pain relief in labour? thinking of using gas and air?!?

Question

im thinking of usuing gas and air as my pain relief in labour and would like to kowabout other pple exoeriances wth gas and air? or what would you suggest as the best form of pain relief an epidural will be a last resort but would like to hear about pples experiances with it?!?

Answer 1

This false belief in this idea of "painful" Birth has become pain unto itself. Women are made to feel so scared that many are convinced they cannot handle the "pain". The intermittent labour "pains", ( because one is not constantly in "pain", provided of course, one is allowed to move), need not be so feared ! In fact, you will need to feel in order not to hurt yourself, especially at the end, in order not to squash your bladder and to stretch like you should, thereby avoiding injuries to yourself. It is a fact that we have nerves so that we don't burn our hands because we can feel the flame of fire. Instead of drugs, try swaying from side to side in early Labour Later on, maybe you can view - if you can get hold of these mysterious, yet very real images, please let me know - pictures of Women opening at that moment of Labour. Failing that try looking at opened flowers because that is what is happening: a Birthing Mother is a blooming flower that opens. One is made to believe - and that's a BIG lie - that one's Baby has to move through walls ! It is not true; in fact the Baby is pushing too in a way and all Baby needs is for Mother to use gravity if Baby feels stuck. So, make it easy for yourself and go with your Labour and where it takes you - you, and only you, because this is not about submitting to other people's demands, drug effects and all the other complications which can result from these annoying and artificial inteferences. Use gravity, it will all be over soon that way. Women in Labour waiting for Taxis end up giving Birth in the Taxis - quite a dramatic thing ! - but it is not surprising because, unbeknown to them, they were using gravity. The taxi Drivers turn out, despite their ignorance, to be very good substitutes for Birth Assistants, since they try keeping as calm and as invisible as possible. Somehow, the Taxi-Mothers give Birth without ripping apart.

Answer 2

There are plenty of other options when it comes to pain relief during childbirth. I encourage you to seek out as much information as possible. There is nothing wrong with feeling like you need an epidural, but exploring other options is great too. There will be women that say "take the epidural, you'll thank me later," but one woman's experience may not be the same for someone else. My epidural experience was horrible. The inexperience anethetiologist ended up giving me a wet tap (drained my spinal fluid) which led to a spinal headache (that pain was so intense and lasted a couple days) and other complications. I wish I had educated myself more on the risks involved.

This time, I'm using the hypnobirthing method. I've done quite a bit of research on it and it seems like the right option for me. It utilizes relaxation, breathing and self-hypnosis for a pleasant birthing experience.

Now, that's only one option, there are plenty of others and hopefully you'll get some more good advice on it. Best of luck.

Answer 3

I had 2 epidurals during my c-sections, 1 was a bad experience, had a reaction to the injection site and had tremendous back pain for a couple of weeks. the second time around, no problems. But for a normal delivery, I would suggest natural. The pain afterwards from the gas and air is worse than the pain of delivery. people who've never had gas pain from surgery have no idea how extremely painful it really is!! Natuarl delivery wasn't that bad to me. My first born was without any IV or pain med of any kind. I chose that because I took natural childbirth classes and they told us that no matter what they give you for pain, you'll still feel it, you just won't remember it. Well, hell, I thought, if I'm gonna feel it, I damn well need to remember it. That was pre-epidural days, early 80's. If it were today, I'm stubborn and tough enough that I'd probably do the same thing all over again. I think you should feel the entire experience. My 2nd was an emergancy section, he was breech and in distress, my 3rd was a planned section. We had the day, time and name picked before she got here. it was like mail order almost. I felt alittle robbed. Nothing will ever compare to the memory of my first delivery! It's awesome and worth every ounce of pain you may experience giving birth to them!! Good Luck! and CONGRATULATIONS!

Answer 4

My experience with gas and air was that by the time I was offered it and they tried to teach me how to use the mouthpiece I was too far along to concentrate! They were saying, grip like this, suck, do it like this, do it when you.....ya,ya. I shoved it back at them and said I don't want it!!

I had a home birth with a limited supply of gas and air - I didn't want to start on it too early and run out, so in the end I left it too late!

So my daughter was born on the bedroom floor without so much as a whiff of gas! She is my first baby and weighed 7lb 4.5oz.

