~~~Ways to cope in labour~~~
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Geordie&Bairn
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And my second instalment 
Having the best labour partners
My Mam and My James were a tower of strenght love and comfort thoughout my labour and i would have not been as half as brave if they had not been there. they stayed strong when i fell apart and helped me pick myself back up and carry on with more determinations and encouragement praise for trying and the love i felt and i recieved i will never ever forget
so when you think who will fight every monster and knock down walls to help me then there your partners made in heven
Some thing to get you through labour the biggest one for me was to EXCEPTand LET GO of my planned labour wishes and FOCUS on the end result my darling son so yes if you want to have a water birth, stay at home, no pain relife ec ect it is hard to see YOUR LABOUR go down the toilet but i PROMISE you the INSTANT YOUR CHILD arrives into this world you will not care if you gave birth up a mountian with goats for company 
So roll with the punches take the knocks and fight like a mother tiger and forget your plan throw it out the window and relish the challanges that you have been presented. 8)
Be proud of yourself and draw strength from your acheivements to aid you to carry on
I'm scared if needles well i had to encounter a few in my time in hospital
and i screamed like a big baby when they put in the induction needle in my hand instead of my arm as the vains were better
I did'nt flinch or say stop i grinned and bared it the same with the blood tests and when they put in the antibiotics to stop infection
the epidural sent me in to a hyper breathing panic attack but as they put the needle in i chanted i
"I love you collier im doing this for you" over over over agian faster and faster as the procedure continued
i admit now i feel very chuffed and proud of my bravery and it got me through what came next beacuse i thought i can get through that part one of my biggest phobias then i can take on anything
OK THE NITTY GRITTY
Once the induction began to work and i began to feel the pain of contractions they started of mild and i could cope with th wpain and simply talked my way through them when they became intenser i used the heaet monitor and contraction monitior to helps me
ok i concentreated on both and became very involved with every sign of a contraction beggining and id think right the graph is spiking i need to start breathing deeply
so it was the graph spike not the pain that i focused on and you know waht it worked and the heart beat through ourt colliers heart beast stayed strong and this ressured me to tke the increasing pain because my sons heart beat ment i was soon going to me meet him and to hear his heart beat for myslef when i held him in my arms
This made the pain so much more barable
MAKE FUN OF THE PAIN KNOW YOUR PAIN AND TAKE CONTROL
It also got me through the hours of waiting to see if things where working me james and my mam became fasinated with charting the highet and frequency of the splikes and relating them to the level and lenght of my pain. so silly games that turn your pain into fun well are silly but it worked for me and we found or selves giggling as the spike went high and id say "ohhhhhhhhhhhh im gonna be sucking the life out of the gas and air with this one here goes" And "wow that was a pathetic spike hardly felt that one come on you can do better then that"
DRUGS AND REGULATING YOUR BEATHING
GAS AND AIR I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU AND I WANT SOME MORE
WOW THAT STUFF WAS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
8) 
Anyway it helped to regulated my breathing when the pains hit it slowed and deepened my breaths to control the level of pain i felt and endure the waves better
DONT SUCK IT IN AND OUT QUICKLY AND IREGULARLY this will not help regulate the pain and will make you short of breath and youllm lose control of how much gas and air your taking in
so breath into the mouth piece slowly but firly and deepley then take an deep suck in and and just for a instant as you get to the end of the long breath in hold it just hold it then breath out and deeply slowly agian focus on this the breathing technic i becam obsesive about breathing deeper and mores lowly to get more gas and air to numb the pain and try and do what the midwfe said so she would be pleased with my breathing technic
PERSERVERANCE DONT GIVE IN DONT GIVE UP HOPE KEEP TRYING AND JUMP THOSE PAINFUL HURDLESAfter the eppy it was a waiting game to see if it would work and i had to find things to occupy me keep me sane and cope with the situation so i laughed and joked about what i was going through and how i couldnt wait to tell everyone my epic story of labour and mabye even write a novel about it i tried not to let what was happening get me down
each mile stone i reached ie i had 2 hours to get to 6 cm the 8 the 10 cm dialted i didnt look at the clock i just shut my eyes breathed deeply and said positive things to myself and to Collier telling him i loved him and he was doing well and to keep trying to come out as hard as he could
I never gave up hope id give nirth naturally ecah time i was given anothrr hours i remanined a positive ye si can do ti yes i will ake it those extra few centermeters
And when i reched 10 cm i felt like i was on top of thw world
FOCUS ON THE ADIVE GIVEN DRAW STRENGTH FROM THOSE AROUND YOU AND USE IT TO GET YOU THOUGH
It got to the stage quite swiftly the pains were beyond coping with with just the gas and air and the mid wife got the doc and the Epidural was administered
When i needed to push when i finaly reached 10cm i of course couldnt feel the contractions and seriously had to concentreat hard on the mid wives telling me when i needed to push when to stop how long to hold each one and how to do it i was compleatly draind of all energy and life and i was miliy seocnds from falling asleep but i focus all your last bit energy on the midwives voices and words of encouragmenst and praise
when i thought i couldnt take anymore i looked at my mam and didnt loose eye contact and i bore down for another contraction my mam did the same and this focused me i also held james hand and instead of crushing it i stroked his hand and he stroked mine and i focused on the feeling of his love as i pushed.
