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Pregnancy

Anyone had pethidine during labour?

60 replies

YouDoTheMath · 04/08/2011 21:24

and if so what were your experiences of it? Would you recommend it?

OP posts:

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Thumbwitch · 06/08/2011 15:38

I was induced at 40+14 and had quite a slow progression. By the time I was taken up to the labour ward, I could barely stand and was not having a good time with the contractions - I asked for pain relief but because I had already been sick with the contractions, they didn't want me to have gas & air, so they gave me a shot of pethidine. Can't say I noticed any difference whatsoever. I was already tired out and dozing/semi-comatose between contractions, it made no discernible difference to my pain levels and I don't think it made much difference to DS either.

The anti-sickness jab helped though! That was a huge bonus.

hermionestranger · 06/08/2011 15:26

Had it. Hated it. Made me feel off my head but totally and utterly aware and able to feel every pain but do little about it. Awful stuff and I'd never ever have it again.

Baby was ok though. I think there was about 4 hours or so between pethedine and his delivery by EMCS.

Imnotaslimjim · 06/08/2011 15:21

I had it, though I didn't really want it. I'd stuck with G&A for 12 hours and thought I was doing well. I was making a fair bit of noise but thats my way of coping with pain, I'm a vocal person. MW decided I wasn't coping and put her head in the door with every contraction asking if I really was ok, and offering the pethidine each time. She convinced me that I was too tired to deliver and the pethidine would help me sleep - DS was born just under an hour later, and I have next to no memory of the delivery. I remember the MW breaking my waters and then DS was born. Apparently there was 17 seconds between the 2! Luckily, I didn't tear too badly, had 24 stiches in a 2nd degree tear, and had a couple of grazes. I know it could have been a lot worse. DS apgar was 8 at birth and 10 at the next check, so he was fine

As another poster said, if you cope well with being drunk, you stand a chance of it doing some good for you. If you feel panicky, out of control or get sick eaily when drinking, I wouldn't risk it. But, we can only give you opinions, at the end of the day, its your choice

Debs75 · 06/08/2011 15:09

I had pethidine with my first. I couldn't use the gas and air mask and didn't want an epi.
It was however totally shit and useless. It didn't take any edge off and i threw up after about 5 mins, that was the only benefit, 9 months of constant nausea expelled in 2 minutes. It left me feeling weak and drowsy. I agreed to an epi half an hour later but had to beg the anaesthetisist as my bloods were a bit dodgy.

JulesJules · 06/08/2011 15:06

Back to back labour here and I also had Diamorphine (same as Heroin) and it did absolutely nothing for me either except make me very very very itchy. Gas and air wasn't any help either, apart from giving you something to bite down on.

I do not think it has anything to do with "pain threshold", in fact I intensely dislike this phrase.

Raquel69 · 06/08/2011 14:55

Hi, had pethidine with second child and it made me sleepy and the baby sleepy. More effective than gas and air but does not take ALL the pain away like an epidural. Depends on your pain threshold.

WinterLover · 06/08/2011 14:49

I had it, Waters broke and contractions started at 7pm, by 10pm I was 2cm, 3am 5cm and at 3.45am they gave me it. DS was back to back and hadnt dropped fully yet my body was contracting him out They gave me it to try to save my energy. By 6.15am I was ready to push and he was here by 6.55am. I must admit it really did work, the only thing was that DS was very quiet for 24 hours after birth but we are not sure if that was the pethidine or the fact he was born at 36 weeks and severly jaundice.

MrsDmitriTippensKrushnic · 06/08/2011 12:11

Bit late, but I'll add mine.

Had pethidine after 4 hours of labour when I was induced with DS2 as they thought I'd be doing it for at least another 4 or 5 hours (it was pretty intense). They slightly misjudged it and he was born fast asleep 20 minutes later (with no help, he bounced off the bed, but that's a different story...) I just felt really relaxed, he fed okay but slept for about 12 hours that night then made up for the lack of feeds the next day

I personally wouldn't (and didn't) bother with it again, however my Mum had it with all three of us and loved it. She slept through all our labours and just woke up in time to push us out.

YouDoTheMath · 06/08/2011 12:02

Thanks all. Very mixed responses so I'll weigh them all up and think on it!

