1st Time Birth Stories - NO EPIDURAL?????

[AwwABaby]

Hi,

I'm hoping to have some not so horrific 1st time birth stories. I am 28 weeks due 19th July with my first DS.

I have chronic ITP (a very low platelet count, my blood does not clot), I have been told that an epidural is out of the question and pethadine may not be available to me either. Peth will depend on my platelet count on the day. Hospital (Pinderfields, Wakefield) don't do diomorphine but that's administered same as peth so can't have that either.

I do not want a C-Sec as they would have to knock me out and it's a bit risky with my condition - but I guess all I can do on that one is hope against hope.

Any stories appreciated or even better anyone out there who's an ITP sufferer who's pregnant I would love to talk to you.

I am totally terrified and have not slept properly in a very long time. I will have to manage on G&A.

Hoping to hear some relevant story's :)

Thanks :)

Hey my best pal has ITP (she's had her spleen removed an is now on low dose anti biotics daily)

Any way she recently had a baby by induction and managed all well with NO drugs -

Just go for it and shout/scream all you like. I tried to do the dignified thing with dd1 and I honestly think that delayed things. With dd2 I had a good yell (and discovered I could yodel!) and the midwife told me to try not to shout. It felt much better to let it all out and I totally ignored her on that count.... Good luck!

GAs and air for me too.

I also went in with the mindset that, no matter how bad the pain, I would not have any other pain relief. I knew it was going to hurt and I was quite happy for it to hurt a lot, because I also knew that it wouldn't be forever.

I suppose I have been lucky with both my births. FIrst time was 8 hours and started with waters breaking (more painful apparently, as there's no cushion). I found the actual crowning more painful than the pushing, but you're off the gas and air by then!

Waters didn't break until just before dd's head popped out and it was definitely less painful than ds. Damn sight quicker too!

Fengirl1 the MW told me to shout less and push more!! she did say I was going to have a sore throat, she wasn't wrong about that!

I spent the first 17 hours at home using a gym ball and frequent baths. I was 9 and 1/2 cms on arrival at hospital and only decided to go then due to a bleed, the pain was still manageable.

I had gas and air but after 20hours labour I did have pethedine. The midwife advised it as I was exhausted and it did help me relax and rest a little. I do think the pain stayed manageable though regardless and do think the pethedine maybe just slowed things as it took a further 5 hours!

Also G&A only, although I would not let go so had it all the way til DS was born - I wouldn't do that next time.

I was quite pro the natural birth idea, maybe with birthing pool / gas and air, but I had a pretty horrific, very long, back to back labour with DS that went on for 53 flippin hours with lots of throwing up in between.

So it's safe to say I wanted an epidural very very much when I finally made it onto the labour ward.

However it was an August bank holiday weekend in an under staffed hospital and (obviously) people who needed emergency c sections were given priority by the over worked anesthetist over women who wanted epidurals. Needless to say, no epidural for me!

Gas and air was fine, hopefully you'll go a lot quicker than I did, and if you don't maybe they'll hit you up with that injection they give first time mums who are dilating sloooowwwllllyy that knocks you out for 5 or 6 hours. Can't remember what it was called but I had that and it was very welcome.

Don't worry, you will be able to cope and the gas and air is GREAT

DD1 4h 20m waters to baby, was only 1cm told I wasn't on labour despite the fact I was screaming. Was fully dilated an hour later too late for anything apart from gas and air, she came out with her hand by her ear, second degree and labial tear. Nearly had a retained placenta as well. Worst of my 4 births by far.

I don't have your condition but I had my son with only two puffs of gas and air, I had decided an epidural was a definite no and pethidine would be my last resort if I couldn't manage on gas air but as soon as I got to the hospital at 6cm dilated I had 2 puffs of gas and air and was violently sick so I didn't have any more and I managed fine. The worst part for me was being strapped to a monitor the full time and not being able to move if you can get up and walk about.

You can do it!! Good luck

Bling -was to help me cope with pain, wasn't at the pushing stage! At that point I did shut up because I didn't want over two hours of pushing I had with dd1. Went to 5cm at admission to birth in 1 hour 40 mins.

I am the biggest coward in the world and had been terrified of giving birth. In the event, I gave birth twice without any medication at all, no gas and air, nothing. The only part that was painful for me was the actual pushing/delivery, which lasted about 10 minutes each time. The rest was like bad period pain.

Everyone is different and I know I was lucky, but just so you know it is possible!

I was induced and had nothing up until 1h before the birth when i had a shot of pethidine - it worked in that it relaxed me and it finished dilating very quickly but I was away with the fairies and can't actually remember DS being born. This really traumatised me and made it really difficult for me to bond with him, it felt I had missed the most important bit.

All that to say that I wouldn't have it again and also that I think I could have managed if I had called my doula earlier - it was my first, i didn't know what to expect and was trying to be brave... I'm convinced she would have managed to get me through the transition without the pethidine.

This time (17wks) I will give hypnobirthing a go. I'm likely to be induced again but an epidural is not part of my plan.

Good luck, you can do it!

PS: a first of mine had her first with only the help of arnica!

I had my water broken 41+13 (having been in hospital for 2 days with no results from pessaries and sweeps).

So I went from zero build up to full on monster contractions within the space of an hour

Gas and air got me through. together with my best mate who counted through the contractions for me - this really helped as it gave me something to focus on. I couldn't move around as I was strapped to the monitor. (DP sat in the corner with this face mostly)

It's flipping painful, don't get me wrong, but I had imagined it was going to be much much worse than it actually was. I think you just hunker down and get on with it IYKWIM.