TEST YOUR LIMITS AND BREAK THROUGH THEM BE STUBBORN MAKE YOURSLEF FEEL BIG AND PROUD AND USE YOUR IMAGINATIONS FANTICISE YOUR THE BEST THING EVER
I was determend to oush as hard as i could and i set myelsf up to be the ebst damn labour pusher in the universe and i deseded i was nrilliant and the best damnes person that had ever lived and noone coulds beat me and the pushing was easy peasy so i didnt give up a kept going and going pushing harder then the first one even better the third one Take the compliments gven for your effert and hype them up imagine a medel and trophy at the end cheering clappng kisses and everyone adoring you for being the best labout pusher in the world.
I let my imagination go crazy and wild and enjoyed living in my own little world for a while and this helped me to forget i was shattered and despreatly wanted need sleep
DONT BLAME YOUERSLEF IF IT ALL GOES TITS UP AND NEVER EVER THINK YOUR A FAILURE!!!
As long as you know you did your best then be proud 8) of the acheivements you did make and for the hard and long effert you put in to atttempting and trying
And if you cant like me do it naturally then think of it as well im must be just to much of a good Mummy womb my child dosnt want to leave me.
And yes your didnt di t naturally but WOW JUST LOOK AT THE MIRICLE AND BEAUTIFUL CHILD I CREATED
Then procced to forget all the pain tears hurt crying screaming moaning whaling and anguish
as none of that matters anymore your lovely little baby has finaly arrived and is in your arms
Thats it for me after that the vontouse and the c section took over
hope its been of some help
sorry i do go on a bit
sarah
Having the best labour partners
My Mam and My James were a tower of strenght love and comfort thoughout my labour and i would have not been as half as brave if they had not been there. they stayed strong when i fell apart and helped me pick myself back up and carry on with more determinations and encouragement praise for trying and the love i felt and i recieved i will never ever forget
so when you think who will fight every monster and knock down walls to help me then there your partners made in heven
Some thing to get you through labour the biggest one for me was to EXCEPTand LET GO of my planned labour wishes and FOCUS on the end result my darling son so yes if you want to have a water birth, stay at home, no pain relife ec ect it is hard to see YOUR LABOUR go down the toilet but i PROMISE you the INSTANT YOUR CHILD arrives into this world you will not care if you gave birth up a mountian with goats for company
So roll with the punches take the knocks and fight like a mother tiger and forget your plan throw it out the window and relish the challanges that you have been presented. 8)
Be proud of yourself and draw strength from your acheivements to aid you to carry on
I'm scared if needles well i had to encounter a few in my time in hospital
and i screamed like a big baby when they put in the induction needle in my hand instead of my arm as the vains were betterI did'nt flinch or say stop i grinned and bared it the same with the blood tests and when they put in the antibiotics to stop infection
the epidural sent me in to a hyper breathing panic attack but as they put the needle in i chanted i
"I love you collier im doing this for you" over over over agian faster and faster as the procedure continued
i admit now i feel very chuffed and proud of my bravery and it got me through what came next beacuse i thought i can get through that part one of my biggest phobias then i can take on anything
OK THE NITTY GRITTY
Once the induction began to work and i began to feel the pain of contractions they started of mild and i could cope with th wpain and simply talked my way through them when they became intenser i used the heaet monitor and contraction monitior to helps me
ok i concentreated on both and became very involved with every sign of a contraction beggining and id think right the graph is spiking i need to start breathing deeply
