Natural, Gas or Epidural (p.s hi to second tri!)

[Scarletts.Mummy]

Hi Ladies!!

Not had a chance to intro myself in 2nd Tri yet. Im Natalie as the name says. had my scan last week alls fine but I cant load pic up anyways. hello all

Just wondering if anything what everyone is opting for during birth, my OH has been asking me if I have thought about it and tbh Iv not. I beleive there is the option of gas and air or an epidural, is there anything else??? apart from cesarean

and any advice on what works well is most welcome!

 

[-Kelly-]

You've also got the choice of pethidine, a TENS machine for the early stages or a water birth. I'd definitely look into birthing pools if it appeals to you, I found it so fantastic, although you can only use gas and air if you go for a water birth.

 

[Scarletts.Mummy]

thats something I had never thought about kelly thanks

 

[mandspice]

Welcome to Tri2

I'm going to see how I get on but I definitely won't shy away from any pain relief they offer me - they're lying when they say "no pain, no gain"

 

[lisanat]

Hi ya! Welcome to 2nd tri!!

You've got pethadine,gas and air, epidural, Tens. I can honestly say I worked my way through all these during my first labour, and the TENS was really good at the beginning as you can up the intensity as your contractions get worst.It came to pint though that i forgot it was turned on as my contractions got really intense but I would definately recommend for early stages!!

Gas ad air is good as it makes you feel drunk while you ae taking it in but once youve stopped the effects go straight away. Just dont have too muchof it like I did!!!

Pethadine made me drowsy and basically just knocked me out. Epidural was just fantastic. Keep your options open though cause I always said I wouldnt have an epidural and was absolutely adamant. Even told my DH that I didnt want it unless necessary but after 28 hours of labour I was soon shouting for it!!

Water births are meant to be fantastic but I never got the chance to have one!!

Hope this kind of helped. Ask if you want to know more.
xxx

 

[simhaz1]

welcome to 2nd tri

i had an epidural with my first and it was fantastic, i tried gas and air and it was horrible

my 2nd i wanted an epidural and the midwife said try gas and air and i REALY didn't want it after last time and they didn't get me the epidural on time.

i have complined this time so i will get my epidural this time (fingers crossed), i would completely recommend an epidural

bobsxxxxx

 

[bowmanzoo]

Hi

I've had pretty much every possible labour available. My first labour was an emergency section which yeah is fine in that it's much easier but I felt it took longer for me to recover after the birth and I didnt bond at all well with my son.

2nd labour I had pretty much everything available gas and air, pethidine and epidural and assisted delivery with forceps and although the pain relieve was wonderful and I didnt even feel my 2nd son being born I was knocked out for hours after with drowsyness.

3rd labour was very quick 5 hour labour, had no signs of impending labour and my waters went at 5.30pm approx and hospital told me to go straight to hospital due to past labour problems although I was having no contractions. Got to hospital with still no pain but was leaking water, mw examined me and I was 10cm dilated but still no contractions and then all of a sudden about an hr before baby was due to appear pain was very intense and I didnt have time for any other pain relieve other than gas and air. That pain was the worse pain i've felt in my life and has really scared me for this labour and I don't know what to do so keeping options open but one thing I will say for a gas and air only birth is that you recover much quicker, I was walking about within half hour of giving birth and bounded with Joanna straight away. I would like to do that again as it is best for mum and baby but it also the most painful.

 

[bunnymom1980]

I'd recommend you read some pregnancy and birth type books and magazines. You really need to swot up to help you make informed decisions in labour and write a birth plan beforehand.

I feel a lot more prepared for this labour than I did last time. With DS I used TENS early on, then had diamorphine and finally had an epidural. It really slowed my labour down and this time I'll let my own body do the work and I'm adament that it will all be natural.

 

[claireyfairey]

Welcome natalie

I'm just going to do whatever it takes to get baby out safely. I'm not going to write a birth plan....I would rather not have an epidural as the idea freaks me out a bit...but if the pain got too much to bear then I wouldn't say no. I'm a go with the flow kinda girl!