Good luck, you can and will do it

Ah, that would be 40+13

I woukd learn how to hypnobirth. For some of pethedine and gas and air do fuck all anyway. And epidural isn't always available for the asking. The best resource you have is yourself and enough knowledge about the birth process to labour optimally.

G&A is great, will second that one.

I found making difficult sums in my head helped me get distracted during contractions. Like counting down from 189 to nil in steps of 13.

't want an epidural, I was so worried about paralysis knowing several people who have been (temporarily) paralyised from epidurals. I was quite terrified and gave strict instructions in my birth plan not to have one. For me I really struggled with labour. I went in with a positive mental attitude and for the first part used relaxation methods to get through the pain. I don't know why some women find it so easy and others so hard or why different labours for the same woman are different but it is true, it's luck of the draw I think.

I was in labour for over 24 hours and at around 10 hours in things got a lot worse. I had a tenns machine but honestly did not even notice that it was being used, my mum was operating it for me while my husband was at work and she said that by watching my pain it was same regardless of whether the tenns machine was used. Yet I know other women who swear by tenns machines. I was very calm around this time and trying to breath through the pain and concentrate on the end result and it did work but as things progressed further I simply wasn't able to. I wasn't able to eat or drink at all, I couldn't talk and I ended up with a raging temperature but I remember shaking like I was sat in a freezer. I was given antibiotics and pain relief but nothing helped, I remember repeatedly being sick until I was so dehydrated that I had to be put on a drip. I actually passed out at one point from the pain and the ended up recommending that I had an epidural, I was so scared but as soon as I had it I was almost back to normal, although I had to remain on a drip.

I'd always thought I had a high pain threshold but apparently not!!! My MIL couldn't have an epidural with either of hers, she also couldn't have any pain relief or gas and air. She managed fine and until the day she died said that yes it was painful but that it was manageable and the end result is wonderful, which it is.

Just remember that the pain won't last forver and that until you go through it you won't possibly know what it will be like. Don't be scared because although I went through all of that I didn't feel scared for a second.

Thank you so much for all the posts I feel a lot better that I am not alone. I have printed out the stories for a little light night reading (DH thinks I'm nuts) but they really help. If I start to doubt myself I like to re-read them to assure myself that many women go through this withot an epidural and have managed ok.

I would love a waterbirth but they have ruled that out as a high risk so not for me I'm afraid. I am however going to to take the advice of stay at home as long as possible, walk round for as long as I can (I think gravity plays a huge part or it seems to). G&A - I think I'll use only if needed as I'm hoping to breathe them out for as long as possible.

Thank you for the book suggestions and I shall definitely invest.

Keep them coming - I'm pratically making a book :)

Thanks again x

Aww, that's sweet!

Just wanted to add: if you do end up having an epidural, please DO NOT feel like the failure!

I know it's hard to see it now as it's your first but the birth is not the be or end all, the birth is really the start of a new chapter for you and which ever way the baby comes out your job will thereafter to be a mother.

No one had told me this with mine and quite frankly I'm not sure I realised I was actually going to have a baby after the birth. This bit no one tells you about, there are no plan to be had and it's the hardest you will ever do - you'll be fine though, we all are with good and bad days, you will learn on the job. Remember one thing though: never be too harsh on yourself, the perfect mum is a myth. Good luck x

Whenhenshaveteeth, you are completely right, everybody (myself included) was so worried about the birth you don't actually think about what's going to happen after the baby arrives. It's probably the toughest 6 weeks of your life and NOBODY prepare you for that, you suddenly have this baby, you are absolutely shattered, you are not sure what you should be doing with the baby or if anything you are doing is "correct" and to top it all off you are the most hormonal person on the planet.

OP you will do great during the birth don't stress too much, try and think about how you can make life as easy as possible in those first few weeks when baby arrives.

I have a low pain threshold but was terrified of having an epidural in case anything went wrong with it, and as it increases the chances of needing assisted delivery which I wanted to avoid if possible.

I had a back-to-back labour with 2.5hours pushing and was ok without an epidural. I had diamorphine when I first went onto labour ward however that wore off within about 3 hours and after that I didn't want it topping up, G&A did nothing for me except annoy me, so DS was born without anything other than a local anaesthetic when they stitched me up (needed an episiotomy).

Diamorphine didn't help with the pain, it just meant I didn't care about it any more if that makes sense, I think pethidine does the same. I didn't personally see the point which is why I just let it wear off, there didn't seem much point in having it unless it actually took some pain away!

I didn't have an epidural (arrived at hospital 10cm dilated), and relied on hypnobirthing throughout my 12 hour labour. It kept me calm throughout, and while labour wasn't exactly pain-free, it was manageable.

I had a 23 hour labour with 1st baby as she was back to back, also when my waters broke there was poo in them so no water birth for me as they had to monitor me. Just had G&A, back massage, showers, paracetamol for early stages. I think fear in the first stage makes the pain worse, remember that this stage is simply a muscle contracting involuntarily, there's nothing you can do to assist it except try to relax, I found deep breaths and counting through the contractions helped, treating each new contraction as another chance to get the relaxation right. Hypno birthing course / techniques are supposed to be brill. Stay active as long as you can. Good luck you will be just fine!