I am 3 weeks away from my first and thinking about pain relief options. I would prefer not to have an epidural so will be replying on gas and air and pethadine. Some people seem to have hated Pethadine and are telling my to avoid it as it makes you sick like a dog, drugged out and the baby woozy. Has anyone any positive experiences with it? I'm aware once you take it it lasts for hours so there is no going back. Advice please.
2007-03-08 18:44:41 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
The thing to remember is that pethedine is not a painkiller, it is a form of sedation. This means that it will make you relaxed/woosy and less aware of the pain. I had it with my first, I slept for an hour and a half, then it wore off very quickly and I vomited. I went on to have an epidural which was bliss once it was in!
I decided to try gas and air for my second, and refused offers of pethedine, but it wasn't enough for me so again I had an epidural. As I went on to have an emergency Caesarean, that was a good decision as it meant I was awake for the birth.
All I can say is that labour is a very personal experience and only you know your pain threshold. Try to relax and work with your body, it knows what it's doing. And do remember- labour does end- a point I lost touch with first time round!
2007-03-08 20:50:10 · answer #1 · answered by annie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had pethidine once for period pains (sounds extreme for period pains I know but they were pretty f-ing bad!) and I'm sorry to say that it didn't really work for me. All it did was send me to sleep and half an hour later I woke up and puked everywhere - and I still had some pain! I wish I could give you a more positive response but, saying that, just because one person has a bad experience with it doesn't mean that you will. When I gave birth I found gas and air were brilliant. It didn't take the pain away but it took the edge of it. It also doesn't affect the baby. Also, epidurals are a god send!! Don't write it off completely. My delivery had some complications and I had to have one and I couldn't have gone through the delivery I had without one. The best advice I can give you is to be prepared for anything and just don't be afraid to go with the flow. At the end of the day, there is a point where childbirth and the physical pain of it is over. It's just a matter of one day of pain and then you see the most amazing thing you'll ever see - your baby. Sorry to have rambled but I hope I've helped. Good luck and just enjoy the experience.
2007-03-08 19:02:36 · answer #2 · answered by Helen B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I chose not to have pethadine because of the side effects.
I know labour is painful and every woman is different but have you thought about planning on having nothing? I had no pain relief last time round and it really isnt that bad. Yes it hurts but for me it never got so bad that I felt I needed help. The benefits afterwards are fantastic too. You are not dopey, your baby is nice and alert and if you have the baby in hospital you can go home quicker.
Have a think about it, it isnt as bad as you think!!
2007-03-09 01:57:54 · answer #3 · answered by Dingle-Dongle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I has gas and air and then pethadine with my first, it just made me feel sick and didn't help with the pain i just panicked about being so light headed. I had an epidural very soon after my pethadine injection. It didn't work for me but it did for many others.
2007-03-08 20:12:44 · answer #4 · answered by shez 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had Pethidine with both my children. The first time it worked like a dream and within 10 minutes I'd had my son. Now the drug had got in his system and he was purple and woozy when he came out but with some air he was fine. They didn't expect me to have him as quick as i did so that was why it was in his system. With my other son i have to admit it didn't work as well so i relied on gas and air but it did relax me abit, however with gas and air i felt extremely light headed and sick and after awhile i got the shakes so i had to stop using it. I would recommend it and no i didn't feel sick after or have any other effects with it like wooziness or sleepiness at all so don't worry about that. At the end of the day its different things for different people as people react to drugs in different ways hence why some people are allergic to penicillin for example and some people aren't. I'm sure some answers will be don't use it. Ask the midwife when in labour what would be best for you. Congratulations and good luck xx
2007-03-08 19:55:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Give birth upright, don't lie down, gravity helps.
Yes, it's better without pethadine - you'll feel sick and woozy indeed if you have that. Get Danae Brook's book NatureBirth, it has a breathing technique in it that handles the pain so much better than nitrous or pethadine. Honest.
Birth is faster if you can stand or squat - imagine trying to go to the toilet uphill, that's what it is like if you lie down. Why on every television show do they have women give birth lying down? It's so much easier if you can stay on your feet - if you get tired, lean forwards onto a pile of cushions. Take care, much good wishes for you birth.
2007-03-08 19:43:58 · answer #6 · answered by katy 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pethidine wasn't great for me as my labour was v slow anyway and I stopped progressing once I had it. It made me light headed but not in a bad way, more calming and of course I was in far less pain than I had been!! I felt relaxed and it didn't make me sick.
I'm pregnant again and don't plan to have the pethidine but want to go straight for epidural when the pain gets that bad as it was fantastic (although it did make me sick)and despite all my complications, a great team of staff and the epidural made it a lovely experience. Don't be afraid of the epidural as there is such a low risk and there's no point in making one of life's most difficult challenges even harder because you're in agony. Good luck!
Sarah x
2007-03-08 21:11:02 · answer #7 · answered by sako1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was worried before i had mine and i didn't want an epidural or pethidine but as my contractions lasted for more than 34 hours wihtout going anywhere (she was back-to-back) my midwife decided to give me a petihidine injection to make me sleep and speed things up because i was exhausted. All i remember is falling asleep after about 5 mins and waking up 4 hrs later dilated from 1cm to 10cms. An hr later she was born. I did not feel sick nor did my baby get woozy so i wouldn't worry about it too much. i would do it again. (Had gas&air for the pushing bit) Good luck :)
2007-03-09 05:45:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had Pethidine and gas and air and I was so sick afterwards, if / when I have another child, I dont think i will go for it. I was actually hallucinating ( about Compo from Last of the Summer Wine!!), whether this was connected to the Pethidine or not, I cant be sure, but it wasnt nice. Also after my daughter was born, she wouldnt feed for a long time, because she was so woozy. My sis refused to take it with her 2nd because it affected her so badly the 1st time. At the end of the day its your choice. Hope this helped.
2007-03-09 03:06:49 · answer #9 · answered by ♥ ezzbez ♥ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had pethidine with my first baby. It didn't make me sick but I did feel very drugged during labour and my baby was quite sleepy for the first 24 hours though i wasn't sick. When i had my second the hospital didn't use pethidine anymore and i had diamorphine and gas and air. I felt a lot more with it than the first time. The gas and air made me sick. The most important thing you can do is practise your breathing exercises if you can stay calm and in control its much easier. Remember however much it hurts each pain takes you closer to your baby. Good luck and enjoy your new bub x x
2007-03-08 21:16:44 · answer #10 · answered by lynsey m 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