what drugs is everyone taking...

[kiki22]

to get thro labour??

Hopefully none. I think it's a difficult question to ask beforet the event.

Not 'planning' on taking any, seeing how it goes on the day and using what I need/whats available at the time.

can i ask why you wouldn't want to take pain relief? just out of interest?

I had an epidural with my first. I had nothing whatsoever with my second.

I know which hurt more, but then again, my first nearly had to be cut out of me so in a way it's good to know what's going on iyswim. Could not feel a thing with first.

With my first baby i would of said nothing at all hopefully. However this is my second so from experience i am saying everything i can get my hands on! except epidural because my hospital dont give you it. I will try to stick to just G&A though!

After reading through all the gumf I'm planning a water birth. Then just massage/aromatherapy and gas and air. Don't want anything more if I can help it as with pethadine I don't want to feel out of control and ideally would like to remain active. As for epidurals you can't have them at the birthing centre anyway. But again I don't want to be stuck to a bed and I don't want my baby half doped up when it comes out!

For me because I know that any drug taken will have side effects that outweigh the positives if I can in any way manage without. I have done extensive reading on the subject and feel very confident about my choice.

However, I might get to the hospital and shout for an epidural immediatelly. I have no idea. All you can have beforehand is a plan, but it's really just that, a plan, no guarantees. Hope that makes sense.

I'm with babycarmen i'll be asking for anything i can get my hands on! my lovely baby boy will be born high as the sky with me floating along beside him lol may even give DP some G&A so he can join the party :)

that last post was a joke obviously...

I want everything i can have lol

Intending to try just gas and air but an open to meptid if needs really must.

Shedloads of g+a.
Can't take pethidine (I throw up and act stoned for days...) so if a pool of water and the g+a don't cut it, it'll be time for another epidural, but that can slow things down and lead to more complications so ideally I'll manage without - there were complications with ds but managed to avoid a c-section and he ended up healthy, so no complaints.

I am hoping to manage with TENs to start with then pool and G&A but we will see...

DS was born with paracetamol and TENS (not through choice as much as circumstance) but I'm certainly hoping to do the same for DD in a few weeks. As Mrs Huxtable said above: it's kind of a cost/benefit analysis really... For both of us. I don't want drugs in the baby's system and they also increase the chance of an intervention.

I've got prescribed codeine to take for the early stages. They won't give you pethidine at our local hospital for some reason.

Apart from that, I have no plan. I'm overdue, and could end up with a c-section as far I as know!

Having had a highly medicated first birth, induced with epidural, pethidine and gas and air, it left me feeling very odd tbh. The recovery was much harder and immediately after the birth I felt a bit flat. Pethidine made me violently sick. For my second I just had gas and air. I felt recovered within hours rather than weeks, and was alert. It was just a different experience, I didn;t have the same elation with my first and I do put that down to all the drugs I'd had. Made me feel a bit numb I htink. This time I'm hoping for a repeat of the second experience. There's nothing wrong with pain relief, i know when i had it in my first birth it was because I needed it, but don't go in expecting to need the full arsenal of what they have on offer. You may very well cope fine.

epidural is the plan as with my first and third had nothing with my second and so far my most unpleasant labour. but hey you never know how these things will go.

my real plan is TENS and paracetamol/co-codamol, then G&A, then Pethidine and avoid an epidural unless i really really need it. Obviously would only take what i need but i have problems with my lower back and hips and i think if it's a long labour i may need something just to help with the pain from there put on told of the actual pain of labour.

Got my TENS, will swear like a trouper (apparently it is proven to help!) and hopefully it will be enough as I don't like the idea of not feeling my lower body as you'd get with an epidural or being silly and out of it with G&A (I'm already like that naturally) :o

Well with my first, I used tens till 5 cm. I was induced, then I had dia-morphine. Its simular to pethidine. And then gas and air...which my midwife took off me at the end and eventually pushed him out with nothing. A long 24 hour labour. Hoping to have around the same this time. Although the tens not so early on and for nt as long! It took me 8 hrs to get from 1cm to 2cm! Lol. I wouldn't like an epidural, I loved being able to get up after the birth and have a bath n walk.them who don't want pain relief try something that is good to bite on, when she took gas n air off me, she left me with the mouth bit so I cud bit down at every push. It helped! I also found that by NOT screaming I managed to save a lot of energy. I think I let out one quick wimper. Was a very quiet labour. I thought that screaming would use a lot of very much needed energy! After the birth I must admit I had to have paracetamol the day after, due to my arms aching for grabbing onto the sided of the bed and pulling myself up in pushing stage. Don't ask! Lol nurse kept asking me if I needed some when was on the ward, u no for down there, I kept saying no ill be ok! Then eventually I said I need some paracetamol.. My arms are killing! Lol.