Medication for pain during labor???

Question

yes/no?
why/why not?

Answer 1

Sources of Unnecessary Pain in Childbirth
Does the idea of "unnecessary pain" in labor and birth sound strange to you? Perhaps you thought labor was supposed to be extremely painful, and there was nothing you could do about it.

There are things women do during labor that actually cause the pain to be intensified. Unfortunately, many women do not know what these things are. Understanding how they affect your labor can help you in preventing labor pain.

Tension If you are skeptical of this, try it while you labor. During one contraction, do whatever you want, tensing your muscles. Then, during the next contraction actively relax your muscles. You will feel a difference.

Paying Attention Too Soon Many women become obsessed with timing contractions from the very first contraction. For some, there is a fear that if you do not pay attention, you may miss something. Some of the signs of progress in labor can be subtle, but you will not miss the major signs. When contractions begin, ignore them and go about your day for as long as you can. When the contractions demand more attention, give them only as much as they demand. Contractions will demand your full attention by the time you are in good active labor, which will require a lot of energy. Don't waste your energy by paying attention too early.

Lack of Sleep A tired body is less able to deal with the stress of labor, causing everything to "feel" more even though your body is not doing more work. Be sure to get plenty of rest in the days leading up to your labor. When contractions begin, don't be afraid to take a nap. I promise you will NOT sleep through the birth of your baby. If you have the luxury of a slow starting labor, use the early mild contractions to get some sleep.

Thirst If you do not take sips of water or juice between your contractions, you stand a good chance of becoming dehydrated. When your body is dehydrated, your muscle output is decreased by 30%. That means that your uterus will contract just as hard, but it will do 30% less work. Dehydration also heightens feelings of exhaustion and can elevate your temperature. If your temperature goes up, your medical team, intent on ensuring your baby is healthy, will assume this "fever" is caused by an infection and you may begin to receive antibiotics via injection or IV (which is a pain in and of itself).

Hunger Your body uses food as its energy source. If you are not eating during labor, you are depriving your body of energy it needs to labor. Many hospitals now allow you to eat during labor. If your birthplace does not allow eating, understand that most women loose their desire to eat during active labor, so simply stay home until your desire to eat is gone.

Need to urinate There will be a lot of activity going on in your pelvic region. During active labor you may not be able to distinguish the need to urinate from the other pressures you feel. Your uterus will put pressure on your bladder as contracts, so the best way to prevent pain from an over-full bladder is to urinate frequently (at least every two hours).

Performance Anxiety Also known as going to the hospital too soon. Some women believe that if they can just get to the hospital, everything will happen faster. That is not true. In fact, the move to the hospital can actually be stressful enough to temporarily slow down or stop your contractions. Waiting until you are in good active labor can help prevent this. Being in the hospital too early makes the labor seem slower than if you had stayed at home and busied yourself with your life. Having nurses and doctors checking on you can make the "seeming slow" labor seem even slower, causing the mom to feel that she has to perform better, labor must get moving. This anxiety can be enough to send some women into the fear/tension/pain cycle.

Lying on you Back When you are on your back, the contracting uterus has to move "up" against gravity, which is much more work than simply moving forward. Also, you can constrict the blood flow to the heart, causing you to be light-headed. Staying off you back can help in preventing labor pain.

Answer 2

I have three children and all of the pregnancies and labors were different.

With my first my plan was to have a natural birth without any medications. I was in labor 23 hours after my water broke. It was all back labor. I was in so much pain that my labor was not progressing well. The doctor offered me some Stadol to help my body relax. I accepted it. After that labor progressed a little smoother. I was still in much pain though. She was 8 lbs. 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches.

With my second my plan was to have an Intrathecal. That is what I wanted. The doctor said that I needed to wait until I was six centimeters though. I was 6 centimeters at 6:20. The doctor broke my water and went home for dinner. He said that when he came back he would give me one after I progressed a little more. Things did not happen as planned. At 6:30 I was 10 centimeters and at 6:47 my second daughter was born without any medication. It was all back labor with her too, but she pushed her own way out. She was the easiest birth even though she was 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 22 1/2 inches long.

With my third, my son, I wanted an Intrathecal. Again, my wishes could not happen. I was in labor for 28 hours with him. All back labor. They could not give me an intrathecal because labor was not progressing right. Instead they gave me Morphine. That made me dizzy, but sure did take some of the pain away. He ended up needing forceps to help him out. He was 9 lbs 5 oz and 21 1/2 inches. He had a big head. That was the hardest labor.

Just know that things can not always go as planned for some reason or another. Be flexible and know that the medications are there if you change your mind and that there are many options available.

Answer 3

I would like to say I absolutely loved the epidural. Once I had mine I had zero pain and was able to relax and watch tv until the time to push. The contractions hurt and so when I got my epidural I didn't even feel it. I had no idea when they gave me a shot to numb the area. The only thing I felt was a little pressure for about 30 seconds when the line was going in. I understand there are horror stories but that doesn't mean it will happen to you. There are many more women who have no complications with the epidural than those who do. The epidural also has no affects on the baby. I don't know the names of the pain medications but do know it will not really take the pain away, more like it takes the edge off. Also these medicines can get to the baby. So the baby is born a bit groggy.

