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

Original poster

Is it possible to deal with the pain of being induced and not use epidural?

114 replies

Spockrates · 03/05/2023 13:55

they want induce me I am just waiting to hear back about the date but I heard induction is more painful than natural labour I don’t want an epidural it’s never been part of my birth plan has anyone ever been induced without an epidural?

OP posts:
marshmallowsforbreakfast · 03/05/2023 13:58

I was induced without any pain relief. More due to the fact by the time I felt I needed it, it was too late. I was also informed at the start of the induction there was nobody available for epidurals on that shift therefore they weren't offering any. It's absolutely possible, your body is capable of amazing things in childbirth. That said, you should do what's best for you. Be aware epidurals aren't always available however so keep that in mind if you do want one.

thisismee · 03/05/2023 14:06

I've had two inductions both without having an epidural, I think because they were fast labours I managed . First was @ 42 weeks 3 hours 50, second @36 1 hour 30.

Good luck, remember your baby being born safely is the most important thing.

JustFrustrated · 03/05/2023 14:07

Two inductions
Zero epidurals.

Username84 · 03/05/2023 14:09

Also been induced without an epidural, and had one for an non induced labour. My experience is if it's fairly quick you should be fine as the more minor drugs won't wear off. If they need to give you the drip though I would thoroughly recommend pushing for the epidural as that really hurt.

Scalessayeek · 03/05/2023 14:10

I had gas and air and pethidine with my first induction and hated the effects so chose to do it without anything with my second induction.

It is more painful but I’d do it again.

TallulahBetty · 03/05/2023 14:13

Of course, I and many others have done it.

I wouldn't rule out an epidural tho - birth plans are simply a 'nice to have', not set in stone.

Lullabies2Paralyze · 03/05/2023 14:14

Yes it’s possible

what induction method? That might sway your decision

i had that plug thing that drops out once you are dilated to a certain point (so I was able to go home) then as labour hadn’t started still I was put on the drip

i did have something (can’t remember it’s name possibly starts With a T) it made me sick so I didn’t have any more I just had gas and air. The midwives all thought I was nuts. At some point i did ask for epidural but I was too tired to even read the information sheet she gave me (the side effects risks etc thing) that I decided if I couldn’t read it then I shouldn’t really have one.

honestly the worst for me I found was that I was hooked up to all these monitoring machines (the wireless ones weren’t charged up) so I couldn’t get comfy and just sleep/doze through the pain as I had planned to do if I’d gone into labour naturally

goinginsaneinthemembrane · 03/05/2023 14:17

I was induced & didn't have an epidural (not by choice) and would not do it again. In fact I'm having a c-section this time due to the trauma of last time.

Everyone handles pain differently though and some women might cope okay on just gas and air

Summer2424 · 03/05/2023 14:21

Hi @Spockrates i had an induction, i didn't have an epidural or gas and air. Honestly it was not that bad xx

wibblewobbleball · 03/05/2023 14:22

I've had two births, one induced with only gas and air which was fine, and one natural with gas and air. The natural one was more painful and I begged for an epidural (didn't get one).

Summer2424 · 03/05/2023 14:23

@Spockrates but once they broke my waters i had an epidural, best thing ever! After 18 hours labour i had an emergency c section.

Moomoola · 03/05/2023 14:25

Recommend really really relaxing, imagine you are in a beach and waves are just flowing through you! Being nervous and tensing up doesn’t help!

Gettingbysomehow · 03/05/2023 14:27

Induction caused me unbearable pain that was akin to being tortured with hot knives. I cannot possibly imagine why anyone would go through that without an epidural. I ended up with PTSD and unable to function for months. Induction is not a natural birth.
I cannot understand why everyone is so masochistic about child birth. Can you imagine someone saying the didn't want anaesthetic for surgery because "it isn't natural". Bonkers.

Lilbunnyfufu · 03/05/2023 14:31

Spockrates · 03/05/2023 13:55

they want induce me I am just waiting to hear back about the date but I heard induction is more painful than natural labour I don’t want an epidural it’s never been part of my birth plan has anyone ever been induced without an epidural?

I was induced with my last one I had the balloon induction and had no pain relief at all but I didn't find it any more painful than the 3 births I had naturally.
Out the 6 of us on the ward at the time I was only me that opted for no pain relief.

ZacharinaQuack · 03/05/2023 14:33

When DP had an induction the anaesthetist said 'most first-time mums who are induced end up having the epidural'. We only realised later that she kind of wanted to say 'I think you should have it' but wasn't allowed to say that. DP went through all the kinds of pain relief over several hours, including the epidural, ended up really tired and nauseous, and by the time she'd had an emergency c-section was too tired to hold the baby or try and feed him. With hindsight, if she'd had the epidural earlier, she could have had some rest, might even have had the energy to push the baby out, and wouldn't have been so out of it by the time he was finally born.

