WHY is such a big deal made if you use drugs in labour?

[hamster]

I'm a little curious as to why so many women think that because you have pethidine/epidural/any other drug, you are a bit of a wimp.

I had an epidural during my last labour, and continuously people have felt the urge to comment. Things such as "Oh I did it with just gas and air", or "A friend of mine went through labour with absolutely nothing"

I do appologise if I do sound petty, but it really puts a dent into your confidence
My sister has just been through labour, a couple of days ago, and I know that this will be one of the main topics of conversation next time I see the family, as such a big deal was made of it before the birth.

At the end of the day, I would have thought that as long as you have a healthy baby at the end of it, what does it matter?

[hamster]

men.....as if they know what pain is anyway. I'd like to see them squeeze something the size of an apple out of their bits!

[Kelly1978]

don't see wfat the big deal is - it is a matter of personal choice and women should be supported in it.
Personally after ds birth I'd never want give birth again without all the pain relief I could get my hands on.

[SoupDragon]

An apple, Hamster?? Mine were small melons

[sweetkitty]

I also think it's no big deal no one stamps it on your babies birth certificate "Mother had epidural" it's an individuals choice.

Hamster I would just try and ignore their comments if you can.

My experience is that I only had G+A not through choice but my labour was very quick and it was too late for anything else. I would have honestly had anything they put in front of me, if they had said they would chop off my leg with a rusty hacksaw to stop the pain I would have agreed. Didn't think the G+A did anything until I used it for the stitches it was wicked!

[kangaruyu2]

For my first child i had an epidural, and it was great. I just kept telling them 'more drugs i don't want to feel anything'. For my second child i was overseas in a hospital without an anaesthetist. That was really frightening. I was in so much pain. And I was forced to lie down the whole labour - so no active birthing techniques to help there. Now I'm pregnant with the third, and terrified of the labour b/c of my second experience. I say this time, I'll try to go as far as I can without drugs (could be really quick this time). But if I can't take the pain I'll take the needle.

[kangaruyu2]

and i have to say that the whole "anaesthetic isn't an option" birth actually traumatised me so much... well, that and they didn't let my husband in the room because that's the done thing there, so i was totally aloned, strapped to a table with my legs in stirrups for hours, and no pain killer on top of that, and the nurses were bitches... anyway i think that i got a bit depressed because of the whole thing. which i wasn't with my first child.

[piglit]

I said at my birth plan appointment that I wanted to remain mobile and just have gas and air. Ha ha ha ha ha. I was finally induced and by the end I had everything (paracetamol, tens machine, pethidine, gas and air, spent 8 hours in a birthing pool, epidural/spinal block and then an emergency c-section). Does that make me less of a mother/person? I hate it when people criticise others for the so called "choices" they made in labour. Let's face it - none of us have any idea what another woman's experience of birth is like so it's not really our place to comment. My real bugbear is the whole "birth plan" idea. I felt that the whole thing (for me anyway) was a complete con and I felt cheated. I won't bother with a birth plan this time so at least I won't be disappointed.

[suzywong]

"but I'm not sure it's a situation where I would appreciate such zippiness"


RZ- that, I feel, is the point; you are not sure, none of us is until the day, the hour when it's Thunderbirds are go.

I was very very much like you before I had ds1, I was a fully paid up member of the Active Birth Centre and the Janet Balaskas workshops but on the day, for reasons I have been in to in detail on MN before, I needed drugs and an em-C and the end result was healthy baby. I felt very guilty for a while and if I hadn't saturated myself with the drug-free labout hounour brigade that particular hang up could have been excluded.

So having been very much in your mind-set myself and come out the other side I would echo the other posters and say take what you can if and when you need it, no one comes round with a medal afterwards if you go through pain.

[motherinferior]

I did plan my drug menu in advance with my first birth - I'm dreadful with pain, and I was pretty sure I'd want an epidural. Which, 19 or so hours into my 36 hour labour, I was damn glad to get. Yes, I was open to alternatives, but I'm very glad that one thing I don't feel crap about with that notoriously horrible labour was that I had to 'give in' on drugs.

