How do you feel about epidurals/natural birth?

[moomin_troll]

i wasnt given any infor on pain relief from my midwife so i looked it up myself in my pregnancy magazines.

i was 2cm dilated when my waters were broken so got to about 3cm and then thru fear i went on the gas and air. i had planned to use it anyway but i only started so quick because she walked in n said u want drugs so i said gas and air.

ive just bought myself a tens machine to use for early labour so hopefuly i will be able to control myself more lol and even if i do end up in hospital i will not let them put me on my back again!
if anything thats the only piece of advice i have for first time mummys to be

 

[WW1]

This is an interesting discussion. I went into labour with an open mind. My birth plan said I wanted to have as little medication as possible but having never been through the experience before I was open to discussion as things arose.

As it happens, I was induced (fear of cord prolapse) and after 30 hrs on tens and G&A I accepted pethidine. I HATED it!! It made me feel out of control and if I ever have another child, I know now that I will avoid pethidine at all costs! To make matters worse, it did nothing for the pain The mw was excellent - she gave me options but was very good at going up the scale of pain - by no means was an epi the first option offered.

To cut a long story short, nearly 40 hours into labour I decided on an epidural (I was 6 cm dilated and had been for some time!). In the end, I had to have a spinal block and c section as Rebecca wasn't pushing down enough and my cervix wasn't dilating.

In hindsight, Rebecca was never going to be born vaginally as she has craniosynostosis (premature fusing of the skull) and her skull simply couldn't mould to go down the birth canal. Of course we didn't know that at the time.

I look back on my birth experience with some sadness as I'd like to know what a "natural" birth would be like but Rebecca and I are both here in one piece and in the end I did what I had to do. As long as women have the information to make informed decisions (before labour of course as thinking clearly wasn't a strong point of mine during labour!) they should have options and it's impossible to say whether an epidural is the "right" or "wrong" option.

No two birth experiences are the same so it is impossible to state whether an epi should be given in any case. I do agree though that they shouldn't be a first resort.

 

[jennie_78]

I had an epidural due to being diabetic and needing various drips ( insulin, glucose, fluids, and another 1 i cant think of).
Mine was so none of them would dislodge.

I had no problem bonding with my LO.

Its the initial hormonal bond we're talking about. The same one breastfeeding helps with

ah thanks

 

[buttonnose82]

when I was in hospital, they were breaking peoples waters & offering epidural right after!

I used tens in early labour & I have 2 paracetamole at 1 point, they never believed I was in labour into I demanded too be examined 72 hours after my contractions started ( 65 hours after waters had broke) and they discovered I was 8 cm, from there I tried gas & air for 1 contraction but hated it so had nothing until after I had been pushing for 2 hours without Little Man moving and they took me too theatre for the spinal & forceps

I'd like too do the same next time but without the spinal/forceps ending. For me personally, labour just felt like intense period pains, I suffer from endo and the pain from that was awful at times (to the point I would pass out) so I dunno if this made labour easier (wrong choice of word but I hope you get what I mean) because I was used too very intense period pains

 

[Blah11]

I'm entrigued to see what a 'normal' labour is like and not a back to back one. I would like to do a totally natural water birth this time round but i'm going to be open minded again (no epi though as its a homebirth lol).

 

[moomin_troll]

im just worried as to what crowning and pushing the head out will feel as my mw rushed me so much i wasnt given time to crown completly and then she cut me and that was it.

my oh was having a look and said i did stretch obviously but i didnt feel anything which was weird.
im now trying to just have blind faith in my body and that i will be able to do it all

 

[Blah11]

Pushing and crowning is nothing compared to contractions IMO! I was pushing for 27 minutes apparently and it felt like 5 to me.