ToddlerMum2 · 03/05/2023 14:33

Only 1 child here and birth was an induction using 3 pessaries and the drip. 39 hours in total, 15 hours from the start of the drip. I had gas and air for pain relief. No other labours to compare it to so I can’t comment on induction being more painful. It certainly didn’t tickle 😅 but I’d do it again lol.

My advice for anyone when “planning” for childbirth, regardless of whether it’s an induction or not, is research all pain relief options available to you 😊 You never know how you will feel during the labour. I felt more at ease knowing the potential risks/benefits and side effects of each option, and knowing that I’d be able to make a half informed decision if I felt like I needed something else. It’s absolutely fine to have your preferences, but try to keep a bit of an open mind about how things may go 😊

And don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself. I had a very old fashioned midwife at the point of my drip being inserted who actually refused to continue with my induction and insert the drip without me having an epidural first because, in her words - “I’ve done this a LOT of times sweetheart, you just won’t cope with the pain!” 😡 She was SO negative and off putting and made me feel so uncomfortable that I requested a different midwife and I’m so glad that I did. I got the loveliest, most supportive midwife and I genuinely don’t think I’d have had such a positive birth if I didn’t request that change.

Xrays · 03/05/2023 14:36

I think the best birth plan is not to have one. You don’t know how you’re going to react. Just be open minded and don’t rule anything out.

(I was induced with my eldest and ended up having an epidural, I didn’t want any of that but there you go- I actually wish now that I’d gone for a c section and hadn’t agreed to Labour for so long. With my second baby 10 years later I opted for an elective c section and my recovery from that was much better than from my first - which ended in a ventouse delivery).

ClarissaExplainsSome · 03/05/2023 14:45

My friend is a midwife, and when discussing childbirth when I was pregnant I said I didn't want an epidural (I didn't really have a reason, just thought I didn't want one) and she said "if it was raining would you go out without an umbrella?!".

Had the epidural. Don't regret it.

willieversleepagain1 · 03/05/2023 14:48

I know it’s not the question that you asked, and I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but please ensure that you make your own decision about going ahead with the induction, and that you don’t feel like it’s your only option because of what your midwife / consultant has told you. I’d recommend looking up the cascade of interventions.

I’m in no position to give medical advice so I’m only saying this as I really wish someone had said it to me.

Obviously I don’t know the reason for them wanting to induce you and you may have already weighed up the risks and made your decisions. I wish you loads of luck with whatever you decide.

Mushroomofficeglass · 03/05/2023 14:53

I had a worse experience with single, natural labour than dt induced labour.
I had dt just with gas and air. It was OK and I'd choose it again over epidural etc.
Every birth is different. Only thing I'd say is go in with an open mind, accept something might not go to plan and you may need to have an epidural because you'll be less disappointed. With first labour I went in with a set idea and was very upset when it didn't go to plan. Second labour I went in with an open mind, said how I'd ideally like things to pan out but am open to options as things progress.

shieldmaiden7 · 03/05/2023 14:55

I had a induction with only gas and air. It's completely possible.
I've had natural birth too and induction is a lot more intense. I found the pain to be more in my back and hips. But it's completely possible to have it without an epidural.

YorkshireLawyer · 03/05/2023 14:59

I have had two inductions with the drip. I just had gas & air for the first and planned to use gas & air for the second but I didn’t feel like it was doing anything, so ended up just using the mouthpiece to bite down on rather than use the gas. They were both pretty fast labours though, around 5 hours, and I’d already had two non-induced deliveries so maybe that made a difference. The inductions were definitely more painful than my first non-induced delivery, but probably on a par with my second (back to back baby).

DiscoDragon · 03/05/2023 15:00

I was induced with the drip with my first child and I did end up having an epidural, the midwives were quite insistent that I have one because I had pre-eclmapsia and my blood pressure was sky-high. It took a good couple of hours for them to talk me into it as I was scared to have a needle going into my back. It wasn't a quick labour for me though, I was induced and went into labour at 4pm and by 10.30 was only 3cm dilated and baby was getting distressed.

Personally, I found being induced was much more painful than going into labour naturally like I did with my second.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 03/05/2023 15:01

DS1 was an induction at 35 weeks, with no epidural. I wasn't anti having one, but I kept being told I wasn't dilated enough and it would slow down labour, then when I asked later I was told it was too late!

I did have gas and air, but no other pain relief.

DS2 was born via a planned CS due to problems in pregnancy, so I don't know if an induction is more painful than a "natural" birth. I've heard it is, but have nothing to compare it to.

It can't have been that painful as I went on to have a second child.

What I would say is, don't be too rigid about the birth, and don't feel a failure/guilty if it doesn't go the way you planned. You don't know what it's like until you go through it.

elliejjtiny · 03/05/2023 15:07

I had the induction drip without an epidural. Mostly because the idea of not being able to move sounded worse than the pain! It was more painful than a non induced labour but it was ok. I only got to 5cm before having a c-section though so don't know if it gets more painful later on.