No pain relief labour - how did you do it?

[JohnsMom]

I wanted an epideral, and got one, but the stupid thing did not take! I also went from a 6 to a 10 in less than an hour, so I at least got to use the pain to push the baby out, if that makes sense. I also had very tempermental nurses who did not like it if I made noise, that the baby needed to be born into a quiet environment full of love... wierd old biddies... lol I am happy though now

 

[TattiesMum]

I managed all 3 of my labours with no pain relief - not through any kind of deeply held belief in Natural Birthing but just by retreating into myself I think.

I just kind of 'zoned out', kept upright and moving until the last minutes and focused on visualising my cervix opening with each contraction ... I think that if you take each contraction as it comes and see it as a means to an end rather than pain, then that helps

 

[ladykilla421]

During both my pregnancies I had full intentions of doing labor and delivery as natural as possible, no interventions, no pharmaceutical pain relief...I read Spiritual midwifery, Ina mays guide to childbirth, gentle birth gentle mothering and a slew of other books promoting natural childbirth. With my first child, I was induced at 39 weeks and I was in no way ready for the amount of pain childbirth entailed. I opted for an epidural. The second time around I went into labor naturally at 40+5 weeks and did so completely natural with no pain medications what so ever. I was lucky in the fact that I had a precipitous labor and went from 3cm dilation to 10 within a matter of 20 or so minutes with my labor lasting a total of about an hour from the onset of contractions to the birth of my daughter. That being said, having had a precipitous labor/birth I did not have the luxury of having contractions that gradually increased in frequency and intensity, they litterally came on every 2 minutes and were excrutiating from the get go. I found it very helpful to remind myself that the pain from the contractions was a good thing and that every single one brought me that much closer to having my daughter. I consistently told myself that I was designed to do this and that many a woman before me had done it without any pain relief and they had a great deal of sucess in doing so, I also made a point of telling myself that the pain was very temporary and that before long it would be over with and I would soon forget it. I kept focus on the fact that if I had any pharmacological pain relief, labor and delivery would subsequently be more painful for my daughter given I would not have any natural pain killers such as endorphins and adrenaline as a result of my pain being numbed. These natural pain killers are released during labor in response to pain the laboring woman feels during labor, these "natural pain killers" are passed on to the baby making labor and delivery less painful for him/her. If your pain is numbed you do not release these pain killers resulting in a more painful labor/delivery for your child. Keeping calm was also very helpful for me, given the intensity and speed at which my labor/delivery came I had moments where I was very panicky and scared, my mother who attended the birth (unfortunately given how fast everything went my husband didint make it to the hospital in time, thankfully my mom came with me to the hospital otherwise I would have been alone) was very good at reminding me to keep calm, cool and collected which helped me cope with the pain. Last but not least the reality that things were progressing so fast that I would likely not have time to receive any pain killers strengthened my resolve to do it naturally, and boy am I happy I did. My labor/delivery with my youngest although painful and at times quite frightening was the most amazing experience Ive ever had and it gave me confidence in my body and my ability to things I never thought I could. My next birth (which will not be anytime soon, given my daughter is only 5 weeks old) will likely be a homebirth.

 

[Leinzlove]

I kept breathing with DH, and moving around. I let myself rest in between contractions, even if for only a pause. When I couldn't take no more, it was time to push. And there was no greater urge in my life, than to PUSH!

The one thing I couldn't have lived without was chapstick! My lips needed its relief.

 

[stardust599]

Thank you girls. I don't seem to have any time to prepare with running around after my LO but keep the tips and stories coming because they are really helping getting me into a positive and relaxed mindset about it! xx

 

[LittleAngel09]

I had no pain relief at all with my DD and for me it was hard. I was in labour for 18 hours in all, and it was back labour. I just tried to breath through them and think that each one was one closer to my baby being born.

Your body releases it's own natural pain relief so you can cope supprisingly well. Just remember not to let the pain take over into panic. If you tense up and fight against it, it'll be much harder. When I had a contraction I focused on one spot and just breathed until it was over.

X

 

[flipflopfan]

I gave birth at home to my daughter. I've been practicing yoga for over a decade, so I've learned how to synchronize my breath with the movements of my body. When a person gets into the flow of yoga, the poses and breath naturally line up, it's a really beautiful, harmonious feeling. I treated labor in the same fashion, which helped tremendously with riding the waves, so to speak. In the beginning of the wave, my breath would be light, as the wave would get more intense & reach its peak, my breath would become deeper, longer, and would fill my entire lungs, and then as the wave would relax, so would my breath. Instead of clenching up, taking shallow breaths, and tightening my muscles, I would consciously do the exact opposite because I knew it would aid the labor process and make it much more manageable and "flowy". I also moved positions--I went back and forth between leaning over my bed and pillows, sometimes rocking my hips in this position, to sitting against my wall with my legs straight and spread apart. Another awesome "trick" when labor became very intense near the end was biting down on a pillow at the peak of a wave/contraction...this helped me not become overwhelmed by the "pain" (wouldn't really describe it as pain, more like incredibly intense pressure).