 

[moomin_troll]

Pushing and crowning is nothing compared to contractions IMO! I was pushing for 27 minutes apparently and it felt like 5 to me.

i was fine with the pushing so ive always said thats the easiest part...unlike films when the women scream
i just felt robbed by my mw that she did what was easiest for her not what was best for me or zane, there was no reason for my epis other then just speeding things along.

i wont get into my whole bitching about zanes birth as ile be here all night and i want a bath lol

 

[Kalah]

I agree that they are given out too frequently and I wonder if most of the women who get them really know all the risks. I had an extremely painful birth. Baby was back to back (no one knew until she came out) and I have bad scoliosis so the pain didn't stop between contractions. If someone is in that much pain they really should be able to have one. I couldn't have one since it would have required x-rays ahead of time and with all the risks I wasn't prepared to take the chance.
I think if someone isn't in completely unbearable pain though then an epidural shouldn't be an option, simply because it isn't absolutely necessary and there are other options with less risks. I mean what if a woman gets one and ends up one of the very few who are paralyzed because of it! I bet they would look back and realize the pain wasn't actually that bad.

I think it comes down to the midwifes though. It's really them who decide if you can have what you ask for even if they say otherwise. As an example when I was in labour the midwives were just too busy to pay any attention to me. They gave me some paracetamol and refused anything stronger no matter how much I begged or cried or screamed in pain or told them I think I'm dying because I could feel myself losing consciousness slightly with every contraction because I couldn't take any more pain. In my case the midwives failed at their job. But then on the other hand there are women who are in pain but not way too much, and instead of being offered something like gas & air they just get an epidural. I just think it's irresponsible for the midwife to allow that with all the risks.

 

[Blah11]

^ Its difficult though because how do you know if the pain is unbarable or not? You cant compare it to other labours, especially if its your first.

 

[WW1]

^ Its difficult though because how do you know if the pain is unbarable or not? You cant compare it to other labours, especially if its your first.

Agreed

And each woman has a different pain threshold. What might be unbearable to one may be bearable to another...

 

[Kalah]

Pushing and crowning is nothing compared to contractions IMO! I was pushing for 27 minutes apparently and it felt like 5 to me.

It was the same for me! OH tells me I pushed for half an hour but I swear it felt like it couldn't have been more than 5 minutes.
To the PP who asked what the pushing feels like, it's just like a hot stingy feeling as the skin stretches and you can really feel it stretching. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! Was more of a relief than anything, my body did all the work I just had to breathe, my stomach muscles pushed down on their own and everything stretched as it was supposed to! I only had the tiny minor tears and bruising, I think it was thanks to a tip I had read about massaging bio oil on my bits to get the skin ready for stretching! Good tip for next time

 

[Blah11]

I found pushing strangly enjoyable too as it really is a relief. You NEED to push when your body tells you too and it feels kinda good to focus your energy on getting your LO out. You know you're about to meet your new baby too which makes it enjoyable x5r823523535346436. I didn't tear either but I think it was more down to listening to the MWs when they tell you to stop pushing, and pant when they say pant, little pushes when they say little pushes etc!

 

[Kalah]

^ Its difficult though because how do you know if the pain is unbarable or not? You cant compare it to other labours, especially if its your first.

That's a good point. I know there were a few times I thought the pain was unbearable before I really realized just what it meant to be unbearable.

 

[Kalah]

I found pushing strangly enjoyable too as it really is a relief. You NEED to push when your body tells you too and it feels kinda good to focus your energy on getting your LO out. You know you're about to meet your new baby too which makes it enjoyable x5r823523535346436. I didn't tear either but I think it was more down to listening to the MWs when they tell you to stop pushing, and pant when they say pant, little pushes when they say little pushes etc!

That just reminded me of the funniest part of labour! When I first had the urge to push and a load of midwifes appeared out of nowhere to rush me into a delivery room, it was SO hard not to push because my muscles just kept baring down. So I had OH next to me saying "don't push don't push don't push" over and over and I kept repeating it "don't push don't push..can I push? don't push don't push...I'm gonna push!! don't push don't push..."

 

[moomin_troll]

Pushing and crowning is nothing compared to contractions IMO! I was pushing for 27 minutes apparently and it felt like 5 to me.

It was the same for me! OH tells me I pushed for half an hour but I swear it felt like it couldn't have been more than 5 minutes.
To the PP who asked what the pushing feels like, it's just like a hot stingy feeling as the skin stretches and you can really feel it stretching. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! Was more of a relief than anything, my body did all the work I just had to breathe, my stomach muscles pushed down on their own and everything stretched as it was supposed to! I only had the tiny minor tears and bruising, I think it was thanks to a tip I had read about massaging bio oil on my bits to get the skin ready for stretching! Good tip for next time

i think this is pointed towards me, i was able to experience the pushing but my mw didnt give me time to crown or to breath thru anything, it was all big push big push, she was awful i was very let down.

after i had the epis i could feel things down one side but due to the cut i didnt feel the crowing it was right huge push and head was out.