Good luck and congratulations!

Good on you for wanting to go au naturale, that's what I wanted, and got! I have heard nothing but bad things about hospitals and epidurals!

My advice would be learn how to use the gas and air BEFORE you are in labour! Then you might actually get to use it!!

Edited to add: In the US it's not common to use Gas and Air plus epidurals are 10x more common so it'd be better to ask this of UK ladies only - you can tell them by whether they put labor/labour! Hope that helps!

Answer 5

Pain isn't real, it is the brain's way of telling you that something is ill or injured. Since childbirth is neither of these things, you don't need to feel pain. They don't offer gas and air as pain relief here (I'm in Minnesota). There are drugs of differing varieties but all have risks, no the least of which is an increase in the probablity of c-section (especially with epidural). I have had two natural births, no drugs, with my second, I had to take a miniscule dose of a muscle relaxant because the baby wasn't head down all the way and the muscles were contracting around him. The most important things you can do to help you in labor, is concentrate on the baby. Dwelling on, or fearing the pain will make it seem worse. Focusing on what is best for the baby eliminates the pain because your brain is otherwise occupied. Having support, a hubby is good, but another mother is better. Your mom, or a friend can be a real help. Educate yourself, talk with your doctor and other moms. There will be some moms who will tell you about how much pain they were in, ask them about it. Ask them what they were doing, most of them were lying in the bed thinking about the pain. Moving around and thinking about the baby make a big difference. Understand the risks of every type of pain management but realize that things may change quickly during labor, so don't walk in there expecting things to follow a list in your head. I am 25 weeks pregnant with my third and will not be using any medication like the first two. Labor moves quickly and any pain will only last a little bit. Congrats and enjoy the experience, its once in a lifetime.

Answer 6

I had gas and air for two of my labours and nothing for the other three, It doesn't stop it hurting but it does make you not care about it (sounds strange I know). With the other three labours they were very quick (two delivered at home by me all alone) so I didn't have time for anything!

Good for you for wanting to try to do it this way but all I can say is that don't automatically rule out anything else until you're in labour because everyones pain threshold is different!!!

Answer 7

I don't think gas is an option for pain relief. An epidural works great and they can turn it down before delivery so you can have more control over what is going on. A spinal is only used for a c-section since it numbs you from the chest down. You can also choose to have pain relief given to you thru your IV. I am not sure what ones they use for this, but it takes the edge off and makes the contractions more bearable. Unless there is some reason that you can't have an epidural, I would consider it for delivery.

Answer 8

i dont know what gas and air is for pain relief..but i myself am not going to use any pain relief. the drugs they give you other than an epidural can make the baby very groggy and so im going to avoid that. and an epidural just isn't for me! Im just going to use pain relief tactics like breathing and massage. Im also bringing my own music to play while im in labor so that i feel more comfortable in the environment! Good luck with your labor!

Answer 9

i had a long labor so i had an epidural for the contractions as the stadol and the morphine they gave me didn't help and they didn't want me to be worn out before the active labor began but they didn't give me the delivery dose so i actually did the work instead of them having to remove her with the suction or whatever it was they used for that i hadn't planned on an epidural but after so many hrs of the contractions i was all but beat instead of relaxing when i had them i would tense up so the dilating just wasnt happening for me like it should have been the epidural not only helped me relax so i dilated much faster but it helped me get some much needed rest before delivering my daughter when she came out she wasnt at all groggy as a previous answer suggested in fact they told me that she was in better condition because the epidural allowed me to relax so she wasnt stressed like she was after almost 3 days of contractions she was and is healthy and strong from the first time they put her on my belly i know nothing about gas and air but i do know you should at least consult with the anesthiseologist just in case because when it comes to having babies often the best made plans quickly go out the window when there are complications even small ones also just in case you need a c section it is best to have consulted with the anesthesiologist so you know what is going on with that too it is better to keep your options open than to have a set plan and that not work out and not have a backup

Answer 10

i used an epidural with my daughter and plan on another one when my son is born in may! i loved the epidural. I had 8 hours of back labor before i got any pain relief. I was numb from the breasts down and didn't feel anything including my episotomy! I think its a personal preference. Good luck on what you decide!