Pain relief in labour

[Daisysandviolets]

Starting to think about my birth plan, what pain relief did people have in labour? I'm really not keen on an epidural, I know people say they work wonders but I just don't like the idea! What's did everyone have and how was it? X

I think a birth plan is still helpful even though you obviously can't predict how labour will go.

It is still very helpful to consider your preferences for various scenarios.

Tens machine, paracetamol and dihydrocodeine, one shot of diamorphine then gas and air from 7cm. Ended up in theatre with forceps but if he had been in the right position to push out (and not huge) gas and air would have been plenty. It really worked for me

I'd hoped to do it all with just the TENS machine and then water birth with gas & air if needed. 36 hours in, I begged for pethidine. Another 12 hours and I was so exhausted that I decided to have an epidural. Bit of a faff getting it done but the reli

Dammit....

The relief was instantaneous. Was in labour for 3 days in the end and had to have an emergency c section.

My advice is to have an idea of how you'd like things to go but be open to alternatives. Every labour is different. Every woman is different.

Good luck

I think just being well informed of everything is your best option

I only wanted G&A or an epidural as most of the other drugs (pethidine etc) pass onto baby and make them drowsy which I wasn’t keen on

G&A made me violently sick so I couldn’t have that, so even though the pain wasn’t horrific, and epidural was then my only option

I’m a first time mum and don’t think I have a great pain threshold. However, I managed without pain relief until 5cm when I woke up from a nap, then had gas and air. It worked wonders- I thought I was in a club so was singing and dancing! 🤣 It made me feel sleepy so I managed to get some sleep in too! I did have a water birth though and even though it was my first I think the water helped massively.

It sounds silly but I found my breathing technique made all the difference too.

My best advice is don't bother with a plan at all.
The more you try to plan, the more upset you will get when it doesn't go to 'plan' and the more stressful the whole situation can be.
Go with the flow!!!
Obviously with some of the more important things like who you want with you if it results in a C-section, you will want to write down.

I said I didn't particularly want an epidural if I could help it but I was open to it if I really couldn't cope anymore.
After 14 hours of labour and only getting to 6cms I decided I wanted an epidural. Got up to labour ward 20 minutes later to find I was fully dilated so couldn't have one. Managed on gas and air and really pleased I did.
Just an example.
Be open to everything.
Good luck OP.

I did it without any pain relief... I laboured at home in and out of the bath (which def helped with pain) and arrived at the hospital after 24hrs 10cm dilated.

I wasn't against pain relief, I just didn't feel that I needed it. Its doable without it but don't rule anything out!

My birth plan was to escalate pain relief as and when I felt I needed it. That was pretty much it.

As I was being induced, I knew knew that labour would supposedly hurt more. But never having laboured before, I had no point of reference. I figured I have quite a high pain tolerance, so I would see how it went. I wasn't keen on having an epidural, as I was already at quite a high enough risk for interventions (BMI, early induction, low Bishop score) without one. But I wasn't ruling it out entirely.

Labour didn't happen until I was hooked up to the drip. Got by in the initial hours with paracetamol and codeine, ramped up to gas and air, then it started getting really painful. 6 hours of the drip, I was only 3cm and close to asking for an epidural. I chose to stick to the birth plan, and give diamorphine a shot. The result was I slept (except at the peak of contractions) for the next 5 hours. What little of those 5 hours I remember are some of the most bizarre moments of my life. Once it was wearing off, I was 10cm. Twenty minutes of pushing (oddly painless, or at least I don't remember it hurting) and I was holding my DD.

It wasn't much of a birth plan to follow, but I'm glad I did.

[quote TJ17]@MizMoonshine I have 5 weeks to go until DC2 due and I'm totally using STAB ME UP BUTTERCUP as soon as I get pain 😂😂😂 [/quote]
I've got about 3 weeks left. I'm thinking a semi permanent tattoo on my back might do it incase I'm unable to vocalise how much I would love to be stabbed in the back rather than ride it out 😂

Birth PLANS don't work, think of it as a list of preferences and do your research.
I found out about what pain relief my hospital were able to offer and then researched those drugs so I was fully informed.
I was absolutely adamant that I wouldn't be having the diamorphine injection as I was concerned about the side effects.
I had it and it was great, I slept for hours.

Good luck

In the end, no pain relief at all. Not by design - I just never felt I really needed anything, and by the time I wanted the drugs, I was pushing.

But like others say, keep an open mind. Every labour is different, and there's no way of knowing until it's in full swing! Good luck :)

I had a birth preference list of escalating pain relief options, for instance I knew I preferred an epidural to pethidine having had pethidine previously for a non-birth related procedure. I ended up with paracetamol and a codeine but because my labour was only 5 hours and felt manageable. If my birth goes differently this time, I am open to more options. I think the suggestion of PP to keep an open mind is a good one and also to research your options and feel informed.

I had gas and air - did nothing except made me feel a bit giddy.

Then I was given diamorphine which really helped.

However I needed an EMCS and was given a general anaesthetic as no time to wait for a spinal tap

In active labour I didn't have any pain relief. But I had a tens machine that I bought myself which really helped

Gas & air was great but I had to go to theatre for delivery because she was stuck and I tell you the relief when that spinal kicked in was probably the best feeling ever.

I'd decided 100% I wasn't going to have pethidine or an epidural. Until I was in labour. The dr told me to have an epidural and I wasn't going to argue at that point 😂 my only regret is not having it sooner!

My second birth was an induction. Decided ideally I wouldn't have an epidural again but that if early labour was as painful as my first then I would, and I'd ask for it early. Asked for an epidural and pethidine while I waited as soon as I got to the labour ward. Unfortunately I got neither because my body was already pushing by the time they got the pethidine ready (if only they hadn't ignored me for several hours while I was screaming in pain on the maternity ward...). Obviously everyone's experience of labour is different and plenty of people manage without pain relief, so I don't say this to scare you but just to share my experience! It was awful, the pushing phase took longer than it needed to because I couldn't push properly because I just felt totally out of control with the pain. I struggle to even talk about that birth without crying, whereas I look back on my first fondly.

I would say just have an open mind. Perhaps have a series of steps as a loose plan, e.g. breathing exercises, gas and air, pethidine etc etc and move on to the next step when the current one isn't providing enough relief. Don't wait until you can't cope anymore. And remember, not only are there no 'worlds best mum' awards for doing it without pain relief, but if you end up too exhausted to push because of the pain then you'll likely need a section.

A tens is definitely worth looking into.

I had gas and air because I had no choice for epidural because I had no time lol I really wanted to get that but got gas and air and tbh it actually was quite helpful didnt feel that pain to be that bad it was there but everytging felt really quick lol I thought i only pushed for 10 mins when in reality it actually took the baby an hour to come out