No pain relief during labor

[lilyfrog]

Anyone else thinking of going drug free? Don't ask me why but I am pretty sure I am going to give labor a go without pain relief. I have heard some horror stories from some women about their births, but have equally as many horror stories about the effects of the drugs.

I feel the need for some support from some other drug free deluded women

xx

[Psychick]

I was geared up for going drug free when having my daughter but when the reality......and pain..........hit.........I didnt give the drug free thing a second thought.......I actually ended up having just about everything! lol
Saying that though, I was induced and have been told that when you are induced the contractions come thick and fast, theres no build up so maybe it would have been different if I had gone into labour naturally.

[Ebbs]

I would say go for it.
You know it's going to hurt so try and be positive and try natural ways to give you pain relief, then if the pain gets too much and you can't take it any more then have some drugs.
All pregnancies are different some more painful then others, just try and relax and go with the flow.
If you do end up having to be given some drugs it is nothing to be ashamed of and at least you have the statisfaction that you tried.
Psychick is right about being induced if i had of known how different that can make the labor i wouldn't of jumped at the chance of having it and i would have waited a few more days to see if nature took it's course.

[kittycatz]

hi lilyfrog, good for you wanting to go drug free during childbirth! i had a drug free childbirth with both my children. I wont lie to you it is painful, but you foget all that after when you are holding your newborn, it is an experience! and i would definately go through it all again drug free. oh well, hope all goes well and the best of luck

[banana]

I agree -all pregnancies and labours are different so you should just try to stick to what you know you want to do - but be prepared to change your mind once things are underway.

This isn't to scare you -just that if you have an immoveable birth plan the likelihood is that something will upset it ,be it ever so small. You just dont know how tired you will be or how distressed the baby may become.... or indeed a myriad of other things that impinge on well thought out plans.

Mind you - I signed up for an epidural at my booking-in meeting with the midwife.

[fine,thanks]

labour ie the name is painful, just keep an open mind during your labour, good luck

[redcrx]

as others have said, go with an open mind as anything can happen.
I wasnt actually looking going drug free but with my fear of needles i thought Id try and get through on gas and air.
Gas and air made me feel bad though so i shut my eyes tight and didnt open them for about 5 hours lol
I was lucky, my labour was short, 6 hours from start to finish and the only really bad bit was after the head came out and baby refused to turn, he got his shoulders stuck. Mind you the sight of a midwife running at me with a kife (well she wasnt running but she had a glint in her eye) and i pushed like hell.
So i managed without pain relief but was so euphoric after the birth that i allowed them to give me the injection to help pass the placenta without a second thought.
Look into all options even if you want to try drug free as things can change and Im sure youd rather have a knowledge of what may occur rather than trying to understand midwife when your in pain

[boobesque]

My plan was no pain relief, second i got in the door i asked for gas and air :-P

[leewayne]

I managed to do it without any drugs,saying that there wasnt any time for me to have any.The pain is unbearable but i felt so proud at doing natural.If your in alot of pain,have as many drugs as poss!!! Ive heard alot of horror stories about epidural etc,but dont let that put you off. Depends how long your labours gonna be,if your tired,how your baby's laying etc. If you want to go drug free id say go for it,it is possible!!

[leewayne]

p.s my labour was only 2 hours it all happened so fast,didnt have time to push,she flew out!!! Keep an open mind.If drugs are there and you cant bear any more,use them!!!

[lilyfrog]

Brilliant!

Thanks for all the advice, I will keep and open mind and see how it goes, but here is to a drug free delivery. Oh and I will watch out for midwives running at me with knifes.

[mycats]

HA HA HA AH HA

ahem sorry lilyfrog good luck with no drugs

[someonesgirl]

i plan to do it drug free also. It depends on how long the labour is taking i suppose!! I would like to be able to say i did it all by myself! Im more worried about the fact that being in such pain for so long may have a detrimental effect on my body or something.......and give me a heart attack or asthma attack or something?? Whaddya reckon?

[Pippa68]

Yes ~ have the open mind approach!

It is good to go in with the idea of not having any pain relief ~ however some women end up feeling as if they have failed because they 'gave in' and had the gas & air/epidural/pethidine etc.

I have had one baby with no pain relief ~ she was my third baby and I had her at home. I felt sick so didn't like the idea of having any gas & air, so ended up having her drug-free. To be honest even though the midwife was cheering me on like a sports coach for doing it, I didn't feel any more achievement from drug-free childbirth.

Each and every one of my babies has been a massive achievement for me. Labour is hard for the majority of women..it doesn't have that name for nothing..and the pain relief is there for women who need it ~ and many women have said that the pain relief was vital in helping them relax and give them 'time out' from the hard work.

[China Doll]

I'm sorry to say this but....

Should I ever have children I honestly want to be too posh to push.

Failing that I will require every drug under the sun.

But option one is still my preference.

I'm allergic to pain, I come out in tears and swearies....

[lilyfrog]

Is there a high rate of people having heart attacks during labour?

[Psychick]

Hmm.....I have never heard of it. I think you really are only at risk is if you already have a heart condition but then your midwife will be well aware of this and precautions will be in place to make sure things go ok even if it means booking you in for a c-section.

[someonesgirl]

its hard to predict how much pain your body can handle i suppose......

[Katie~77]

I had a drug free labour with my first baby and an epidural with the second. If I were to have another (highly unlikely!lol) I would go drug free again!!!x

[Preggie_Sam]

Are you mad haha?? Im joking its down to yourself - some woment wanna remember every min about it - other women (like me) dont lol - id be happy to be knocked out and not no a thing, im soooooooo scared i cant even put it into words lol Good Luck x

[aims1202]

i know this is an old one but didnt notice it before!
Just wanted to say that before had my son i kept telling myself it was going to be so painful i know i wont be able to bear it, i want every drug there is! Well i did have gas and air and pethadine and the pain was still unbearable. my birth experience was not a positive one. I think the gas and air makes the experience much worse and does not stop the pain. I would never use it again.
That was 4 years ago and i have a completely different view on it now. I believe the mind is very powerful and if you believe you can handle the pain and let your body experience it and go with it instead of fight it, it will be a much better experience overall. You know its going to hurt but you but i believe it is possible to let go completely and do it naturally with out it being unbearable. This is not to say you cant have drugs if you need them but i think its worth a go. This is what i will be doing when i have another child.
Good luck.