pain relief/management during childbirth?

finc

With my first I used the gas and air mainly. I found it great as something to focus on and bite hard to get through the pain. I quite liked the floaty feeling that I got from it too . The only problem I had with it was I got numb lips and couldn't talk properly which was really frustrating when I wanted my hubby to do something for me :mad:.

I also ended up having pethidine which I now regret. I was totally spaced out and didn't have a clue what was going on. It made be throw up for hours afterwards as well._pale_ I don't have any recollection of my daughter being born and she wasn't breathing so went to SCBU. I needed transfusions as well so didn't get to see her for a day. I'll never know if the effects of the pethidine contributed (was partly because she was 9lb 8 with a big head) but I was determined to never touch the stuff again.

With my son I had bad SPD and couldn't move properly. I was advised against an epidural as apparently you can sometimes do yourself more damage with SPD when you lose the feeling. I just had gas and air (again had numb lips ) and found grunting loudly fab pain relief or at least a great distraction :rolleyes:. I remained much more in control and had a 9lb 15 boy in just over 3 hours! I was picking my daughter up from school 12 hours later :eek:...............a little bit later the adrenaline ran out and I wanted to collapse.

pavlovs_dog

whats SPD? ive noticed several people mention it

finc

It's symphysis pubis dysfunction. This page explains it better than I can. I can only describe it as a 30yo in a 90yo body!

I found it painful to walk, sleep, sit and nigh on impossible to turn over in bed. Also get a clicky bone in the pubic area :eek:

black-saturn

I was advised to have an epidural with DD2 as I had preeclampsia and they said it would bring my blood pressure down. The only problem was they injected it into the wrong part of my spine and I ended up being numb from the waist up instead of the waist down. I thought something wierd was happening when my arms felt like jelly but I could still feel my legs OK. It still got rid of the pain though. Then when it wore off it laft me with a shocking headache so bad that I couldn't sit up straight. I had to spend all day lying down, eat lying down and it took all my effort just to do the shortest walk. After I'd been there a week with endless blood tests and other tests being done I discharged myself as I thought I would feel better at home. But I didn't and my a***hole of an ex didn't help me with any housework or looking after DD1 who was just turned 2 at the time. I felt 100 times worse. I ended up ringing casualty in tears 2 days later and begging them to do something. The took me in straight away and I had to have a lumber puncture done. There wasn't anyone to mind the 2 children for me so they had to come into the operating theatre with me! Then I had to get the bus home with my sore back and with 2 young children.

Having said that I would have an epidural again but only as long as they put it in properly.

black-saturn

finc wrote:

It's symphysis pubis dysfunction. This page explains it better than I can. I can only describe it as a 30yo in a 90yo body!

I found it painful to walk, sleep, sit and nigh on impossible to turn over in bed. Also get a clicky bone in the pubic area :eek:

OMG I had that too. 36 hour labour with DD1 and 18 hours with DD2 :eek:

fortythree

OK - this is a long one so I hope it doesn;t bore you too much and that it helps you when you decide to have a wee one! Me and my friends all had "waterbirths with calm music/dim lighting" birth plans. When it came down to it, without exception they all went in the bin and we had all the drugs going.

I was terrified by the thought of an epidural and vowed I'd only have one if I was really having trouble coping. I was rapidly induced rapidly as my son was in trouble. They went straight to a drip and I had the max. 3 doses over 18 hours - without wishing to scare you it was like being hit by a bus as there was no natural build up of labour at all. I laboured for 6 hours on G & A and tens, both of which were a lot more effective than I thought they would be. It's a case of controlling your breathing - I found hitting the boost button on my tens as the contraction started and then breathing deeply and slowly through the contraction using the G & A worked really well. (MS tip - don't buy a tens as they're dead expensive - you can hire one for a month for about £20 but make sure you get one with the boost as the basic ones don;t have them!!!) I lost control of my breathing when they told me after 6 hours that I hadn't dilated at all - I was crying so much that I couldn;t breathe the G & A and the pain got lots worse, so I asked for an epi. TIP: keep your G & A when they're putting it in as it will take your mind off it and help with the contractions (they won't offer it so just tell them you want it). I was so out of it with the pain and high on ther G & A and I have no memory of it being sited at all. My OH said it took ages! Eventually I had an emergency C-section as my son was distressed but with the epi already in place they just topped it up and got on with it. I was terrified about the op,too, but the fact that I didn;t have to be prepped made it easier to cope with IYSWIM.

So - to cut a VERY long story short - I was dead against epidurals before the birth - the thought of a huge needle being put in my spine made me shudder, and I had heard they slowed things down and made intervention more likely (which they can do), but mine was a godsend and I would have one again if I had another baby and they let me try for a VBAC.

HTH and good luck!!!!

fortythree

tammyfshr im now 2 months pregnant and will be seeing the consultant when 5 months to request a cersarium.

I'm saying this without the experience of a vaginal delivery and I don't know how bad your labour was, but if it was really traumatic I can understand yuo thinking about a section. However, after my own CS experiance and that of 2 friends I would say to think very long and hard before you go down this route - the recovery for me in particular was a long and painful process and it isnt always the straightforward procedure everyone imagines as it's major abdominal surgery. It's now nearly 4 months since my section and I still have a lot of pain lifting stuff is difficult at times (just thinking about your toddler - as you won't be able to pick him up for a while which may be hard if his nose is out of joint with the arrival of a sibling!!!) I'm biased as I did have a very difficult time with complications but I do think t hat people tend to view sections as the 'easy' way and it's not always the case.


xx

moo_moo

There is no wimp bigger than me. I have had 4 epidurial (caesarian with 1 of them). Each birth was as different as the next but all were relatively pain free. For me the main difference was my attitude as i was soo scared the first time i was totally freaked out but the last time (planned caesarian) was the birth i have only good things to say about as it was a totally positive experience despite complications ( i know for many this is not the case and i am lucky to be able to say this) Everyone will have a different story to tell but i hope this helps.

rls1973

black-saturn wrote:

OMG I had that too. 36 hour labour with DD1 and 18 hours with DD2 :eek:

same here!

rls1973

fortythree wrote:

I'm saying this without the experience of a vaginal delivery and I don't know how bad your labour was, but if it was really traumatic I can understand yuo thinking about a section. However, after my own CS experiance and that of 2 friends I would say to think very long and hard before you go down this route - the recovery for me in particular was a long and painful process and it isnt always the straightforward procedure everyone imagines as it's major abdominal surgery. It's now nearly 4 months since my section and I still have a lot of pain lifting stuff is difficult at times (just thinking about your toddler - as you won't be able to pick him up for a while which may be hard if his nose is out of joint with the arrival of a sibling!!!) I'm biased as I did have a very difficult time with complications but I do think t hat people tend to view sections as the 'easy' way and it's not always the case.


xx

with respect, i too have had 1 cs, and before that 1 vb, and was fine after the cs within a couple of weeks, obviously thats with use of painkillers etc. and i am a real wimp! the problem of toddler wanting picking up for cuddles etc is solved by you sitting down then they climb on sofa with you ,i found, and you have a strategically placed cushion over your scar just in case! just had to do things a bit differently for a while, but if a cs is needed then dont worry about it, that what i would say.