so it was the graph spike not the pain that i focused on and you know waht it worked and the heart beat through ourt colliers heart beast stayed strong and this ressured me to tke the increasing pain because my sons heart beat ment i was soon going to me meet him and to hear his heart beat for myslef when i held him in my arms
This made the pain so much more barable
MAKE FUN OF THE PAIN KNOW YOUR PAIN AND TAKE CONTROL
It also got me through the hours of waiting to see if things where working me james and my mam became fasinated with charting the highet and frequency of the splikes and relating them to the level and lenght of my pain. so silly games that turn your pain into fun well are silly but it worked for me and we found or selves giggling as the spike went high and id say "ohhhhhhhhhhhh im gonna be sucking the life out of the gas and air with this one here goes" And "wow that was a pathetic spike hardly felt that one come on you can do better then that"
DRUGS AND REGULATING YOUR BEATHING
GAS AND AIR I LOVE YOU AND I MISS YOU AND I WANT SOME MORE
WOW THAT STUFF WAS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
8) Anyway it helped to regulated my breathing when the pains hit it slowed and deepened my breaths to control the level of pain i felt and endure the waves better
DONT SUCK IT IN AND OUT QUICKLY AND IREGULARLY this will not help regulate the pain and will make you short of breath and youllm lose control of how much gas and air your taking in
so breath into the mouth piece slowly but firly and deepley then take an deep suck in and and just for a instant as you get to the end of the long breath in hold it just hold it then breath out and deeply slowly agian focus on this the breathing technic i becam obsesive about breathing deeper and mores lowly to get more gas and air to numb the pain and try and do what the midwfe said so she would be pleased with my breathing technic
PERSERVERANCE DONT GIVE IN DONT GIVE UP HOPE KEEP TRYING AND JUMP THOSE PAINFUL HURDLESAfter the eppy it was a waiting game to see if it would work and i had to find things to occupy me keep me sane and cope with the situation so i laughed and joked about what i was going through and how i couldnt wait to tell everyone my epic story of labour and mabye even write a novel about it
i tried not to let what was happening get me downeach mile stone i reached ie i had 2 hours to get to 6 cm the 8 the 10 cm dialted i didnt look at the clock i just shut my eyes breathed deeply and said positive things to myself and to Collier telling him i loved him and he was doing well and to keep trying to come out as hard as he could
I never gave up hope id give nirth naturally ecah time i was given anothrr hours i remanined a positive ye si can do ti yes i will ake it those extra few centermeters
And when i reched 10 cm i felt like i was on top of thw world
FOCUS ON THE ADIVE GIVEN DRAW STRENGTH FROM THOSE AROUND YOU AND USE IT TO GET YOU THOUGH
It got to the stage quite swiftly the pains were beyond coping with with just the gas and air and the mid wife got the doc and the Epidural was administered
When i needed to push when i finaly reached 10cm i of course couldnt feel the contractions and seriously had to concentreat hard on the mid wives telling me when i needed to push when to stop how long to hold each one and how to do it i was compleatly draind of all energy and life and i was miliy seocnds from falling asleep but i focus all your last bit energy on the midwives voices and words of encouragmenst and praise
when i thought i couldnt take anymore i looked at my mam and didnt loose eye contact and i bore down for another contraction my mam did the same and this focused me i also held james hand and instead of crushing it i stroked his hand and he stroked mine and i focused on the feeling of his love as i pushed.
