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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

is childbirth without pain relief possible?

120 replies

steff1stbabysep06 · 21/06/2006 10:40

hi i live in spain and they dont provide pain relief in hospitals here, not even gas and air.this is my first baby and im so worried im not going to be able to cope....i mean obviously women have to do it but am i going to feel like im ready to die??? help!!

OP posts:
LIZS · 21/06/2006 13:13

I was in a similar position in Switzerland - it was an epidural or nothing ! Fortunately dd was our 2nd so I knew a little of what to expect but had used G and A with ds. As I went from early manageable labour to full on very suddenly the birthing pool didn't come into it either, but , even with an episiotomy(under a local anaesthetic), it didn't seem so bad !

Look into as many antenatal courses as you can to get the hang of breathing through the contractions and what positions you may find most comfortable while in labour. Also I found a ball invaluable and had a TENS machine (which had been great for ds' birth) on standby but didn't use it. You can get one sent abroad from UK if needs be.

hth

foxinsocks · 21/06/2006 13:14

gas and air made me puke so I had to do without pain relief for both births (this despite pleading for an epidural both times ). It is possible and you will cope. I found the breathing exercises absolutely brilliant and doing them gave me something to focus on when I was in big pain - think there are a lot of books on breathing techniques if you are interested.

I imagine if you needed a c-section in an emergency, there would be an anaethetist available? I would check this

spidermama · 21/06/2006 13:16

I had four with no pain releif. Yes it hurts, but I really liked being in touch with all the sensations and the feeling of control it gave me over what was happening. I knew exactly what position I needed to be in and when.

That said, mine were at home where I was able to move around freely and be the boss of the situation. I'm not sure how I'd have coped in hospital if I had to be hooked up to machinary and told to lie down. You must insist on moving around I think.

Thomcat · 21/06/2006 13:25

Hi Steff

I had both my babies with no pain relief at all, no gas and air, nothing.

I did get in the bath during the contractions with no 2 which heloed a lot but thst was it.

It does come down to luck, your body shape and size and where baby is lying etc, but I do think mental attitude has an awful lot to do with it.

I went into both pregnancies knowing I didn't want pain relief from day 1. I did pregnancy yoga and I took homeopathic tablets that supposedly softened the uterus. I took arnica tablets as well.

I went into labout calm and relaxed. I knew the pain in my bum was normal, I knew the burning when the head crowned was normal and never panicked or felt out of control. No 1 baby went so well that I had no 2 at home and would do so again.

DumbledoresGirl · 21/06/2006 13:30

Eek, no pain relief available at all?

It is possible, of course, I had my third without any pain relief, (well, actually, I stoically held off the gas and air whilst waiting for an epidural to kick in which never did! - by the time they realised, I was ready to push and she came out after only three contractions) but I wouldn't like to go into labour knowing no relief was available at all.

That said, if you really have to do it with no pain killers, I recommend a water birth or at least sitting in a hot bath and getting your partner to direct a hot shower on your stomach during contractions - as hot as you can bear. That is mainly how I got through my fourth labour.

hunkermunker · 21/06/2006 13:30

I have also had two without pain relief.

I never ruled it out - I knew that if it got too bad, I'd ask for it. But it never got that bad.

If I was going into my first labour without the prospect of pain relief being available, I'd be more concerned, but it is perfectly possible to do it without.

I can't help with techniques to learn, because I just went into a different place when I had the DSs - my body took over. I hope that you have an easy delivery, but if I was you, I'd research things like hypnobirthing and meditation techniques to help you through it.

That said, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, so it can't be that bad

loujay · 21/06/2006 13:35

Absolutely possible. Focus and achieve!! I had a tens machine and thats it. Breathe and go with your body, it really does know what to do.

MissChief · 21/06/2006 13:38

umh, I think it's unnecessarily harsh to focus on not having pain relief! If it turns out you don't need it, then fine, but most people need something becuase it is excrutiatingly painful!

FoghornLeghorn · 21/06/2006 13:38

Definitely possible although I would be concerned if I were in your position knowing nothing was available.
Saying that I had everything with DD tens, pethadine, gas & air and then finally an epidural. This time I am determined to try and do it on my own for as long as i possible can, for some reason it is a goal of mine that has eaten away at me since I had DD. Am going to try my absolute hardest to do this one completely natural.

slug · 21/06/2006 14:08

Oh Lordy....I had a 20 hour labour, episiotomy, forceps, the whole lot with no painkillers. All because of a badly managed birth and a midwife who thought "god made us to feel pain on childbirth to account for Eve's sin"

You know what? You'll survive. It's all over in a day.

spidermama · 21/06/2006 15:46

Fear of pain is liable to make pain worse so if there's anything you can do to feel less frightened it would help. For me it was great to learn about what's actually happening throughout the stages of birth. I also found this book very inspiring and informative.