Answer 4

probably not... any medication, given time, eventually reaches the baby. That may be harmful for the child. Rest assured that by the time the drug starts taking action, it also reached the baby.

plus the pain is huge... were talking about labor here. That will probably take huge doses of any drug. I wouldnt suggest it, unless you plan on toxifying the child, in which case you might as well just gulp down a huge bottle of vodka and wash it off with a cigar.

See newborns don't have a mature immune system, and they cannot handle foreign chemicals the same way an adult would. There are little drugs that do not cross the placenta, and I don't recall painkillers being in the list.

However, you're doctor probably knows better than i do, so whatever their suggestion is, it comes before mine.

Answer 5

well there are many pro's and con's in each...
I personally used a water birth for my pain management and it helped me alot your body releases natural chemicals that help relax you and to handle the pain...the reason some people (in the hospital) cant take it sometimes is because they automatically give you pictocin to speed things up which make contractions feel exactly when your about to have the baby which are stronger but the difference is your just beginning when given the medication so some women get desperate of being in that stage because instinctly when you get those fast contractions usually mean that your baby is about to come out..but sometimes the medication (like all medication epidural, general anesthesia, etc )can have sideaffects on you most common ones have been chills or uncontrollable shakes, throwing up...and babies usually come out very sleepy inactive and when you have an epidural it is very hard to push out baby when everything is numb so they transfer you to emergency-csection. ONLY SOMETIMES>


now the good thing about medication that some people feel relaxed with the medication and want to feel ready and dont want to experience those contractions since they want to have a pain free experience and sometimes that helps as well, also with pictocin is also good to speed things up and also to stop internal bleeding. The medicatlly intervened birth does not stop the process of natural birth it induces it but nothing stops flowing you cant just feel it that well.

The good thing about natural birth is in its title, its natural...you experience every single thing about birth which makes you more aware of the situation. You can use pain management as water birth, in my opinion, that was the best option for me to use the water tub it completely relaxed me and if you use a jacuzzi the holes with the water spraying out was used as a massager when having a contraction. One can also use meditation and support from your family or partner to outcome labor with breathing exercises, etc. You can control your pushes and have natural chemicals and can put the baby at the breast right after and is completely alarm.

Although natural birth can be one of the good things for you and baby sometimes the waiting can be anticipating..No one can predict how long natural labor can take (from 3hrs to 12hrs) and that can also make a person very rushy and uncomfortable. Sometimes women feel like the pushes are to hard and the contraction may be too intense if not using proper measurements and have to becareful not to tare in the process. If you dont relax you wont enjoy it.

You have to realize that everything is life takes risks and consequences but the question is which one are you willing to take which ever one you make makes you a good mom as the rest of us.

Answer 6

I had an intervention free delivery with my youngest son(4 1/2 months). There was NO IV, NO constant monitoring, NO pitocin. I was in charge of MY son's birth. It was an amazing, empowering experience.
With my first son I was in early labor for 4 days, with him posterior, so I experienced all back labor. After my water brokeI got to the hospital and got an epi. It took me close to two hours of pushing and finally getting a 3rd degree tear before my son was born. After that experience I swore that I would never again allow myself to be chained to a bed for another birth.
With my youngest my water broke spontaneously(I had an artificial rupture with my first). And that was only after 10 days of noticeable contractions and being told for over a week by my midwife that I would be going any day. LOL I went to the hospital and walked the halls, then labored in a tub. When it came time to push, even though I had been planning on a water birth, my body told me to get out and squat. He was born after not even 5 minutes of pushing. 8lbs, 5oz, 20 1/4 in long, and a 14 1/2 in head, not a tear anywhere. As soon as he was born I was allowed to put him to my breast and he latched immediately, which ended up being wonderul because I was bleeding heavily. Since I had no IV they couldn't give me pitocin to slow it up; but I knew that my son just needed to nurse to quell the bleeding. Within an hour of his birth I was up, had showered, and was chomping at the bit to go home. LOL Unfortunately our hospital requires a 24 hour stay.
If I were to ever have another child I would do a natural birth hands down. After experiencing both I don't understand why anyone would want to drug their child for their birth. I would have no problems doing a home birth next time, preferably unassissted.

Answer 7

It's a personal decsion and no one can make it for you. I didn't want any originally, but did end up having Stadol. It helped relax me, which helped with the pain. I had no clue how bad it was going to be, and although the breathing techniques worked at first, i had such a fast labor and the pain got really intense fast, and I though I was going to lose my mind. I didn't want an epidural and I'm glad I didn't get it, but if you need it, don't feel bad.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I know all the experts say no!! it could harm the baby and in some cases they are right. I have 4 children and only with my with my first was I given a cervical block. That was wonderful but they only give it to your just before the baby comes down the birth canal. So I'll have to say when you that far along why bother. Experiencing the miracle of birth naturally gives you a real sense of accomplishment and overwhelming joy. Don't miss it !!

Answer 10

Oh my gosh YES! Unless you have some weird reason and are against it, I would defiantly get it. The first thing I asked for the minute I got to the hospital both times was for the epidural. I didn't feel anything once it kicked in. I don't how people do it without anything - I couldn't. I like the trophy comment!