TEST YOUR LIMITS AND BREAK THROUGH THEM BE STUBBORN MAKE YOURSLEF FEEL BIG AND PROUD AND USE YOUR IMAGINATIONS FANTICISE YOUR THE BEST THING EVER
I was determend to oush as hard as i could and i set myelsf up to be the ebst damn labour pusher in the universe and i deseded i was nrilliant and the best damnes person that had ever lived and noone coulds beat me and the pushing was easy peasy so i didnt give up a kept going and going pushing harder then the first one even better the third one Take the compliments gven for your effert and hype them up imagine a medel and trophy at the end cheering clappng kisses and everyone adoring you for being the best labout pusher in the world.
I let my imagination go crazy and wild and enjoyed living in my own little world for a while and this helped me to forget i was shattered and despreatly wanted need sleep
DONT BLAME YOUERSLEF IF IT ALL GOES TITS UP AND NEVER EVER THINK YOUR A FAILURE!!!
As long as you know you did your best then be proud 8) of the acheivements you did make and for the hard and long effert you put in to atttempting and trying
And if you cant like me do it naturally then think of it as well im must be just to much of a good Mummy womb my child dosnt want to leave me.
And yes your didnt di t naturally but WOW JUST LOOK AT THE MIRICLE AND BEAUTIFUL CHILD I CREATED
Then procced to forget all the pain tears hurt crying screaming moaning whaling and anguish
as none of that matters anymore your lovely little baby has finaly arrived and is in your arms
Thats it for me after that the vontouse and the c section took over
hope its been of some help
sorry i do go on a bit sarah
Geordie&Bairn
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awww thanks Keli andn Becky
well done
that you could understand it ive just read it back and oh my god the spellinh mistakes and miss typed words 
i will be going back and retyping the errors oh the shame
thanks Keli andn Beckywell done
that you could understand it ive just read it back and oh my god the spellinh mistakes and miss typed words i will be going back and retyping the errors oh the shame
Miss.Monroe
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brilliant advice sarah, i want to print it out and take it with me! i love the 'imagining trophies' bit. i think thats really encoraging not to get beaten down by how tired your feeling. your a very positive person!
fothers said:
If there's one thing I learned from my first labour, it's this. I freaked out as my contractions were every 30 secs but it turns out I was barely dialated. I wish I'd have gone home for a while..... instead of spending 16 hours in a labour room
Miss.Monroe
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chedz said:fothers said:
If there's one thing I learned from my first labour, it's this. I freaked out as my contractions were every 30 secs but it turns out I was barely dialated. I wish I'd have gone home for a while..... instead of spending 16 hours in a labour room
very true! but i also dont want to get there too late that im not allowed an epidural, i think i wil freak out if they dont let me have one! im kinda relying on it, to try and make my experience as pain free as possible.
I was talking to my Mum last night and asked her to tell me about her labours and how she coped (because she's had 4 births) and she gave me this advice which I thought I would share!!
- All the methods of coping are ONLY for the 60 seconds that a contraction lasts, inbetween contractions you are fine. It's not a constant pain, you know it will soon be over and you can prepare for the next one.
- Imagine each contraction is another step closer to meeting your baby.
- Remember that if the pain was THAT bad, women would stop at 1 child and wouldn't have more!
- Try to stay at home as long as possible because sitting in a delivery room for 16 hours whilst you could be having a cup of tea on your couch or in the bath isn't the most comfortable environment.
- When you reach the hospital when you're in labour, tell the midwives that you are nervous about the pain and ask them to talk you through each step. That way, you feel comfortable in knowing that you will always be informed and they can do their best to comfort you & reassure you - knowing you are nervous & worried.
- The more you panic, the worse the pain seems. Trying to stay calm (even if you're not!) is allowing your body to focus on handling the contraction.
- Work WITH a contraction and not AGAINST it.
- Always tell your birthing partner what you need/want from them. If you need encouraging words, tell them. If them rubbing your shoulder is getting more irritating with each passing contraction, tell them! They wouldn't have agreed to be the birthing partner if they didn't love you and want to do the very best they can for you.
It's so easy to write all this knowing they're not my words, because if my Mum's wrong and these don't work, then she's in BIG trouble
- All the methods of coping are ONLY for the 60 seconds that a contraction lasts, inbetween contractions you are fine. It's not a constant pain, you know it will soon be over and you can prepare for the next one.
