Birth without painkillers?

Question

I am giving birth in a hospital that gives absolutely no pain relievers. All natural birth and if I need a c section I will be sent to another hospital close by. Has anyone on here given natural birth with no epidural or gas&air? How was it? Would you advise me-who is a chronic asthmatic- to have a natural birth or use another hospital? Please help me with this...

This is my first baby... I am 16 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

Answer 1

My understanding is that the pain of childbirth varies from one woman to another. Some are better able to tolerate the pain - others just have a very low pain threshold.

As this is your first baby, I would recommend that you go to another hospital where you at least have the option of pain relief. Once you're in active labour, you can then decide whether you are able to manage the pain or would prefer pain relief.

Recovery without painkillers is easier but after having gone through a very long and very painful natural labour myself, I certainly don't hold it against women who want pain relief during labour.

Anything can happen during a first delivery - it's best to be prepared for all eventualities.

Good luck with your pregnancy and do enjoy every moment!

Answer 2

I've had two kids without epidural but the first I had pethedine and the second natural. I really needed the pethedine as I started to get hysterical and nothing and no-one could calm me down so they asked my partner for the permission to inject me and I'm so glad they did or my baby would've ended in a c-section. 2nd time it was a much easier birth and I coped fine.

I would be choosing another hospital if I were you. You won't know until the time if you are going to cope or not and if something happens and things can turn wrong very quickly, you may need to get the baby out ASAP and might not be able to wait until you get to another hospital for a c-section. Your health and your babies health is of the uttmost importance but if you are 100% sure that you won't want pain relief and that you trust them should things go wrong then go ahead.

Personally I would visit other hospitals and see what they offer before making a final decision. No hospital is going to push you to have pain relief but the options are there should you need them. Child birth can be tough especially for a first timer so keep your options open.

Best of luck

Answer 3

I haven't had an all natural birth but am planning to have one.

However, my cousin has had 3 all natural births and she came through fine with no complications. She said it was better because you have no side effects from the pain relief and that as soon as your baby is born, although you will be tired in any circumstance, you aren't drowsy from the pain relief either and are able to enjoy the moment more. She has recommended it to me quite strongly.

She isn't asthmatic though so i'm not sure exactly what it would be like for you. I mean you could become destressed in any situation when you give birth whether you have had pain relief or not so i'm not sure if it would make a difference or not. I would say I think it would be sensible to have some pain relief on hand though.

Have you thought about natural ways of coping with labour & birth, like breathing techniques etc? Or do they have a birthing pool? The warmth of the water can help soothe pain a bit.

Answer 4

Personally, I would go to another hospital. You don't need to use pain killers if you don't want them, but it is a really good idea to have them on order if needed.

I am guessing this is a first baby. I hope it goes blissfully for you. But think about it. If anything does go wrong and you find you would quite like to have some of your pain reduced, bearing in mind that you could be in labour for a very long time, if you are in a place that does not provide that option, there will be no changing you mind at that point.

I would want to be in a hospital that can handle anything that might go worng.

My first child was 16 days overdue, induced, then emergency c-section. If I had had to go to another hospital both my son and myself could have died.

My second child was a natural birth. About a month before the due date, I discussed painkillers with the midwife who suggested that these decisions should not be finalised until the birth is over. She suggested a few pain killers that might be appropriate under different circumstances in labour and mentioned that if they were all on order in advance, they would be there for me in seconds if I decided they were needed (and if it was medically appropriate). We didn't need most of the stuff I had on order (and I had almost everything possible on order), but it was great to know that, if needed, I could have had it.

I hope this advice is helpful to you. Enjoy the experience. Best of luck.

A mum

Answer 5

For the safety of you and your baby - choose another hospital. What if an emergency happens?? Will there be time to transfer you both to the other hospital??
and being it's your first baby - you don't know how you will handle labor pains. I commend women who go all natural, but it's not for me. My first one - all I had was Stadol, second and third had epidurals. All born vaginally.
It was nice to know during labor, when I reached the point where I couldn't take it anymore, that there were options for pain relief out there.
I would seriously choose another hospital.
And what kind of hospital doesn't have pain relief???

Answer 6

I've had all three; a vaginal birth with peth (and gas), a caesarean with an epidural, and a number of vaginal births with no pain relief. The births with no pain relief were BETTER by far. Yeah they hurt a bit, but not unbearably so, and after the birth the pain all goes away and if you haven't had pain relief you feel more in control immediately after. With the peth I was a bit unsteady on my feet, and during the labour it made me feel really stoned...I hated it. It depressed my baby's respiratory system too, so she needed to be suctioned. The gas was horrible, I felt so out of control and woozy that I threw the mask across the room and told them to get the canister out of my sight. The epidural left me with a bit of an epidural headache, and took AGES to wear off (couldn't move my legs for over an hour in recovery.

Try for the all natural birth, it is such a great feeling to achieve it, and you get on a real natural high without the interference of drugs, plus there's no chance of anything crossing over and affecting the baby.

Answer 7

I would use another hospital, unless you've had several children with no pain relief already. You can't tell beforehand whether birth is going to be easy or hard for you, and if you do need a c-section I can't imagine how bad it would be to have to transfer hospitals while in the late stages of labour. It's bad enough transferring down the hall when you already have an epidural!

Answer 8

i had both my babies without any drugs. I did try gas with my first but after one breath it made me feel sick and i didnt have enough to do anything for the pain. I ended up giving birth to a 9 pound boy. For my 2nd (daughter) though the contractions were 100 times worse than with my son and i ended up asking for drugs but was told it was to late so i gave birth to a 10 pound 10 ounce bub and felt every bit of it!!! I didnt do any special breathing or anything like they show you on tv so i dont know if that would help you with your asthma. I just went in there whinged about the pain stood in a hot shower for as long as i could and pushed like crazy to get the big buggers out of there!! it does sound strange that they cant give you drugs if you need them. Is it the only hostpital around?? Good luck with your bub and im sure you will be fine. We women are made of tough stuff!!!

Answer 9

I had a natural birth, i would def get a focus object - like the take home clothes for the baby or something like that to focus on when you are having the more painful contractions. I think it's always best to go the natural route - for you and baby - and having the other hospital as a back up plan in case things get too bad is a great idea. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 10

I have never heard of a hospital that doesn't medicate at all. I would choose another hospital, simply b/c if there is a medical emergency, if you and/or your baby go into fetal distress, time should never be wasted having to be taken to another hospital.

My son was born via emergency c/section due to fetal and maternal distress. My husband later found out that, if it not had been for my ob's quick decision, he'd have lost the both of us. My daughter, a planned vbac, was born via emergency c/section. The cord, it turned out, was wrapped around her leg.

Don't take chances. Good luck to you, I wish you all the best.