Pruni · 21/06/2006 15:56

Message withdrawn

zippitippitoes · 21/06/2006 16:05

is your spanish good ie up to medical situations because if not then I would want someone who could speak spanish there too

Mercy · 21/06/2006 16:20

Both of mine were born without pain relief but I didn't set out to not use any!. I thought I was using gas and air but apparently I wasn't using the machine properly!

Anyway, I really focused on the breathing, the birthing ball helped, plus I remained upright for as long as I could. Instinct can take over to some extent but agree with others that you need to ask more questions. Do you have ante-natal classes?

Good luck!

GarfieldsGirl · 21/06/2006 17:04

Both of mine were quick and easy, so didn't need pain relief, but I would still want to have it available if needed. I don't envy you. I am shocked that an EU member state doesn't have pain relief available.

skerriesmum · 21/06/2006 17:27

Geez, some lucky women posting on here. My first was born over 3 years ago and I haven't forgotten the agony! (That said, I'm due another one in January so I've volunteered to do it again...!)
Someone else suggested looking at expat groups where you live, or online to get information. I wouldn't want to not have the option of pain relief. I had G&A which didn't help with pain but was a distraction. I asked for an epidural but by that time I could push so managed without it in the end.
I want a mobile epidural this time around for sure!

h23 · 21/06/2006 18:13

I had a home birth in Germany: Knowing that in choosing a home birth, i was choosing no pain relief.
To be honest, it never occurred to me to think of needing/wanting any... i guess cos the choice wasn't there, there was no decision to make.
I think there are so many women in the world who do this without pain relief - it's great to live in the western world and have the choice of it, but at the end of the day, don't forget that your body is designed to do this.
Breathing helped me and back massages from DH.
Good luck to you!

dinny · 21/06/2006 18:42

Yes, it is possible. Had my two with no pain relief...well, tried gas with dd but puked and hated it so didn't bother. Much calmer with ds. Am sure doing yoga a lot (and in pg) helps with regard to breathing through contractions and managing any pain. You CAN do it without pain relief, lots of people do. Please don't be scared, it's an amazing experience and your body takes over completely. Good luck.

FairyMum · 21/06/2006 18:49

It's so lovely all this talk about yoga and mental attitude in labour. The trouble is you don't know what kind of labour you will have. I have given birth once with just a little gas&air at the very end to help me and once I needed all the drugs I could get. Same person, but very different births. Some women give birth relatively easily and without much pain (although they will claim that it wasn't easy at all and very painful, but their yoga and high pain threshold got them through). I asked a friend earlier today who had her second baby in Spain and they don't give gas&air, but they do give pethidine and epidurals.

Enid · 21/06/2006 18:53

yes its possible

my last birth was positively enjoyable

DominiConnor · 21/06/2006 18:55

Being male, this is outside my core competence.
But when DS1 was being born, 30 metres away someone was doing "natural" childbirth.

Took a couple of minutes before I realised it was screaming I was hearing, I've seen people stabbed, various quite nast accidents, and I've seen 2 die, never heard such a noise in my life.

sunnydelight · 21/06/2006 19:06

I think accepting pain relief can cause a "cycle of intervention" to be honest - it certainly did with DS1. DS2 and DD were both born with no pain relief (one at home, one in hospital) - I trusted my body and it didn't let me down. My mantra in childbirth is "pain with a purpose", it helps!

Enid · 21/06/2006 19:10

oh dont be silly dominc you old fogey

Enid · 21/06/2006 19:11

actually hold on

h0ow on earth do YOU know she was 'doing' natural chlidbirth

FairyMum · 21/06/2006 19:13

So people who need a lot of pain relief in childbirth are just people who haven't done the yoga or hasn't had a positive mantra? See, I don't believe that for a second and I think this myth is what cause a lot of women to feel bad about their birth experiences if they didn't manage without pain relief. I certainly came well prepared to my first birth. I was positive and trusted my body completely. I was shocked after 30 hours of labour and all the drugs in the world when DD finally arrived by c-section. My second borth, however, I was petrified. Had blocked out any thoughts of about the birth as much as possible during my pregnancy, tried to get an elective c-section and generally had no faith in my body. The birth, althogh painful of course, was a piece of piss compared to my first experience. No mantras, yogas or a room full of douhlas would have got me through my first birth without pain relief.