Hello ladies

For those of you who have been through a no pain relief labour, as in, no TENS, gas and air, morphine, epi etc...

What do you think helped you to achieve this? What put you in the right frame of mind to focus and cope and do what you body is naturally designed to do?

My first labour was a planned active natural labour which ended up being a pitocin induction at 37-38weeks but I think I focused on the pain relief too much. I had a TENS machine, was focusing on positions etc. but I think I put too much emphasis on the pain rather than just managing and coping. Gas and air made me lose control of my focus and mind too and I panicked and lost myself quickly I think and then diamorphine made me relax and get my control back slightly but my LO had trouble feeding afterwards, I can't remember most of my labour and I had huge difficulty pushing because I'd had two doses and no longer had the strength or care to hold my own head up - my eyes were literally rolling!

This time, I just want to do it naturally the way I know my body can. I don't want to focus on relieving the pain even with aromatherapy etc. I am scared of a water birth so wouldn't be able to relax in the pool. I just want to do it as nature intended, focus my mind somewhere within and get through it. I don't believe in hypnobirthing as the only hypnobirthing CDs I have found focus on labour being pain free which I don't believe in. I do have a relaxation hypnosis I use though which I'm sure will help if I feel myself beginning to panic in the early stages.

So, what I want to know is how do you get your mind in that natural state, accept labour and focus your way through it? What do you think helped you?

The shower, being on all fours, staying home till an hour before he was born. I only felt I needed pain relief right at the end but the Midwife had said I was still only 4cm after 22 hours. Next time id possibly avoid internals.
X

I was lucky with a quick labour (although I had no pain until active labour and than transitioned within the hour to 10)...I was at home so my options were limited and my MW told me when they got there that it wasn't worth having the G&A (in the moment I wasn't impressed lol) What I found helped was being able to move around in whatever way I needed...the position that helped me focus in by myself was standing and leaning against the wall with my forehead pressed against it. What helped for relief when supported by others was pressure applied to the back by one person (MW) and being able to lean on my dh or sister during this time. That 2 person support was key for me in getting through the hardest part. When it came to pushing I found that was a huge relief and much preferred that...this time I'm opting to try the water in a birth pool but found a tub to intense the first time so not sure i'll be up for it! Good luck!

I was lucky to have a fast labor...about 4.5 hours or so. I think the main thing I did was meditate into space (sort of stared at a focal point and moaned when I had a contraction). I didn't speak or scream, I just moaned. The last hour was the hardest, but I made it.

it was a lot easier than i expected. staying upright and active helped. i walked about until about 7cm then i started to lean on my knees on a stack of cushions on my sofa and wiggling my hips. i ended up giving birth in that position. was lovely as i brought him up myself and helped catch him. he was out in 3 pushes which was amazing as he was facing up and had a nuchal hand! no tears either. good old gravity

Thanks girls. I've been looking at links on primal/primitive/instinctive/spiritual birth. I think this is what I'm looking for! I'm actually really excited and relaxed about the birth rather than fearful. I get to meet my little boy at the end of it! I was very scared for my daughters health etc. in my last labour which I don't think helped. xx

I really surprised myself when it came to my son's birth. Like many ladies, I had planned for a natural birth but would get pain relief if I decided I wanted it. I honestly thought I'd be a bit of a wimp and want pain relief immediately. However, something amazing happened and my body took over and I had nothing at all. I had my son at the birthing centre, using a lovely big birthing pool, but gave birth on a bed. I didn't do any research on technique and went in quite 'cold'. I just went with the flow and quietly got on with it (again, hadn't expected that) and said barely a word to anyone until it was over (8 hours later). I guess my mind was just so focussed on the job in hand I was in my own world. The sense of achievement afterwards was immense and my first words were 'I did it!'

I had no pain relief at all and honestly the only way I managed that was because I had a home birth and so there was no choice! I had made the decision that I didnt want any drugs and so I had to get on with it! my labour was 19 hours from when I started timing the regular contractions and honestly the pain was really bad but I coped because I had to! I was meant to have a water birth but we had a water cut so I couldnt even have a shower.
walking and moaning a lot helped and my midwife got me to do squats and held my weight while I pulled back which kind of helped. I wanted to do hypnobirthing but I just dont get how labour isnt painful, I wish I could!

I found water very helpful during labour - would you be happy to labour in water (bath/shower/pool?) and get out before the end?

I did use gas and air right at the end, but with hindsight, if I'd known how close I was, I don't think I would have bothered!

I think the lines blur a little, between "relief" and "coping". I'd say, don't dismiss things that you think are "relief", because they might still be very useful in terms of helping you cope, if that makes sense. For ex. I used some hypnobirthing techniques to help me focus - I didn't buy into the whole theory completely, but it was still extremely helpful to me!

There are some great tips here, too Don't be put off by the fact that it SEEMS to focus on "eliminating" the pain. It's all about A) changing your perspective of it and B) relaxing INTO IT, to let your body do the work.

Hi, sorry that your first labour didn't go as planned.

With ds1 I stayed at home as long as possible (8cm), kept active, listened to relaxing music, and became very internalised (like another poster said I went into my own world).

The last few hours of my labour where I felt like I wanted to give up and have some form of pain relief, I closed my eyes, asked everyone to remain quiet, focused on the music, and kept thinking about things that I would soon know; the sex, name , hair colour of my child etc. This helped immensely as I found that while I felt the pain it was not a dominent thought in my mind anymore.

I think the main thing is to try not to focus on the pain. Fear is really the enemy for those that want a drug free birth, as I have noticed that many women get pain relief when they start to panic. If you start to flag or feel scared try to remember that pain is a temporary state, and focus on the end result as opposed to the number of hours you may have left.

I hope this helps and I really hope you get the birth you want this time x