Just gas and Air???

[sarah113]

im the biggest wimp going and did it with nothing needed gas n air for stitches tho

i think the stitches hurt more than actually giving birth

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

god yeah think the doc had a few bruises
how quick were ur labours hun ?

 

[Gemma & Jake]

Personally I thought the gas and air was ok for the less painful contractions but near the end when I was having really painful ones it was not enough for me but it totally depends on what sort of labour you have. If you do have an epidural trust me it doesn't hurt if you are on the gas and air whilst having it put in and the relief is amazing. I also had diamorphine which had worked in the night for some of the less painful contractions but I wouldn't recommend it during labour as it didn't seem to help much and I am sure that is what made me groggy for days afterwards.

 

[Eblinx]

Pushing isnt as bad as i thought it would be!
I can honestly say i found the contractions i felt between waking up and getting to the delivery room more painful... i think it depends on the person though, i would deff give it a go if you can

the pushing bits not painful at all. Its the contractions beforehand which are painful.

I like the pushing bit coz you're actually doing something

I thought it would have been the pushing that was worse so i was crapping myself

 

[littlebump]

Personally I thought the gas and air was ok for the less painful contractions but near the end when I was having really painful ones it was not enough for me but it totally depends on what sort of labour you have.

I totally agree with Gemz. This is why I said people need to be flexible with your plans. You may be fantastic at pain tolerance usually but if your baby is in a really bad position and you've had 2+nights with absolutely no sleep at all due to your contractions simply trying to turn the baby so not actually dilating you, it becomes very difficult to concentrate on coping with the pain!

I don't want to paint a grim picture as many first labours only last 12-24 hours and I think the majority of people do get through on gas and air. Just don't beat yourself up if you've set yourself a goal of getting through with nothing and you end up needing more!

Have any of you been doing yoga for pregnancy/labour? I found the relaxation exercises I learned very helpful so would seriously recommend it!

LBxx

 

[nikki1306]

Deff the last few centimetres is the most painfull ,i managed with just gas and air this time even though i was screaming for pethidine,i must say i found it much easier last time round with pethidine but my babies really don't like it and it always seems to mess their heartbeat up because this time the heartbeat remained perfect all the way through xx

 

[claire81]

I was hoping for just gas and air with my first but as i was left for so long i was exhausted and had a spinal block and assisted delivery. With Rachael i just about got to the hospital in time, by the time they broke my waters i was ready to push and as i have a phobia of sick (!!) i didn't use the gas and air incase i threw up like the last time. So she actually ended up being a very painful natural birth!!

Whatever you do, you do for you, don't be affraid to ask for help if its too much

 

[Em78]

Def agree with little bump, keep an open mind. labour can throw all sorts at you and its not always as simple as not being able to bear the pain. i got stuck at 6 cm's and wouldnt dilate further - but my contractions carried on getting stronger with nothing happening, i was strapped to a monitor so couldnt use water/ball or anything. in the end they recommended an epidural so they could whack my hormone drip up to max and really get me going. by this time i had been contracting for 15 hours and they were worried that even if i did finally dialte enough i would be too knackered from contractions to push (and time wasnt on my side as alex had poo'd in mywaters and they didnt want my labour to go into the next day(was 22 hours in the end) . so for me it was epidural and natural birth or gas and air most likely followed by c section.

its all good in the end though and i didnt feel bad about not doing it on gas and air, wouldnt hesitate to have one next time if i need it. and i didnt feel a thing when they put the epi in - tiny scratch and that was it - my drip in my hand hurt more

xxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Beth&Archer]

I agree with everyone else, just be flexible. I had a sleepless two nights with contractions before I went into labour. I then managed the first 25 hours with just breathing excersises, then went onto gas and air which was amazing, by this stage I was only 5 cm! They then broke my waters which made the contractions much worse and I had pethadine but I was so out of it from being knackered and having gas and air that I don't remember whether it was good or not! At 40hours they gave me an epidural and I was so greatful I nearly cried! Then after 46 hours I had a cesearean (which involved every drug under the sun and I was starting to get an old hand at injections!) as I was still only 7cm and Archer was starting to get distressed. But I can honestly say that even though it was very painful and tiring, I loved every second of it all!!!

I had no preconceptions about labour at all, all I knew was I hoped to do it without drugs, I just wanted to use my breathign excersises, the reality was the complete opposite of my plan. My advice to you and anyone else would be to be as flexible as possible, go with the flow. Honestly, any fear you have of needles now will be so far from your mind when you're in labour, all you'll be interested in is getting that baby out!!! And I honestly didn't even feel them putting the epidural in... I just sucked away on my gas and air Just enjoy it hon its such an exicitng time!!!

 

[cab'o'holic]

By the time I asked for the epi doodle with Luke they said it was to late as his head was out! so if I can get that far with pethadine and gas and air, and say I only want gas and air this time then you can all do it to as I am such a wimp.
And yes I agree the stiches were the worst part of it