- Imagine each contraction is another step closer to meeting your baby.
- Remember that if the pain was THAT bad, women would stop at 1 child and wouldn't have more!
- Try to stay at home as long as possible because sitting in a delivery room for 16 hours whilst you could be having a cup of tea on your couch or in the bath isn't the most comfortable environment.
- When you reach the hospital when you're in labour, tell the midwives that you are nervous about the pain and ask them to talk you through each step. That way, you feel comfortable in knowing that you will always be informed and they can do their best to comfort you & reassure you - knowing you are nervous & worried.
- The more you panic, the worse the pain seems. Trying to stay calm (even if you're not!) is allowing your body to focus on handling the contraction.
- Work WITH a contraction and not AGAINST it.
- Always tell your birthing partner what you need/want from them. If you need encouraging words, tell them. If them rubbing your shoulder is getting more irritating with each passing contraction, tell them! They wouldn't have agreed to be the birthing partner if they didn't love you and want to do the very best they can for you.
It's so easy to write all this knowing they're not my words, because if my Mum's wrong and these don't work, then she's in BIG trouble
I am taking all your Mummys advice on board! Think my mum just said, Don't get pregnant!
The bit about being one step closer with each contraction is something I told OH I would focus on once we'd had our antenatal class as after that I full understand what each contraction was doing so each one is needed to get that step further...hopefully he'll remember too as I want him to remind me when Im in labour
The bit about being one step closer with each contraction is something I told OH I would focus on once we'd had our antenatal class as after that I full understand what each contraction was doing so each one is needed to get that step further...hopefully he'll remember too as I want him to remind me when Im in labour
I must say Sarah (Geordieand bairn) has some great tips there
To be honest i found labour to be a blur, might have been the pethidine that did that
However i did feel all the pain
I found that the gas and air helped me regulate my breathing when it came to the contractions, as you have to take nice big breaths of gas in for it to work. If you dont like the gas and air, take off the mouthpiece and just use it as a focus for breathing.
Alot of people have said that keeping mobile is best, which it probably is with regards to the baby making its way down and out, however i could not stand up whilst contracting. I had to sit down when i had one. It was pure agony for me when i was walking from the car to the hospital as i couldnt sit anywhere whilst contracting
To be honest i found labour to be a blur, might have been the pethidine that did that
However i did feel all the pain
I found that the gas and air helped me regulate my breathing when it came to the contractions, as you have to take nice big breaths of gas in for it to work. If you dont like the gas and air, take off the mouthpiece and just use it as a focus for breathing.
Alot of people have said that keeping mobile is best, which it probably is with regards to the baby making its way down and out, however i could not stand up whilst contracting. I had to sit down when i had one. It was pure agony for me when i was walking from the car to the hospital as i couldnt sit anywhere whilst contracting
I found the TENS machine fantastic.
Make sure your birthing partner knows all your wishes so they can answer all the questions they ask. OH described me as very focused, I would describe it as zoned out. Either way, I didn't want to answer questions.
You belly will go hard before you start to feel the contraction. Gas and air takes 20 seconds to work. So keep your hand on your tummy and when you feel it tighten start taking the gas and air then. That saves you 20 seconds of pain per contraction
Before I thought of this I would count to 20 from when the pain started knowing that that was as far as I had to get before the gas and air would kick in.
Don't worry, it's really not that bad. There's a difference between pain (which there will be lots of) and suffering (which hopefully there won't). I cannot explain it at all as usually I am rubbish with pain but labour is a very different experience. The only times it got unmanageable were if I got upset. If I was mentally fine I could cope. If you think you need them though, take the drugs. There are no awards for doing things drug free and it will make you feel better and more able to cope.
Make sure your birthing partner knows all your wishes so they can answer all the questions they ask. OH described me as very focused, I would describe it as zoned out. Either way, I didn't want to answer questions.
You belly will go hard before you start to feel the contraction. Gas and air takes 20 seconds to work. So keep your hand on your tummy and when you feel it tighten start taking the gas and air then. That saves you 20 seconds of pain per contraction
Before I thought of this I would count to 20 from when the pain started knowing that that was as far as I had to get before the gas and air would kick in.