My second labour was rather different - but actually being totally off my face when first confronted with my lovely new baby in our front room was rather fabulous. Zip where needed, I felt.

[piglit]

And if you are fortunate enough to be able to give birth without pain relief/intervention then good luck to you but please don't get on your high horse about it and criticise those people who have had a miserable/terrifying experience of birth. As I've said before no one knows what another woman's experience of birth is really like.

[aloha]

What 'feelings' are ruined by having pain relief? Emotionally, I was much, much more present when I could feel no pain during my section than I was when I was in agony. My only feelings at that time were hating my unborn child, hating myself for being so stupid for getting pregnant and putting myself through this torture. Labour was - without any doubt - the worst, most traumatic experience of my entire 42 years of life. The difference between that and getting the spinal block in was like night and day. Wonderful and amazing - it made me so happy and ready to meet my baby.
The panic attacks I started getting at night when I got home because of the trauma of hours of unmedicated labour were not a great start to my life with dd however. Risks as well as benefits, eh?
Anyone starting that 'oh caesarians are so awful' crap around me gets pretty short shrift.
First one saved my life and my son's, the second saved my sanity, and, I think, judging from the exceptional back pain and the total lack of progress, I wouldn't be surprised if it was another life-saver.
BTW there is absolutely NO proof that epidurals increase the rate of sections or any other kind of intervention. Yes, when a woman has an epidural she is also very slightly more likely to have forceps/section, but just because two things happen it does not mean that one caused the other (eg more people carry unbrellas when it is raining, but umbrellas don't cause rain). It is equally likely that the more painful the labour the more likely the baby is to be large/malpositioned etc and therefore the birth is more likely to be a/painful and b/complex.

[Toothache]

I'm not going to criticise.... I'm not slating anyone.... but I am VERY proud of myself for having 2 vaginal deliveries. I NEVER intended to do it without pain relief and asked for everything going with my 1st baby! Ended up with G&A and Diamorphine. Ds was born groggy and I felt so sick that I was determined not to have it again. With dd I ended up having half a dose of diamorphine 45mins before she was born. Much better for me not being so out of it and sicky.

I didn't want an epidural coz I was SO excited about seeing my baby that I couldn't face the prospect of an epidural slowing my labour down. I'm just that impatient!

2 of my closest friends had emergency sections with their 1st and opted for elective sections for their 2nd. I can't say I'm not disappointed, because I am (but then who am I?!). The were so frightened of the same things happening again (2 very different circumstances) that they stamped their feet until a section was given. As a result one of them had 12wks of internal and external infections. She had a terrible time after it. She really regretted having the section and I just wish she had had the confidence in herself to try for a natural delivery.

[RedZuleika]

SuzyWong: with respect, I find your comments a little presumptuous. I don't think you know enough about my opinion to say that you were exactly like me - particularly since it carries the suggestion that you were exactly like me until you learned better.

I have no issue at all with people using drugs in labour, but I strongly feel that it should be an informed choice - and I feel that comments like 'healthy mother, healthy baby, all that matters' etc are a little trite. I also can't agree at all with Aloha's suggestion that an epidural has no impact on the progress of labour.

I also feel that - whilst that man mentioned below was rather foolish in his assertions regarding pain relief in labour - I have to agree with him that people do use pain relief too readily. Both men and women. I don't enjoy pain any more than the next person - but I feel that it's necessary sometimes to let me know what my body is doing.

[happymerryberries]

I your opinion people use pain relief too readily. Since you have not felt their pain, how do you know if they use medication too soon? It isn't your choice to make, tbh.

[Toothache]

RZ - Regarding epidurals affecting progress... I have been told many times (and heard it on Discovery Health too) that epidurals can almost stop contractions completely!
And I always thought it was well documented that they can slow progress? That was the sole reason I refused one! I'd like to think the midwives were not lying to me!

[Niddlynono]

I couldn't agree more. I had gas & air, TENS machine, pethidine and an epidural with DS and next time I have no qualms about going straight for an epidural if I feel I can't cope with the pain.