OP posts:

toomuchmonthatendofthemoney · 05/08/2011 00:02

i was in labour for over a day with DS (first baby) and getting quite exhausted (had tens, gas and air and pool up till then) so had pethidine at about 26 hours in. It didn't really help much with the actual pain of the contractions, which i still felt, but it seemed to help reduce the residual pain inbetween the waves, and allowed me to relax a bit and catch my breath again. I didn't feel out of it, i remember it all reasonably clearly. DS was born about 4 hours later.

sadly, no-one warned me it would make DS sleepy too. I was too knackered to really question anything, so when they took me down to the ward a few hours later and he was still sleepy and hadn't fed, they commented loudly that he was a "problem feeder" and that i "would need some supervision" with BF. talk about making a brand new mum feel utterly inadequate and overwhelmed! Struggled for hours to try to latch him on, with various HCPs shoving my boobs around, when he was still asleep!!

i am still about this, i am sure many of my problems with BF came from this initial issue, if someone had just said "he's sleepy, leave him be, he will feed when the drug is out of him and he wakes up, don't worry!" i would have felt so much more confident.

emmanumber3 · 04/08/2011 23:59

Oh & for whoever asked if pethidine is heroin. No, diamorphine is heroin. Some hospitals offer that instead now I believe. Morphine is, of course, a fabulous painkiller but can really knock some people out so to speak.

emmanumber3 · 04/08/2011 23:57

I don't think our hospital even gives pethidine any more. A substitute yes, but not pethidine. Having said that, I had it with DS2 & felt no ill effects. I'm not sure it even touched me to be honest. Would recommend the gas & air though .

MerylStrop · 04/08/2011 23:55

I did in my first labour - far, far too late, then spent the next 8 hours off my head, oblivious to the panic around me and refusing to push. Em C/S at dawn. (it appears I have quite a strong reaction to opiates).

HighHeidYin · 04/08/2011 23:49

Only had it with dd1 as was horrendously long labour. Did help with the pain but made me feel very woozy and extremely nauseous.

Also after dd1 was born, I spent a day boasting that she was the best behaved baby on the ward and never cried.

The pethidine wore off on her shortly afterwards and she screamed solidly for the next 5 months

Not recommended.

Saggyoldclothcatpuss · 04/08/2011 23:49

Im sure Ive read somewhere, that Pethedine is basically a sedative, given to help the mother calm down and get some rest. And, that it passes on to the baby so they are often groggy too.

AmberLeaf · 04/08/2011 23:47

Remembering now that my baby had an apgar score of 1 at birth when I had pethadine too!

mamas12 · 04/08/2011 23:42

horrible experience with pethidine, apparently it's a mood enhancer type drug so when they suggested me having it I gave in to half a dose because I was in so much pain with back to back labour,but, the mood I was in then was panicky as my own doctor told me not to have it and I wasn't taking her advice. I bloody should have.
never again so out of control out of it yucky time and dd wnet into scbu as she was so unresponsive and low! horrible

Billiemumoftwo · 04/08/2011 23:32

I had pethidine with my first and would NOT recommend to anyone. I passed in an out of consciousness and was convinced the midwife was attacking me with a hanger (I later learnt she was taking my temperature with a thermometer) but at the time I was petrified and didn't know what was reality. Also after giving birth I had stitches and again kept jumping in and out of consciousness which was very painful as you can imagine. Second child just gas and air and that's whAt I would recommend even epidural anything but bloody pethidine!!

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/08/2011 23:28

My baby was back to back. The pain unbelievable. Pethedine didn't do feck all for the pain, nor did gas and air, - just my ability to complain about it and it stopped midwives from talking to me, they talked about me instead as if I wasn't bloody there.

I would never have it again. I felt they had only insisted to shut me up.

BellaBells · 04/08/2011 23:22

I recently had one jab of diamorphine as i'm in preterm labour and found it was really relaxing. Must admit I did feel out of control but I would rather that then be in pain... So as other posters suggested, it depends on if you like to feel in control or not.

I just wanted to ask can I have an epidural and pethidine/diamorphine? It prob shows I am not one to deal with pain well!

earshot · 04/08/2011 23:22

I thought it was brilliant! I actually never intended to have it as I thought it would make me sick and out of it but they didn't think I was in labour so I thought I was safe. I fell asleep, had a lovely dream and woke up fully dilated an hour later. It makes you feel very warm inside - can't really describe it. More distraction than pain relief maybe?! I couldn't stand up physically but I didn't feel mentally out of it at all while pushing. G&A made me far more spacked out and sick. Doesn't compare to an epidural for pain relief but I weirdly quite like the sensation of pushing which I missed when I had a previous epidural. If your hospital uses diamorphine, it's much better - it has much less side effects.

Thingsfallapart · 04/08/2011 23:01

I'm in the it's awful camp. They let me have it too late felt off my face and baby was born 10 minutes later so I couldn't hold him, I was drifting in and out of sleep, but just wanted to hold him so badly but every time I did I almost passed out and DP had to take him off me.
I have had three babies one with epidural,one with pethidine and one with just gas and air, the latter was by far the most positive experience but I would take epidural over pethidine if I needed it, I would never never have pethidine again.

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Mumswang · 04/08/2011 22:46

I had it. Wouldn't do it again. I was off my tits but it still hurt. Which was a realky bad combo.

Woollybaalamb · 04/08/2011 22:39

I really loved it, it let me rest for a couple of hours.

wigglesrock · 04/08/2011 22:34

NeverAttributeToMalice that's exactly how it was for me too, maybe a mispent youth has given me a high tolerance

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