Don't worry, it's really not that bad. There's a difference between pain (which there will be lots of) and suffering (which hopefully there won't). I cannot explain it at all as usually I am rubbish with pain but labour is a very different experience. The only times it got unmanageable were if I got upset. If I was mentally fine I could cope. If you think you need them though, take the drugs. There are no awards for doing things drug free and it will make you feel better and more able to cope.
So many times on this forum I have seen people throwing such a strop because they feel their plan won't be followed. With the best will in the world most plans don't actually happen 100% because you can't predict exactly what is going to happen. But Sarah's advice here is the best bit of advice you are going to get. If you have a plan and you feel your world is going to end if your birth doesn't go exactly to plan, your world IS going to end. Be flexible, take it all on, and make the best of the situation presented to you on the day. You won't be disappointed - you get a baby at the end of it
I found having loud dance music on helped to distract me. I put the dance channel on the TV as soon as my waters went and when I was in the car on the way there I put the radio on to distract me from pushing and not giving birth in the car . Listening to DH helped in labour room and I just wanted him to keep talking to me so I could concentrate on what he was saying instead of the pain. Next time I will definitely be taking a cd player with me.
. Listening to DH helped in labour room and I just wanted him to keep talking to me so I could concentrate on what he was saying instead of the pain. Next time I will definitely be taking a cd player with me.I found rocking back and forth through the contractions helped - I couldn't stay still. I was most comfortable standing up, leaning against a wall or on a chair and just rocking back and forth - think it just distracted me. I also tried to breathe through them and tried to relax into them by visualising my cervix opening a little more with every contraction (considering I don't even know what a cervix looks like... ) That got me to 10cm with no drugs/TENS/g&a - then I took the epidural!
) That got me to 10cm with no drugs/TENS/g&a - then I took the epidural! Is there anymore advice out there for us, ladies?
I know iv been in labour and done it all before, three years ago, but this time im HOME birthing with my OH instead of hospital birthing with my mum (she was the best partener i could have ever asked for! and this time cant make it as im in Canada)... i had G&A and pethatine towards the end with my DD and i coped great on those two but im a little nervous, mostly exited, but scared i cant have pethadine and have to have a TENS instead. i do get to have the G&A but im just wondering how much difference the pain releif is between the two? also i know my OH will be fab i just dont know how to tell/show him what helps, what he needs to do ect, or if it will just come naturally. im scared he will get upset that he cant ease my pain xx
I know iv been in labour and done it all before, three years ago, but this time im HOME birthing with my OH instead of hospital birthing with my mum (she was the best partener i could have ever asked for! and this time cant make it as im in Canada)... i had G&A and pethatine towards the end with my DD and i coped great on those two but im a little nervous, mostly exited, but scared i cant have pethadine and have to have a TENS instead. i do get to have the G&A but im just wondering how much difference the pain releif is between the two? also i know my OH will be fab i just dont know how to tell/show him what helps, what he needs to do ect, or if it will just come naturally. im scared he will get upset that he cant ease my pain
xxI led on my side with my back towards my OH and he rubbed my back and we sang together lol it sounded shite but it helped! I just closed my eyes and relaxed my body but kept clenching my toes together and breathed long deep breaths. When I got to the stage when I wanted to push but wasnt allowed I rocked back and forward and kinda bounced up and down on my butt! I didnt talk to anyone when I wanted to push I just kept the gas and air to my face the whole time I didnt want to speak coz I knew I would of just talked rubbish!
also hoping to have a home birth and mw has informed me they only carry enough gas and air for an hour max!! so its tens and that and some amazing inner strength that im going to pull from somewhere?! - ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
They dont bring any drugs either, oh crikey!
They dont bring any drugs either, oh crikey!
One thing that helped me was keeping my eyes shut! lol When the pains came I kept my eyes totally closed and concentrated hard and breathed in the G&A! If I did happen to open my eyes it was like a crazy wave of pain I couldnt control so made sure I kept them shut haha
