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Pregnancy

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

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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:

ChasingRabbits · 22/06/2006 11:09

I wanted EVERYTHING going with ds1 - I was hoping it would be breech and I could have a section. I was in TOTAL denial that I was actually going to have to give birth. I ended up using just G&A (and I definately think it had an effect!!).

With ds2 I had nothing.

BUT - I had very quick labours (ds1 was 2 hrs and ds2 was 15 mins).

I wouldn't want to have to do hours with no pain relief.

acnebride · 22/06/2006 11:13

Gas & air is not licensed or whatever in some countries. In the USA I understand that it is not licensed because of much more extreme temperatures, which gives a risk of the components separating out so that you'd get either one on its own - not good.

I think there is some great information on here but in your circumstances what I would do is get a medically experienced interpreter (ask your family doctor's surgery which interpreting agency they use) and ring the national association for midwives in Spain. I'd then ring the national association for obstetricians. Then I'd ring the national association for anaesthetists.

All this because it sound very much as if you are getting the opinions of one institution, dressed up as 'everybody does this'. The variety of opinions about childbirth, well expressed on here , I bet are the same all over the developed world. I think you could well do with looking at other hospitals or units to go to, and I bet you do have all sorts of choices they are not telling you about.

I gave birth to ds with TENS and the pool. The G&A mouthpiece didn't work (I know what it should feel like because it worked with the stitches). It was all too fast for anything else. I'm not complaining but CHOICE is the thing.

Oh NB I don't think there's anyone who faces childbirth without at least thinking 'Oh Sh*t' a few times. It IS scary; cut yourself a break; feel scared and ask for help! But I bet you will be fine.

Best of luck.

Socci · 22/06/2006 11:33

Message withdrawn

Socci · 22/06/2006 11:33

Message withdrawn

sansouci · 22/06/2006 11:55

I didn't actually read Steff's post! Not having a choice is pretty scary in this day & age but of course it can be done! If coming home isn't an option, then try & find a doula or a good friend who's already given birth to help you through it. Breathing helps, I know. Do you have access to pre-natal classes, Steff? There are different phases of labour, as you know, & ways to get through them as easily & as positively as possible. Knowing what your body is doing will calm your fears & make it that much easier & less scary for you. Good luck!

Tortington · 22/06/2006 12:32

i watched telly and read magazines - it was terrible.

Blandmum · 22/06/2006 14:25

what, with a frostbitten twat?

Or did you use a TV instead?

ARF

Tortington · 23/06/2006 08:50

lmfao

DominiConnor · 23/06/2006 12:08

I did say I wasn't an expert hunkermunker, but you ought to have the integrity to actually read my post.
I was told it was a "natural" childbirth by midwives who'd being this for decades. I'd class them as rather well qualified to tell me what was going on.

Their body language was an eloquent expression of their views on women who do this.
Yes some have pleasant expierences.
My dad had a V1 explode not far from him. Not a scratch, no pain or damage. Indeed >98% of all Brits survived WWII. Shows that just because you get away with something doesn't make it safe or wise.

But men & women do seem to have different views on this sort of pain. One of the best "Coupling" episodes was where at an ante-natal class a father is made to promise that he won't allow them to give the mother pain killers.

He loses it, and basically says "there is pain, there is pain relief, which bit of this don't you understand ?".

CarolinaMoose · 23/06/2006 12:16

DC, there are plenty of MNers who don't have quite the faith in MWs that you do and don't find them all terribly empathetic.

I really don't see the connection between a woman who chooses not to have pain relief in labour and your dad's WW2 experiences.

Anything stronger than paracetamol has side effects and there are plenty of woman who would rather cope with the pain than with those side effects.

zippitippitoes · 23/06/2006 12:17

The plus side of no pain relief is that as soon as the baby is born you are free from the pain of labour and also free from the after effects of pain killers

I would never have had pethidine once I researched the negatives nor an epidural

Bugsy2 · 23/06/2006 12:58

Giving birth to a baby & particularly your first is a nerve wracking experience for most women. I think alot of women worry about the birth thing on & off throughout their pregnancy.
It is very possible to give birth without pain relief - it must be women have been doing it for quite a long time. However, it is quite another thing to know that pain relief is available - but not for you!!!!
Loads of good advice on here Steff, which I hope will help you. We all have such different experiences that I don't really know what to say. I think you shoudl definitely find out as much as you possibly can about what your hospital does & also try and remember that labour rarely lasts for more than a day & generally speaking quite alot of the inital stages of labour is uncomfortable as opposed to painful.
DC - the midwives who apologised to you on behalf of someone crying out in pain should be ashamed of themselves. Have no idea how that was supposed to be of any help to Steff either.

muma3 · 23/06/2006 13:09

i had my first at 15 and was shitting it tbh
i tried my hardest to go with the flow and i refused an epidural for a long time untill i was convinced (due to them coming at me with forceps i was so distressed by the end (21 hours ) that i had a failed ventouse and had to be cut and have forceps.

2nd dd i tried yet again to have a drug free birth and succeeded having a few puffs of gas and air which i never felt the beniefit of. she was delievered easily and safely and took 4 hours start to finsh. having a bad time the dd1 did put the wind up me and i was dreading it but i had the strnght to believe that i could go with out pain relief and it worked . i never suffered at all .
dd3 i used gas and air as she was posterior and i was in agony . the best advice i can give is to concentrate on what is happening and try not to lose control of the situation . BREATH BREATH BREATH really works !!! let your body get on with it and you will produce your own endorphins . drugs can cloud this and the pian may seem worse then if you were relaxed and not drugged .

everyone has different pain thresholds but if you can relax and understand what is happening to your bady then it will tell you what to do and you will produce your own painkiller and coping mechanisims. if it does get too much then have something to keep you relaxed but trust your body to tell you what decisions to make drugs or not
HTH

muma3 · 23/06/2006 13:13

agree to NO PETHIDINE . it made me so sleepy and out of it that i couldnt do a thing and nearly fell off bed let alone concentrate on pushing then on new baby . totally out of control and made me panick more .
can be useful in early labour with first babies as it can help mother get much needed sleep when it looks like it could be a long wait

skerriesmum · 23/06/2006 13:35

I think you can prepare to a certain extent with breathing etc., but at least 50% of it is down to your physiology and how your body is programmed to handle birth. It is a violent, traumatic event that requires physical healing afterwards. Some women may have an easier time than others but it is never "easy"! It's not called labour for nothing!
But that's not really the point of this post. I hope Steff can get information from English speakers in Spain, she has time to figure things out.

zippitippitoes · 23/06/2006 13:39

as far as the irginal post is concerned i think it really is important to have preferably a spanish speaker at hand failing that a good simple brief in spanish

UglySister · 23/06/2006 13:44

Hi steff1stbabysep06, you will cope if you have confidence in yourself. Good breathing techniques are really important and don´t be afraid to vocalize as much as you like. This is great at externalizing the pain. Having said "pain" I don´t think childbirth is "painful" as such, more like exhausting, hard physical labour. Giving birth was a fantastic experience for me, would love to do it again!

MABS · 23/06/2006 16:12

Custardo - I do hope you also carried dh down Everest too, after all, the poor guy did have to watch you give birth - it must have been distressing for him.

Pruni · 23/06/2006 16:41

Message withdrawn

Tortington · 23/06/2006 17:49

i'm with the comment DC mentioned - theres pain and theres pain relief!

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