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Childbirth

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

Original poster

vomiting in labour - does everyone?

103 replies

addie81 · 09/07/2010 16:07

I am quite phobic about being sick, and really really hate it. Quite a few ladies on MN seem to refer to being sick in labour at some point. I was just wondering if this is inevitable? Were you all sick whilst giving birth? Thanks!

OP posts:
QueenofDreams · 09/07/2010 16:41

OP I'm on cyclizine at the moment - thankfully seems to be working although I'm still sick first thing. metoclopramide doesn't do a thing for me either.
WHile in labour with ds I was sick - I would strongly suggest asking your midwife for an anti-emetic injection. When I told my mw I was feeling sick she just said 'if you think you're sick now, wait till later.' helpful
I found it all a lot easier to cope with after I'd had a pethidine injection, as it included stymitol so I could just get on and use the gas and air after that with no worries about being sick. labour was a breeze after that :O

Original poster
addie81 · 09/07/2010 16:44

queenofdreams - midwife sounds horrendous. What an incredibly unhelpful thing to say!

OP posts:
Haliborange · 09/07/2010 16:46

One thing to bear in mind if you are sick in labour is that it can be a sign things are progressing fast. When I vomited (a couple of hours into serious 3 in 10 contractions) I was so excited as I knew the end was in sight!

BettyButterknife · 09/07/2010 17:05

I wasn't sick at all during labour with G&A, and had the syntometrine(?) drip afterwards for heavy bleeding which didn't make me sick either.

I read that vomiting can help you dilate more quickly - sphincter law I think.

QueenofDreams · 09/07/2010 17:06

addie thankfully she changed shift after a couple of hours, and I got a fantastic midwife and student attending the labour. They were really really wonderful

Have to say I was like the other poster who felt that labour was a breeze compared to pregnancy. I'm 15 weeks pregnant now and I've already been hospitalised with dehydration due to vomiting, so I'm hoping labour will be good this time round as well.

alishaflorrick · 09/07/2010 17:14

No vomiting, although the mouthpiece of the gas and air made me want to retch - I didn't want it in my mouth! MW swapped it for a mask (which incidentally was padded and I think I dozed off using it as a pillow while in the birth pool between contractions). Mask was great!

Jojay · 09/07/2010 17:20

I wasn't, either time

ib · 09/07/2010 17:27

No nausea or vomiting in either of mine, and in both I had dinner while in labour.

Had really bad ms too, and in general am very prone to vomiting.

mousymouse · 09/07/2010 17:32

both times during transition

emsyj · 09/07/2010 18:40

I was sick at transition, but it was very quick and there was no 'build-up' with nausea etc. I was pacing around (I felt that I wanted to be mobile whilst in labour) and I paced into the bathroom and thought, 'oh, I think I'll be sick now' and chucked up the cheese on toast that DH had made me earlier and then it was over and I felt okay again. I would not say I am phobic about vomiting, but I certainly do not like it at all and think that nausea is awful. I had been dreading the thought of being sick during labour as it seemed to be the worst possible combination - the agony of labour AND nausea! But as it turned out, I didn't find contractions to be agony, they were quite manageable (with the help of Hypnobirthing techniques) and the vomiting was so quick and with no accompanying nausea that really it was fine.

corblimeymadam · 10/07/2010 15:32

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harverina · 11/07/2010 11:18

I was sick all through my labour, but TBH, as I had only been drinking water, the sckness was not a major issue. It was quite strange - I didnt feel sick at all, then suddenly I would be sick, without warning.

corblimeymadam · 11/07/2010 11:22

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PenguinNZ · 11/07/2010 11:39

No vomitting here.

electra · 11/07/2010 11:50

The only time I was sick was when I was given the drug that expels the placenta. It really annoys me when midwives say all women are sick in labour. No, they aren't - it's just the ones you see because they've been given a drug that makes them sick!

For dd2 and dd3 I didn't even feel sick - I had physiological third stages then (placenta out naturally).

Pavlov · 11/07/2010 12:01

With DS, I threw up once at home when I went from being 30 mins apart to 10 mins to 5 mins apart very quickly i think it was a combination between sudden increase of endorphines and attempting to eat breakfast on advice on MW! Only once. I was then sick again in hospital once, but that was due to too much g&a i think.

first pg, not sick at all, until i had diamorphine, then threw up over DH. Vomiting is common with opiates but not inevitable.

None of my friends were sick during their labours, so not true that it is absolutely going to happen.

wideratthehips · 11/07/2010 12:03

i was sick after the birth of dc3 when i had Meptid as pain relief, which was a surprise as i have never felt nauseated whilst in labour or during the birth.

perhaps some people are sick as a 'flight or fight' response?

TheBossofMe · 11/07/2010 12:08

Only in theatre when I had my spinal block. Reaction to the drug rather than anything else, I think - also they forgot to put in a fluid line, so my BP was really low, probably also a cause.

If you're phobic, ask for an anti-emetic - they will understand!

archieballerina · 11/07/2010 12:13

Addie,
I was sick during transition (once, came on suddenly and then fine) with my ds. With my dd I felt sick after my caesarian asked the midwife for a bowl and she said I'll give you drugs instead...felt fine. I am not a fan of being sick and talking to friends it is really variable as to whether you feel/ are sick. If you have a phobia ask for drugs. To be honest I was far more worried about pooing.....

TheNextMrsDepp · 11/07/2010 12:15

I was sick, but only with one of my three. It was largely due to the fact that while in labour, I suddenly decided I simply MUST use up some lamb in the fridge and cooked a rather rich and spicy Morroccan Lamb dish. What was I thinking?? .....Needless to say, it all came back again on the floor of the delivery room a few hours later, and I've never been able to bring myself to cook that dish again.

debka · 11/07/2010 15:47

I am NEVER EVER sick but threw up 3 times in labour- once whilst pacing corridors (did make it to bathroom but not to toilet, sorry nurses!), then twice during transition. Came on really suddenly, M/W handed me a bowl, was sick, that was it.

debka · 11/07/2010 15:48

Also wee-ed myself at the same time...

CherylAnnTweedy · 11/07/2010 15:50

Wasn't sick with either of mine, didn't have any nausea at all. I didn't even know that vomiting was a problem during labour.

nah1974 · 13/07/2010 21:30

Do put it in your birth plan & ask for anti-sickness drugs. I am terrified of being sick and my daugther was induced which wasn't what I had planned & I had read that sometimes the drugs used for induction can cause sickness. The staff on the delivery suite were amazing & really understanding. I was given anti-sickness drugs from the start of the induction process & they were very effective. I ate & drank during labour (I was starving) & wasn't sick at all. Do make sure that you make it known that you don't want to be sick - and try not to worry - it's not inevitable

PrettyCandles · 13/07/2010 21:39

I did not vomit.

But drawing too heavily on the G&A dried my throat out badly and made me retch, so dh would stand by with a sports bottle of plain water and I would take a sip as soon as I had taken the mouthpiece away from my mouth. When I did this I did not retch or feel sick - and dh felt useful!

In one of my long labours I didn't want to eat a thing, just drank a lot. In the other long labour I was ravenous and couldn't stop eating between contractions. The third was too fast and busy for me to notice any hunger or otherwise. I wasn't nauseated in any of them.

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