 

[PepsiChic]

I waited till the last moment before going to the hospital, it was a lot easier to relax and do "normal" things in the security of my home then in a hospital surrounded by strangers.

I showered, ate dinner, updated facebook, played bingo on facebook, cleaned out the car, packed hospital bags, and changed the tires on the car.

When i got to the hospital i took my time, they want to rush you to your room in a wheelchair, i opted to walk down the hallway and up in the esculater and take time to look around the maternity ward. I also spent a bit of time unpacking my bag betwen very strong 1 minute apart contractions.

When int he very last part of labour and about to push, I used positive thoughts as my pain relief. I thought about the future, the wonderful things that would happen, his first steps, first words, playing soccer with him and things like that, day dreaming took my away from the pain and put me in a veyr happy place.

my labour was a total of 6.5 hours, i arrived at the hospital 1 hour before he was born, i delivered him and then the placenta naturally in the last half an hour.

im looking forward to my next pregnancy, currently ttc, and i'll be looking forward to the birth too.

 

[happilyhappy]

I had a homebirth and it was pretty quick - 4.5 hours- so didn't have any options especially as the midwife only got to me 20 minutes before I gave birth! I found the hypnobirth cd great to listen to and relax me during the last few months but during labour didnt want it on. All I wanted to do was be on all fours and just retreat into myself. The only time I thought about gas and air was during transition but it only last a few minutes. I told my midwife before and not to even bring the gas and air in the house as I really didnt want it but didn't trust myself once in labour to not demand it! I absolutely believed my body could do this and it was what I was made to do. I did have a birth pool but only managed to get in 10 minutes before he came. I also made the decision ahead of time to not be examined internally at all as for me I don't think I would find it helpful it would just stress me out. I think labouring at home was the key for me as I am scared of hospitals so I was relaxed throughout the whole thing. I hope you get the birth you want xx

 

[The Alchemist]

I had a natural birth without any medications at all. How I managed was listening to relaxation music throughout labor and meditated into space whenever contractions star, eyes closed, no vocals - complete silence. OH would hold my hand while I was contracting so the emotional aspect to it made my concentration even stronger as he was there, knowing he was there.

I did become out of focus when the MW and nurse asked me if I wanted any kind of pain relief. It's their duty to ask, but it totally threw me off balance out of zone. I ALMOST opted for an epidural, but I chose to stick to my plan of all natural, no meds. There was no reason to be on meds, I reenter telling myself. So I turned it down and went back to meditating. It wasn't bad. Contractions weren't quite as bad as the pushing, I don't know why that hurt more.

I believe any woman is capable of going natural. It's as nature intended to be. I think, imo, we're too spoiled with conventional medicine. So if you want natural, you can do it natural.

 

[Pixxie]

On the run up to birth I constantly reminded myself that my body was made to do this, and to cope with it! Pain relief is a modern invention, I reminded myself that hundreds of years ago women just did what they felt was right. I did a fair bit of meditation and visualisation to help relax me.

Basically I stayed active, went about my normal day. When the contractions were getting strong I started to hum while I had them which seemed to help me cope. When they were too intense to get up and walk about in between I straddled a dining chair and carried on for a few more hours. Midwife had advised to stay at home until I felt I NEEDED to go to to the birth centre, when I NEEDED the pool. I went in and was found to be 7cm and progressing fast, they were worried about not being able to fill the pool! I think just listening to your body is most important, if you fancy changing position for one contraction then go for it. Your body knows what it's doing and how to get the baby out, trust it! I was reclined in the pool and out of no where decided I needed to be on all fours, 2 contractions later I wanted to be reclined again. Baby had just started to crown, I really believe that that sudden urge was what brought baby down and helped her turn (she was back to back but crowned facing my back)

Accepting that it will hurt helped me too. I kept telling myself 'I know this hurts, but each one means I'm closer to meeting my baby' Also reminding myself 'no one ever died or even passed out from the pain, It's not that bad'

If you REALLY believe you can do it you can but also fear plays a huge part I think, make sure you're not scared. apprehensive, nervous, yes but not scared iygwim?

 

[Kimboowee]

Have you come across Daisy Birthing? They use relaxation/yoga/hypnobirthing techniques.

https://www.thelazydaisychain.co.uk/

Their epidural rate is A LOT lower than the national average x

 

[foxiechick1]

I was quite surprised with mine as thought I'd be asking for every drug going and in the end I had nothing and I was wired up to the bed as lo came a month early. I'd have loved to have had an active birth and hope to be able to next time but I just felt like i was blowing the pain away even though I couldn't move much. I just sort of zoned out in to my own world when I had a contraction and imagined I was blowing the pain out of my mouth, I hope you have a brilliant labour xxx

 

[InVivoVeritas]

For me the key was staying active and controlling my own labour. I knew what I wanted and that I could do it, and I took it one contraction at a time. My waters broke at the start of labour with each, so I didn't have much build-up; contractions were intense from the beginning.

I definitely felt pain, but it was nowhere near to being unbearable. It felt good to know that I was working with the birth process instead of fighting against it, and much stronger than the pain was the excitement that I was finally about to meet this new little person for the first time.