What can you do for pain during childbirth besides an epidural?

Question

Are there any pain medications a doctor can safely give to a woman in labor? My mom got a Demerol drip when she gave birth to me. Are narcotics like that safe? Are they widely used on women who don't want an epidural?

A lot of people ask why I don't want an epidural. A needle anywhere else is fine, but a needle in the spine... the thought alone makes me instantly nauseous.

Answer 1

Pain during childbirth is really so intense. It is said to be comparable to pain if ones finger is cut without anesthesia. On the second stage of labor if the pain is so intense, a narcotic Pethidine (Demerol) is usually given. It helps to relieve pain temporarily which helps not to put the expectant mother into exhaustion. A low dose of inhalable anesthetic mixed with oxygen are offered in some settings. The dose given is said to be safe to the baby.

Really, the pain is beyond description as I could say. Deep breathing exercises and some breathing control techniques can help a bit. Another thing is the psychological preparedness - if an expectant mother is psychologically prepared it will have a great impact on the process and helps a lot in bearing or coping the pain.

Prenatal preparation and exercises will contribute some beneficial effects on this period. Good perception and preparation towards the process is very important on that time. The best way to be relieved of pain is to deliver, so all the focus should be done on making the process shorter as much as possible. Once the baby is out, all the burdens of the world seem to be gone.♥

Answer 2

I just had my baby in July, I managed great without any medication whatsoever with just my breathing exercises until the last hour. My contractions were not the regular normal ones people have. I was already in labor having contractions and the doctor put in a gel that increased the contractions (because the membrane had ruptured and the water was draining even before I got to the hospital). It felt like as if I was having one contraction on top of the other. Later I learned that it could have done the uterus a lot of damage but thankfully nothing happened. Towards the last hour before birth I took an epidural since I was winded because of the multiple contractions. Epidural worked very well and I felt great watching my baby being born. Wonder why you don't want it. I know I'm not exactly being a help here in answering your questions. If you don't have any specific reasons for not wanting an epidural, I suggest you take it. Hopefully your doctor is a very good one.

Answer 3

When I was in Labor demerol just made me whiny. I would say that if you just focus on the task at hand and work with all the nurses and doctors around you, things will turn out fine. The problem with an epidural, is you can't immediately walk after you give birth. If you don't mind that than go for it.

Although you may not believe it, even for the first few months after birth, the pain is totally worth the experience. It hurt, it was hard, (hence the name labor) but there is a pride in bringing that baby into the world without the aid of an epidural.

Answer 4

When I had my son they gave me Fentanyl mixed with Benedryl. It dulled the pain immensely and still left me coherent. If this is your first child, I recommend holding off on the medication for as long as you can. Birthing balls help quite a bit during contractions. Also, try squatting and leaning back at the same time while holding your partners hands for support - it takes off a lot of the pressure. Walking helps too. The biggest problem with medications is that 1) they make you lethargic, thus it becomes harder to push and 2) they give you a slightly stoned feeling so you won't be completely "with it" during the labor. Demerol is safe to use on pregnant and birthing mothers, although they tend to not use it unless they are 100% positive you do not have an allergy to it also, the same things mentioned above will apply.
Honestly, try not to have an expectations one way or another. Every labor is different and yours may not be terribly painful, Walk in there expecting nothing but to have your baby, and if the time comes that you need medication, ask for it, but don't plan to have it in advance if you can.
Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 5

In my opinion, there is no drug that helps during labor besides the epidural. I recieved demerol and another type of drug also and I still felt everything. All that the demerol did was make me drowsy but I couldn't sleep because I still felt everything. Thank God for the epidural. I got it after about 10 hours of labor and I was only about 5 cent. dialated and about 15 minutes after I got the epidural I went all the way to 10+ and had my baby about 30 minutes later!! Just get the epidural! Oh and I was convinced that I was going to go through the whole labor without the epidural! YEAH RIGHT!!

Answer 6

I have 5 children and I got an epidural with my youngest son and my back hasn't been the same since. I will tell you that my next to the last child was 100% natural and it was the easiest labor I had. I had her at a hospital that also had a midwife on staff. They offered an at home like setting, a jacuzzi and I was able to get up and walk around. It greatly eased the pain. i had been told by a few of my friends who had delivered in a tradition hospital room and then went with a midwife, that they experience was a lot better and the labor was easier. I personally would recommend the jacuzzi because the contractions were not as intense and my labor was easier. Good Luck & Congratulations!

Answer 7

I have had 6 children, & the thing I remember calmed me the most was knowledge. KNOWING what was happening to my body, KNOWING this was natural & something my body was designed to do. There are phases of labor, & your body exhibits different signs for each - knowing those signs helped me to count thru the phases & know that it was progressing & the end was coming!!!

The first time is more painful as your body has never experienced it before, times thereafter are not so much so (for me, anyway).

1. I highly recommend a good lamaze class (& don't miss any sessions!)

2. Surround yourself with CALM people, if someone is high strung around you, you will pick it up & not be as calm yourself. (One thing I remember doing is though they wouldn't let me eat, I had a really thick cherry sucker. That helped & calmed my nerves.)

3. I later in the labor (of my first) had an epidural. I exp'd all the pain (& then some!) of labor, but then had an epidural b/c of the pain, plus they help to relax your body to let the baby descend. They are not painful. I just didn't want it b/c I perceived it as a cop-out. Not so. As I said, I waited (almost until it was too late to have it, then requested it at the last moment, but sill my labor lasted hours after that.) so I did get the full experience.

4. Might try water. W/one of my children, I didn't want to wake anyone just yet (it was wee hours of the morning) & so took a warm bath. Just pouring the warm water down my back over my shoulder helped me to relax a lot. (Oh, I just remembered one more thing that once helped - - the nurse gave me a "ticker" or "clicker" & when I felt a contraction coming on, I clicked it to register it...takes your mind off it things...as does eating ice chips...Just trying to brainstorm here & remember.

5. Pray beforehand - always a given.

6. Good Luck and don't let others scare you w/ their sad tales of woe, as I said, this is what our bodies were designed to do. :-)

Answer 8

I got something called and intra-thecal block. It was way better than an epidural, or so I think. I was a shot in my spine, so there was no IV bag stuck in me at all times, which can be very annoying. The shot was great because I could still feel my legs, etc, but yet could not feel the pain. Again with the contractions, I could feel the pressure, but not the pain. And the shot is entirely safe for the baby. My son is almost 11 now and is a straight A student.

Don't let anyone make you feel bad for wanting pain meds. After all, you wouldn't have a tooth pulled without Novocaine.

Answer 9

I don't know what I had at first when I was in labor, I wasn't dialated enough for the epidural so they gave me something else through my IV, it didn't help as much as I would have liked. With my first daughter, I had back labor and was in so much pain that I had to have the epidural once I could get it, but be careful not to move at all when they are doing it. I've had 3 of them and sat still the entire time, I wanted the pain to go away, I didn't care what it took. And I think with all the research and stuff that they've done, I don't know all the stuff that they have available for when you are in labor now. Hope I could help at least a little bit.

Answer 10

With one of my babies I had a shot of Demerol just as the baby was very close to being born.

It was a long time ago, but I've read that doctors don't like to give medications too long before delivery is really close because of the potential of affecting the baby.

They wait so close to the time the baby is about to come before giving an epidural that I'm not sure its even worth it once you've gotten that far through labor. (For the record, labor pains are uncomfortable; but not unbearable.) Its not bad to be "all epidural-ed up" if complications with the delivery turn up, though.