempting to talk to my consultant. I still couldn't stand up properly the following day - it was as if I'd drunk three bottles of wine.

beanlet · 31/03/2010 23:33

My ex-SIL is a neonatal pediatric consultant, and the most cautious medic I've ever met. She injected herself with diamorphine during her own labours -- so I would suggest diamorphine is probably fine for pain relief during delivery!

laurathedoula · 31/03/2010 23:34

Somewhat there - diamorphine (heroin) is often used for pain relief in labour in the UK. Other opiates that are injected are pethidine and morphine.

They all do similar things - make you woozy, perhaps distance the pain, can slow labour, make you itchy, can make you feel really out of control. Tends to make a woman quieter and more compliant, which is why it is so popular among staff.

Are there ethical issues? You bet!

Sorry your wife had such a rotten time.

gaelicsheep · 31/03/2010 23:43

One of the first things my mum said to me about labour was "do not have pethidine
whatever you do". The opiate of choice at my hospital was Meptid but I wouldn't contemplate opiates of any description. The thought of feeling out of control, as well as being in all that pain, is plain terrifying. I'm sorry for your wife.

Ledodgy · 31/03/2010 23:47

I had it in Liverpol in 2003 and hated it. I could hardly keep my eyes open and it made me feel totally out of control they then gave me an epidural to 'sort me out'. They told me I had to keep still whlst they injected the epidural or I may be paralysed! I couldn't bloody control much of my body it took all my reerves to keep still. I did get given it in my 15 hour of labour though so was exhausted anyway. After that I had 2 pain relief free births the last one at home by choice. I was expecting Pethadine tbh but apparently they stopped using this in Liverpool Women's in favour of Diamorphine. It must have been sometime after 2001 as my friend had pethadine there then.

Ledodgy · 31/03/2010 23:49

*reserves

Jennylee · 01/04/2010 10:24

I had it with my last labour 2 years ago, wish I hadn't I talked lots of paranoid crap cannot remember the first moments of the birth and was not too interested in the baby for about 2 hours after the birth, got sent home the next day but midwives wrote down what I said in labour that I was pulling out my hair and biting my hands, which to me was helping the pain and I did that with my first birth, nto all my hair just little strands lol and then when we were re-admitted as baby was surprise surprise not feeding and jsut sleeping, they put my down as a pnd risk or for post-natal psychosis risk because of the way I acted in labour, did not tell my dh this was why thye were keeping me in untill I relaised they were asking me a lot of strange questions about how I feel aobut the baby and me and my dh ahd to go and explain my behaviour in labour to the head psychiatrist, she let me go home. I asked her can diamorphine not cause this kind of stuff? she smiled and admitted yes it can, at the time had no idea it was like heroin. won't be having it or pethedine again. it was a 5 hour labour, and I get believing I was swimming in the ocean ad then back in the labour room. If they sadi this pain killer can make you paranoid and hallucinate, I woudl nto have had it istead they tell you it takes the edge of the pain, sounds great but isn't.

piprabbit · 01/04/2010 10:31

I had diamorphine in 2003. I had already had pethidine and and epidural, however the epidural didn't take properly on my right-hand side.
I don't remember for sure, but think the diamorphine was administered via the line for my epidural.

Can't say for sure if it helped or not. May have been instrumental in my saying ' I can't feel a thing but I'm going to start pushing now' and going on to push away regardless.

DD was born vaginally in an active labour that lasted just under 8 hours.

weegiemum · 01/04/2010 10:34

Definitely not contra-indicated.

I had it in 2 of my 3 labours and also for pain releif for a pregnancy related health problem in my 3rd pregnancy.

Many places use it as it has less toxic side effects (over hours) than pethedine (which can leave toxic residues in your system) and is longer lasting so needs to be given less regularly.

If your wife took a year to recover, it wasn't the diamorph. It was something else.

Lulumaam · 01/04/2010 10:38

diamorphine is more effective and better than pethidine as weegiemum says, however all these things are opiates,whihc if you are sensitive to them , can have worrying side effects.. one of the upsides of them is that they act as a muscle relaxant which helps you to dilate if things are slow going.

opiates are commonly used for pain relief in childbirth

to the OP, can y expand on what it took your wife a year to recover from? did she find the birth experience v traumatic, did she suffer PND/PTSD

I wonder after 17 years , what has brought this back to the forefront?

weegiemum · 01/04/2010 10:40

OP - you say you have moved abroad since. Are you in North America somewhere? Because I know it is pretty much impossible to get diamorphine for anything there.

Dh is a doc and was at a training event for heart problems. One of the other doctors there was from Canada and recently arrived in the UK. He was totally appalled that in the UK diamorphine was standard for MI (Heart attack). But it is the strongest, quikest painkiller available.

If you are in North America, you are getting their take on this, not ours.

SPBInDisguise · 01/04/2010 10:43

i'm in county durham & when i asked about pethidine was told they use diamorphine instread - that was 2007

dct · 01/04/2010 11:07

Ive had it twice, both in Newcastle.

The first time I just felt out of it, and I didnt like it at all. The second time I didnt want it but the mw talked me in to it when the pain was getting to be too much. It was a lot better the second time because it calmed me down but I dont think it did that much for the pain tbh. Both were born about an hour and a half after the injection.

Shaz10 · 01/04/2010 15:26

I had it post section - I think the idea behind it is that it still hurts but you stop caring!

Mutt · 01/04/2010 19:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

meandmaisie · 02/04/2010 09:27

I had diamorphine when i had dd 12 weeks ago and it was the best thing ever.

I was told that it could stop my contractions altogether but i didn't care because i was in so much pain. Luckly it didn't and i went from 2cm - 8cm in 3 hours .

When under the influence i was still very aware of every one of my contractions but it just took the edge off them iykwim.

Since having dd i haven't heard of anyone else having diamorphine in child birth (apart from on here) but i would definatly have it again.

xx

meandmaisie · 02/04/2010 09:36

Forgot to say that my midwife told me they don't give diamorphine after 4cm.

Jennylee · 02/04/2010 11:13

just me that had the 'bad trip' effect then

TotalChaos · 02/04/2010 11:15

Am fairly sure I got given a 2nd dose of diamorphine before pushing as well.... I don't think it made much difference as I was a bit more with it for pushing than earlier on.