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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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BrigadeOfLannisters · 04/08/2011 22:12

The pain was still there, but far, far away. No ill-effects.

I was debating the merits of green versus red apples when I was supposed to be concentrating on delivering DD though.

I don't even like apples.

Graciescotland · 04/08/2011 22:12

I had diamorphine (equivalent to pethadine in our local hospital). I had a short labour and it helped tremendously with the pain and I sort of came around for the pushing bit. Ds was a bit sleepy/jaundiced afterwards but I went on to breastfeed him for 11.5months (sofar!)

wigglesrock · 04/08/2011 22:13

I've had it for 3 labours and never had any ill effects. Felt woozy with dd1 but not enough to sleep and she was a very long labour, had it with dd2 and she was born very quickly, never felt woozy or out of it, think the adrenaline of the actual birth negated the wooziness, had it a few months ago with dd3, again fine. It also took the edge of having a few stitches. G&A made me vomit and have never had an epidural so have nothing else to compare it to.

MsInterpret · 04/08/2011 22:13

I had meptid, which i think is very similar but much less likely to affect the baby? Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong. Agree that if you are having a prolonged/difficult labour (dd was back to back so I was dilating very very slowly despite agonising contractions) it can help. I was able to snooze leaning over a beanbag on the bed through the early hours of the morning after being up all night and previous night too. DD not born til 6am the day after the meptid...!

Greenwing · 04/08/2011 22:20

Hated, hated, hated Pethidine.
It made me completely spaced out, far worse than being drunk, and yet did not stop the pain. In fact I found that it made it even harder to cope with the pain because I couldn't show how I felt - a bit like a nightmare of being trapped in a paralysed body. Absolutely vile.
Also they misjudged it so I was not at all 'with it' when DS2 was born. I could not hold him or do anything with him and I felt it affected my bonding with him - took over a year frankly! I am still upset about it - and that was 17 yrs ago.
For my next labour I had a birth plan. It consisted of one sentence only 'No pethidine under any circumstances.'

PhylisStein · 04/08/2011 22:21

... totally with you greenwing!

sparklyrainbow · 04/08/2011 22:21

agree with MsInterpret, I had it forced on me to help rest (sounds like my labour with DS was like yours with your DD), managed to sleep a bit. Injection painful (in thigh, bitch midwife did it without any warning). I didn't want it as I've had awful reactions with opiate painkillers before but it just made me very sleepy, luckily.

Saggyoldclothcatpuss · 04/08/2011 22:25

I had it. It knocked me out Completely. I remember about 10 minutes of several hours. I didn't worry at the time, but now I know a little more about labour and birth, I wish I had been conscious, I would have liked to be bore in control.

NeverAttributeToMalice · 04/08/2011 22:30

I obviously have some sort of weirdly high tolerance. Had pethidine and waters broken, DD arrived within minutes (MW all but asked me to cross my legs as she wasn't ready). Was in shower within about 45 minutes, walked to ward and spent the rest of the night too wired to sleep. Had to waken DD for a feed after about 6 hours. What a waste of a potential night's sleep! She BFed like a dream too.

Moral of the story is, you won't know how it will affect you until you try it.

TheBreastmilksOnMe · 04/08/2011 22:31

I had some diamorphine for my 1st labour as it was a back-to-back labour very painful and slow but it made me feel so ill I couldn't stop vomiting and there were dozens of bowls of sick dotted about the room. It did help a bit with the pain ut I think I'd rather the pain then be that sick again. I did like the spaced out feeling though but it was at least another 2 days before I gave birth.

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

Woollybaalamb · 04/08/2011 22:39

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!!

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

AmberLeaf · 04/08/2011 23:47

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

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.

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.

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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).

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 .

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.

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