change of birth plan

[hayley]

I spoke to a few cousins on friday noite who have had babies over the past 2 years... they all had pethidene! and wished they hadn't! one had a mobile epidural at 7cm dilated... and she said it was the best!!!! aparently the pethidene helps you sleep between contracts but also makes the baby very drowsy and pro longs the labour... they all said the babies heart dropped a little too... which i've heard so many horror stories about.... in recent months too!

Now i'm thinking i'll try and stay at home as long as i can before i start stressing and the pain gets a bit much for me.. at the hospital i'd like to last aas longas possible on gas n air! then have a mobile epidural (just make sure i don't go too far to be able to have one - which i don't think i will on gas n air)

that's the plan anyway!!! lets see how long it lasts.... keeping an open mind and basically gonna just go with the flow! but keep away from pethidene! does anyone else know what other pain killers are on offer?

x

 

[lauramumof2]

what about the tens or the birthing pool. There are also the complimentaries like hypnobirthing. I quite fancied that but im not able to get an active birth so Im rethinking the whole thing.

 

[hayley]

whats hypnobirthing? do you get hypnotized? don't fancy the birth pool for some reason! i've heard about a birth stool which takes my fancy! aparently being upright is the best position.. can't picture a birth stool thou!!!! is it a stool with a large hole cut out? where does the MD go? under? think i'll hire a tens....

x

 

[nikki1306]

Hi Hayley

I used gas and air and pethidene with both my daughters. Gas and air is great it gives you something to focus on (really dries out your mouth so take some nice drinks in )

Pethidine does work but it's not good enough to let you sleep between contractions . It seems to really space you out i didn't really know what i was doing and their heartbeats did drop a bit,don't know if it was because of that though

Never tried an epidural would like to though,heard good things about them ,but then sometimes you don't get the urge to push and have to be told when to
I guess there are pros and cons with all pain relief you just have to go along with what you feel is best at the time. Maybe we should go for natural births!! (yeah right )

A lot of people use tens have you thought about that?

Good luck with what you decide xx

 

[nikki1306]

Another thing i had was one of those gym balls

They are great to sit on and make circular movements!!, this really helps bring the baby down and open the cervix it helped with the pain in the early stages xx

 

[xSuzx]

Hi

I had pethidine with my first and I didn't like it like said above it really spaces you out and my little ones heart beet dropped to, diddn't slow my labour though ( was 3cm dilated at 5:30 am gave birth at 9:30am same morning also )

with my second ( also a quick labour ) I didn't have pethidine I had morphine which was alot better it helped me relax but didn't space me out and little one had no drop in heartbeat at all. also with my second I gave birth sitting up on the bed ( this was an amazing expeirence as I saw when his head was delivered started welling up straight away).

as for the drugs slowing down labour my MW told me that it can go either way with me they speed me up with the 1st I had pethidine a 6:15 (was 5 cm dilated) by 8:30 was 10 cm dilated. with my second had morphine at 2am (was 5cm dilated) buy 3:15 was 10cm dilated and gave birth at 3.55am.

It's all a matter of choice and what you feel comfort doing the more comfortable and in control you feel the easier your labour will be.

do what feels right for you.
xSuzx

 

[hayley]

certainly lots to think about.... i hate feeling spacey! i had morphine after an operation a few years back! i woke up and threw my guts up... i brought lots of black stuff up! sorry!!! i was really spacey for a few days... I had a real glazed look across my eyes for a few days... although the surgeon told me when i woke up he'd given me a high dose as he knew i'd be in pain....

lets just hope we all have a high pain freshold.....

anyway it's early days still... i suppose i'll be given a lot more to think about in the mean time.
x

 

[kellie80]

I had a mobile epidural with my first ( not exactly mobile) and it was great, the birth was so relaxed. With my second I had gas and air and pethadine. It was horrible, I was so out of it I lost whole hours and I still can't remember a lot of the labour. I don't like taking any kind off drugs and swore i woudn't have pethadine but I was desperate and it was to late to have epidural.

 

[lauramumof2]

hiya,
Ive had hypnotherapy for wasp phobia and was totally i control of myself and my thoughts.
For birth, It helps you to relax and visualise the baby coming down the birth canal. Its also really relaxing, I loved the experience and would have loved it for child birth.