C xxx

 

[Mildly]

Welcome natalie

I'm going to have whatever is going in the way of pain relief I'm sure I heard someone on here say they don't give medals out for refusing pain relief and going it alone

 

[dannii87]

Personally, I'm not having a birth plan for a few reasons... I don't have a clue how I'll cope, I don't know how the heck it'll go lol.

I'm open to anything though, whatever gets baby out safely and most comfortable for me.

It would not bother me in the slightest if I had pain relief or not, I don't think I'd feel any more or any less proud etc.

Anyway, to cut it short, I don't have a clue! I'm just going to wait and see! (I'll more than likely have it all though ) lol xx

 

[Becky]

My hospital doesn't offer epidural as they say the cost to keep enough anaesthetists on call to do it.

I don't think I'd go for an epi personally as I didn't think the pros outweighed the cons so I don't mind. However if you really wanted one you could request to go to another hospital.

 

[Redshoes]

Hello natalie Congratulations on your pregnancy and great to hear all's well from the scan, have a happy and comfy 2nd Tri

I would say the best thing for you to do would be to look at writing a birth plan, though plan isn't exactly the right word as no birth can be planned, but its about making your preferences known and thinking about options before hand, when you're not busy with contractions etc This might be a good place to start;

Writing a birth plan

Personally we are hoping for a homebirth this time, using Hypnobirthing techniques and no drugs or intervention, fingers crossed .

 

[Sherlock]

HIya Natalie

FWIW afaik elective C sections are not done much at all any more. There was a trend toward them but its moving away again now. Medical reasons/problems could mean a C section as your way to deliver of course, but as an elective choice, I doubt many hospitals will be keen to do such a thing.

Main thing is to be informed of all the options of pain relief available in advance and even if you don't have a birth plan as such, you will be aware of what is offered and what you can ask for etc when the time comes. Do some reading of all the possibles from hospital to midwife led units to homebirth and decide what could work for you

I am opting for a homebirth hopefully, and my pain relief will be

*Keeping mobile for as long as possible, upright to let gravity do its thing
*Breathing techniques to work through the contractions
*Massage
*Shower or bath
*Gas and air
*Birthpool for second stage and hopefully to deliver in

 

[Bubalu]

Hi Natalie and welcome to 2nd Tri.
I will try to write a birth plan but I'm not going to be adamant about anything. My current plan is to have a short and relatively painless labour Failing that, I'm not sure at the moment whether to try a water birth or to keep more active (assuming that it would be difficult to keep active in water). I'd like to limit pain relief to gas and air and/or TENs if not in water. I refuse to feel a failure if I need stronger relief though. TBH I think I need to read up a bit more before making any firm decisions.

 

[aramintalovegrove]

with my first, I had done quite intensive placements during my nurse training in the labour wards so thought I knew it all

my birth plan read I would have a lovely birth consisting of whale music and scented candles, epidurals were a swear word!

I wanted to be really mobile but I just couldnt move off the bed

breathing went out of the window although screaming I was very good at!!

After an hour I was begging them to rip up the bloody birth plan and give me a bullet

I only had pethadine but that didnt work as I was too quick, baby got into difficulty breathing from it, so in effect I did it au-natural and survived but had to have a spinal after I had given birth as I required a manual evacuation of my placenta

This time my birth plan will read GIVE ME EVERYTHING QUICK!!

seriously, as others have wisley said already, better to leave your options open, have ideal in your head but dont beat yourself up about having the perfect birth, what ever gets you through it!

An essential though is a good birth partner to be there to get you through it all and be the voice of reason.

 

[Laura_James&Amber]

Hi Natalie, welcome to 2nd tri
there are so many options of pain releif, i suppose you could try them all. I personally am looking forward to the experience (everyone thinks i'm mad!) i probably am bonkers but i think bringing a child into the world is the most amazing thing ever.
I've already decided not to have an epidural, i'l proably just have gas and air and my OH will be with me the whole time and with him I can get through anything life throws at me.
Hope you find the right pain releif for you and take care