 

[bky]

I think they are generally overused. It kind of makes me that people go into labour wanting them since they do come with a higher risk of intervention. Of course it's not necessarily the epidural itself, but the position you have to be in after you have one that causes many of the issues. I actually think it's a fairly safe pain medication as far as babies are concerned. If pain medication became necessary it was my choice over anything else other than gas and air (which did nothing for me). I would have been happy to have a walking epidural, but they don't do them here.

I was offered one because they knew they were going to have to have me in for an EMCS unless something about my labour situation changed soon. I had declined because I knew epidural=lying on my back on a bed and that wasn't what I wanted, but since I failed the monitor and fetal heartbeat tests that would have allowed me to roam around I was kind of about it at that point. I ended up not getting one as the anaesthetist was called away to a more urgent emergency (crash c-section).
I ended up with a spinal (which has slightly more risks but is faster acting) and EMCS

 

[Lover]

I found pushing strangly enjoyable too as it really is a relief. You NEED to push when your body tells you too and it feels kinda good to focus your energy on getting your LO out. You know you're about to meet your new baby too which makes it enjoyable x5r823523535346436. I didn't tear either but I think it was more down to listening to the MWs when they tell you to stop pushing, and pant when they say pant, little pushes when they say little pushes etc!

I could have written this myself! I found pushing strangely enjoyable too - the contractions were far worse than the actual pushing for me. I also didn't tear as I did exactly what the midwife said about panting & little pushes etc.

In answer to the epidural question - when I was pregnant I was referred to the anesthetist because of my high BMI (47) who was very adamant that as soon as I reach 4cms I should have an epidural "just to be on the safe side, in case anything goes wrong and you need a C-section"

I really wanted a natural birth so I took her 'advice' with a pinch of salt because although I'm a big girl, I'm still a woman and felt that if my body was able to get pregnant naturally regardless of my weight, then I can have a natural labour too (I stayed open minded because obviously I didn't know what pain to expect but I was pretty determined to stay natural)! In the end I did it on a couple of co-codamol and G&A.

I definitely think epidurals are given too quickly and are pushed unnecessarily on some women. Obviously if it's what the woman wants then that's fine but I think other alternatives should be explained and offered first if the person is unaware of other pain relief options.

 

[LeeBee]

I'm all about the epidural

I was well informed beforehand about the risks that come along with it (and other methods of pain relief). Decided it was the only thing I would do. I didn't like the idea of the other drugs causing respritory problems for baby.

I had a really great birth experience. There were complications, but they were inevitable, and everything turned out ok I never felt any pressure to get it... My doctor just asked, "Do you want an epidural?" and I said, "YESSSS"

I guess I don't agree that they are over used... as long as the mother to be is informed of any risks, it's her decision I say if it's there, no harm in using it!

Though as I've said before, I have incredible respect for anyone who can go without. Makes my lady parts hurt even thinking about it!

 

[aragornlover8]

I'm all about the epidural

I was well informed beforehand about the risks that come along with it (and other methods of pain relief). Decided it was the only thing I would do. I didn't like the idea of the other drugs causing respritory problems for baby.

I had a really great birth experience. There were complications, but they were inevitable, and everything turned out ok I never felt any pressure to get it... My doctor just asked, "Do you want an epidural?" and I said, "YESSSS"

I guess I don't agree that they are over used... as long as the mother to be is informed of any risks, it's her decision I say if it's there, no harm in using it!

Though as I've said before, I have incredible respect for anyone who can go without. Makes my lady parts hurt even thinking about it!

Haha, your story made me giggle a little. My doctor's wife is an anesthesiologist and said that she was going to have an epidural first thing. He explained to her that she was going to have an anesthesiologist who would decide what was best/safest. But she was extremely insistent on getting it as soon as possible.

I'm all for having it if you want it. I just really don't feel like there is a lot of adequate information at most hospitals for women to make as informed a decision as possible. A lot of women aren't as adamant about doing their own research either. That's my only real concern.