The birthing stool sounds funny but effective. Ive heard they can put a mirror under it so you can see the baby coming out.

 

[lisa31]

Definatley recommend gas and air !!! - especially for those who like feeling spaced out!! 8) 8) lol

Epidural good too - but I found it very frustrating when It came to push - I really felt I wasnt pushing enough - my D/H told me I did but to me it felt like I wasnt and I ended up crying my eyes out as I felt like i wasnt doing it properly lol

L x

 

[Manda]

I used gas and air at first which made me sick for the first 5 mins but then i was ok and then a few hours later a shot of pethidine which i would recommend and would def have again, i did sleep between contractions (about 45 seconds between each lol) which made the labour go really quick, and after all the hard work you'll probably be grateful for a sleepy baby so you can get some rest, not sure how Abi was cos she was prem and taken straight to scbu as far as i'm aware her heart beat didn't drop at all. And it didn't slow my labour.

An epidural i was dead against as i read up on it well ( got a book with pros and cons of all pain relief if you want me to send it to you let me know) It can delay labour, you're more likely to need forceps, suction or section due to not having the feeling to push and then there's the nasty headaches which can last weeks plus for some people they don't work properly.

Everyones choices are different and you can only make your own mind up.

Good luck with what you decide

Manda x

 

[lauramumof2]

plus for some people they don't work properly.

thanks Manda, you have now scared the crap outta me

Only kidding (i think)

 

[Manda]

oop sorry! lol believe me it's all worth it when you get your little bundle and you soon forget.

When i get 5 mins later i'll do a thread with the pros and cons of all pain relief might help you a little.

Manda x

 

[lauramumof2]

Hi Manda
Its cool, I was only kidding. Im having a section anyway so they better get me numb before any one puts a knife near me.

 

[Manda]

if you need section they'll def give you epidural or spinal block before anyway, if the thought of being awake petrifies you then if you tell them you'd prefere a general they should do this instead

 

[lauramumof2]

A general would be good but Im too nosey
I want to see whats going on and be the first to know.
I love alll that 'its a girl' or ' its a boy'.

 

[Eveadel]

I spoke to mycousin yesterday who qualifies as a midwife in July. She said that gas & air is like a drunk light headed feeling, pethindine is like taking LSD as it is a narcotic. She isnt to keen on Epidural as she says that it is a very high chance you will need assistance.

I think I will give the TENS a go and epidural

 

[Manda]

I used gas and air and shot of pethidine although they dont stop the pain completely and yes they were still damn painful i was sleeping between contractions it was only a matter of seconds but it made the time go really quick it only seemed like an hour until she was born it was a lot longer lol. Also Abi still needed to be born with forceps cos she was wrong way around her back was to my back and they didn't know until i'd been pushing for 3 hours but couldn't get her out so you can have assistance without epidural, although this is one of the reasons i didn't want an epidural other reasons include cos i'm a baby and the thought of a needle in my spine no thanks!. (i did ask for one about half way through but my OH wouldn't let me as he knew how i felt about them and i'm glad now i didn't

 

[rach]

when i had my son i had pethidine twice it made me very sick and i didnt have a clue who i was what i was there for and it didnt work for me at all
just made me lose my mind (or think i had) eventually i had an epidural which was wonderful yes it can prolong labour but you are not feeling any pain so it dont matter i was hooked up to a monitor that told the midwife when i was having contractions and she told me when to push by this time id had a good rest from the pain was in a lot more control and had some sleep so was able to give pushing everything i had my pushing stage only lasted 30 mins which apparently is very good as first time mums can take up to 2 hours
this time round i plan on staying home as long as possible then using gas and air and then if i feel unable to cope with the pain i will go straight for an epidural no pethidine what so ever xxxxxxxxx

 

[Freya]

Hi,
I had pethadine with my first child (1 and 1/2 doses as had a really long labour) I thought it was FAB1!!! Will def have again. Do NOT want epidural as cannot bear the thought of anything in my back. As for baby being sleepy my daughter was born at 7.oopm and eventually stopped crying and slept at 3.00am so no side effects for her!!! I think everyone is different so you won't know until you do it yourself!