One thing they don't explain in the pregnancy books is how everything to do with babies and children can turn into a competition - whether it's the drugs you do/don't use in labour, when your child says its first word, when you potty train your toddler, what you feed them and beyond. And sometimes it's too easy to feel inadequate or insecure when talking to other mums.

We are all different and I respect other mothers who make different choices to me - but I'm not disappointed, embarrassed or ashamed that I ended up using those forms of pain relief. The result is that after a very long (but bearable) labour I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Like you said, Hamster, that's the most important thing.

[expatinscotland]

I have to disagree, Red. I had four knee surgeries before having a baby. I knew damn well what my body would feel after having a 35mm screw drilled into my right femur and an 11mm one + staples in my right tibia. I didn't need to feel it for my brain to know it would not be a good thing, and it would have sent me into shock had I not been properly medicated. People can go into shock when they experience overwhelming pain. Sometimes, they even die from that shock.

Additionally, I was warned by the surgeon and nurses that not properly relieving the pain would stall the healing process. I certainly would not have been able to get my range of motion back as quickly w/o adequate pain relief. And range of motion is SO important following many orthopaedic injuries b/c being able to move the joint fully allows circulation, and therefore healing, to occur.

Everyone's body is different. Some people are very in tune w/their bodies to the point where their brain is able to tell them exactly what is going on in their body w/o having to experience a lot of pain.

[aloha]

RedZuleika, have you actually had a baby? If not, then I suggest you come back and give us all the benefit of your advice afterwards. You have no idea if people have pain relief 'too soon'!
Also, you may not agree with me re epidurals (perhaps because you don't want to?), but it's the truth. There is no proof - there can't be really as you cannot randomise trials. And I have researched this fairly extensively.

[berolina]

toothache - ime yes and no - i positively shot to 10cm after epidural, when before dilation'd been really slow, but otoh the contractions did then stop again (although i don't know why, they'd kept starting and stopping all labour and were only really regular in the last 4-5 hours) and i needed a syntocin drip.

[RedZuleika]

Of course it's my opinion. And I also know that I have a very high pain threshold.

And since I have no intention of running for high office - or indeed running round the country to hospitals everywhere - it's never going to be choice whether people accept pain relief or not. But this is a discussion board...

[aloha]

Have you ever had a baby RZ?

[expatinscotland]

I have a low threshold for pain and my blood pressure tends to shoot up when experiencing it.

I'm so grateful folks in the medical profession understand this and didn't make me feel guilty for not wanting to needlessly suffer.

My epidural allowed me to relax somewhat and dilation moved along at the same rate after I had it.

[Toothache]

Aloha - Then why are midwives going around telling women that? Are they allowed to just lie like that to stop you having an epidural? If so that is verrrry scary!

[Toothache]

FYI....
I just found this when I typed "Epidurals" into a search engine:

Epidural analgesia involves an injection of local anaesthetic into the lower region of the spine. This numbs the nerves which transmit the pain of labour.

The drugs and methods used vary between hospitals. Either a regional anaesthetic such as bupivicaine, or an opiate such as fentanyl may be given, or a combination of the two.17 The drug may be administered in a single dose, as a continuous infusion, or by a pump controlled by the woman.

The effective control of pain during labour by the use of epidurals is well-established, although a small proportion of women find the pain relief ineffective.48 Most women who use epidurals would use one again in a subsequent pregnancy.

Of more concern are the number of possible side effects of epidural anaesthesia.49 Some of these affect the normal progress of labour:

Where epidurals are used, there can be an increase in the length of both first stage and second stage of labour.
There is an increase in the use of syntocinon to speed up labour.
There is an increase in malposition of the baby, possibly caused by a failure to rotate.
There is an increase of the number of instrumental deliveries (although this is not the case if the epidural is allowed to wear off for second stage).
Epidurals can cause "epidural fever", a rise in maternal temperature which can lead to changes in the fetal heart rate and may also result in the mother and baby being treated with antibiotics.