What are the ways to lessen pain when giving birth?

Question

Hi, I'd like to know what are the ways of lessening pain during pregnancy. I know about an epidural but it can leave you paralysed can't it? Or harm the baby? What exactly are the risks or an epidural?
Are there any other ways to lessen the pain that does not involve any risks to the baby or mother? Does anyone have any past experiences?

Is that when they give you oxygen??

I'm not pregnant by the way lol I'm still just 16 but I would love to have children in the future

by the future I meant a good 10 to 15 years from now!

Answer 1

Nitrous oxide and oxygen is often administered during child birth. You might have heard of it being called Entonox or Equinox which are both trade names for the same product.

The Nitrous oxide is an analgesic (pain relief) and the oxygen will give you a high. It is usually provided on pipeline in hospitals or it is available in cylinders for home births (the midwife will have all of this taken care of anyway so there is no need to worry.)

I was recently on a lecture for medical gasses and the lecturer asked if anybody had had entonox during childbirth. I seem to remember that one lady said she had and that each time she took a dose it would provide about 4 seconds or so of relief. I suppose that this varies with the physiology of the person using it though.

Hope that helps

Answer 2

I started with gas and air, which would have been fine if I had had a normal birth. You just breathe it in when the painful contractions come and it helps. I don;t think there are any side effects but i could be wrong. As it got a bit complicated, they gave me pethadin (?) which had a more long term effect. It just zoned me out. But seeing as my baby just couldn't come out, I ended up having an epidural which, after 27 hours was wonderful. They explain all the risks to you and my anaestatist was brill. Me and my daughter were fine after all of this, but we had d*mn good medical staff. (I should add that I tried all the meditation stuff, warm baths, etc but none of it worked for me!!)

I would talk to your midwife about the options, and check out the reputation of the hospital where you're giving birth. Read stuff on the internet and in the library. Go in as informed as you can, so you will be able to make a choice when the time comes. You can't necessarily predict what will happen. Good luck!

Answer 3

I have 2 children and suppose Im classed as a young mum at 23. I think its worth keeping in mind that in my experience it is much harder to be a good Mum than it is to give birth.
I had to have a emergancy caesarean with my first, but my second I had gas and air, pethadine and then an epidural which was the only thing that helped. There are side effects and risks but dont worry about them until you need to and get medical advise.
My sister is 16 and has a 3month old baby, and she finds it extreamly lonely,draining and has no time to even do her hair and make up.
I know you said you plan kids in the future but please make sure youve had a life first.
Good luck and dont worry bout childbirth it is the most rewrding thing you will ever do, when and if the time is right.

Answer 4

Go to classes this will teach you how to focus so your not thinking of the pain.. childbirth is painful there's no getting around it. but look at the results and the minute you see that beautiful angel, the thought of what you just went through disapears.. I have 2 boys, the first I was gassed(not recommended)I was groggy for days, didn't even know what I had til' the day after. The second one came so fast that the anistiesiologist never made it up to me in time, baby was born as he was walking into the room. One big push and out he came.. An epi will not hurt the baby and is the most widely used form of pain reliever, trust me you won't regret it.. Just make sure you tell them that is what you want(if you do) because there is a time frame to which they can give it if you go past it your on your own honey.. Good Luck to you and God Bless.

Answer 5

I've had two children. The first one was totally natural without any drugs, epidural, etc. The labor was very short so I really didn't need them. The second one, however, was a long difficult labor. At first, I didn't want an epidural for the same reasons that you mentioned. After about 10 hours of very uncomfortable labor, I finally asked for the epidural and was SO glad that I did. You feel absolutely nothing from the waist down.

Good for those of us who had a baby without drugs, gas, etc. However, remember: You don't get any medals for having natural childbirth!

Answer 6

there are 2 types of epidural one that will paralyse from uterus down and there is now a mobile one, check whether its available. the main risk with it is as they are putting it in your back, you need to stay still so that no damage is done to your spine. i've never heard of it harmin the baby and it wont be given if you are too close too giving birth. other pain reliefs are gas and air, which can make you feel sick, and for some does nothing other than give them something to bite on. theres pethidine which can make you sleepy and if given too close too birth can make baby sleepy. There is T.E.N.S which is a machine that is supposed to help the body release natural endorphines although you wont be able to use it if you decide to try birthing in water. A birthing pool can help and is suppossed to be good for baby as less traumatic coming into warm water. I've tried all the ones i've described and done it with nothing at all. really you need to trust your body and your instincts. dont think i only want this, remember to be flexible and discuss it with your midwife if you have any concerns

Answer 7

do u mean lessening pain during labour? the only real thing that dont affect the baby is the gas and air, its actually good for the baby! i wanted a natural birth but had to be induced so had a pethadine injection and gas and air, i found when i was having contractions if i bounced on a birthing ball it eased the feeling down below. also being in a birthing pool is meant to ease the pain, (you cant go in the pool if your induced) plus you can only have gas and air if your in the pool so if you wanna try for a totally natural birth get in the pool coz you wont wanna get out to have pain relief! giving birth hasnt put me off so that should show its not all that bad!!!

Answer 8

no the Epidural is just fine but yes it goes into your spinal colum to numb the lower half of your body. with the Epidural you don't feel much contractions although some people experience "back labor" and man does it hurt (i had it with both my babies) With my son i chose to have the Epidural but it was to late it didn't have time to work so i had no choice to have him NATURAL what helped (kinda) was to just concentrate on your breathing, also what helps is when your having a contraction you can sit straight up in your bed...don't ask it's kinda weird but it really did help. Good choice by the way WAIT to have your kids i had my first at 17 and i was a single mom and boy is it hard

Answer 9

Apart from watching her diet carefully and getting her regular vet care please be sure to have plenty of money on hand in case she needs a c-section. Chihuahua's often do. There is nothing you can do to lessen her pain. They don;t have epidurals etc for dogs. They have to do it natural or via c-section. Make sure someone is with her at all times during the birth.

Answer 10

There are other drugs that can take the edge off for you that won't hurt the baby. Stadol is one of them. I am allergic to it so it was a no no for me but my sister said it helped her a lot. Also just trying to relax and breath really does help too. My epidural with my son was the biggest regreat of my life. It hurt like heck and it did not work. They kept pumping in medicine and mine just didn't take. The dr said they just dont work on some people. I got up and walked 5 mins after my son was born. I had terrible back labor and was in labor for 31 hours! They finally pulled him out with forceps.