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My cousin gave birth about 2 months ago and has been advising me through my pregnancy (I'm 21 weeks).
She used a TENS for the first stage of labour and said she could hardly feel the contractions. She has recommended I hire one in April.
Obviously labour is different for everyone but she is a bit of a wimp and it worked for her , haha!
Good luck!
She used a TENS for the first stage of labour and said she could hardly feel the contractions. She has recommended I hire one in April.
Obviously labour is different for everyone but she is a bit of a wimp and it worked for her , haha!
Good luck!
Im 27 weeks and plan to have baby at home. I plan on hiring a tens machine myself so I hope it works! lol
When I had my daughter in hospital, I had an epidural after the insistance of the midwife so this time round is going to be very different!
I see from your answer on my thread that it wont be long til you have yours so if you use a tens machine, let me know how you got on please! lol
When I had my daughter in hospital, I had an epidural after the insistance of the midwife so this time round is going to be very different!
I see from your answer on my thread that it wont be long til you have yours so if you use a tens machine, let me know how you got on please! lol
Tens machines are excellent, but can be awkward if you need to relive backache, as it'd probably mean lying on your tummy.
Please don't worry too much if you need an epidural. I had them, but they didn't take effect, so they were removed. I never felt the needle go in though, and half an hour after arriving back on the hospital ward, I went numb in an area about the size of a 10p piece! If it'd worked properly, I wouldnt've felt any pain at all. In fact, I truly would rather have a baby than visit the dentist - if everything's straight-forward, you don't have to get too upset about the labour and birth. Best of luck.
Please don't worry too much if you need an epidural. I had them, but they didn't take effect, so they were removed. I never felt the needle go in though, and half an hour after arriving back on the hospital ward, I went numb in an area about the size of a 10p piece! If it'd worked properly, I wouldnt've felt any pain at all. In fact, I truly would rather have a baby than visit the dentist - if everything's straight-forward, you don't have to get too upset about the labour and birth. Best of luck.
I know, not long to go now!!
I'm trying to think of other pain relief methods than having the epidural, cuz I want to be able to get up and have a shower n stuff after the birth!! And, I'm not so keen on the idea of having a needle in my back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone had pethadine or other diamorphine injections then?? What did you think of them?!
I'm trying to think of other pain relief methods than having the epidural, cuz I want to be able to get up and have a shower n stuff after the birth!! And, I'm not so keen on the idea of having a needle in my back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone had pethadine or other diamorphine injections then?? What did you think of them?!
I had the lot lol
I had a shot of pethidine which is administered in the bum and hurts like hell! It actually made me cry! lol It did help ease things though. Gas and air just made me be sick on myself. The epidural worked miracles. I didnt feel them doing it but it was awkward as they have to do it between contractions. As soon as I had had my daughter, they stopped the epidural and I was up and about having a bath about an hour later. The thing that really annoyed me was that the only reason I wasnt allowed home the same day was because I had had the epidural. Something I had to be talked into having anyway!
I had a shot of pethidine which is administered in the bum and hurts like hell! It actually made me cry! lol It did help ease things though. Gas and air just made me be sick on myself. The epidural worked miracles. I didnt feel them doing it but it was awkward as they have to do it between contractions. As soon as I had had my daughter, they stopped the epidural and I was up and about having a bath about an hour later. The thing that really annoyed me was that the only reason I wasnt allowed home the same day was because I had had the epidural. Something I had to be talked into having anyway!
go with the flow is the best thing to do.
Read up as much as you can on the pros and cons of each pain relief and go into the labour ward knowing in your mind what youd ideally like, but be prepared to change you mind if things get painful.
I used a TENS for the first hour and it seemed ok, I then jumped into a bath for 4 hours and got from 3-8cms.
after that i had nothing, not because i wasnt in pain but because i am needle phobic and for the sake of avoiding a pin prick i chose to push through the pain.
This time I may be brave enough to go for some drugs as gas and air made me feel ill so i only had 2 puffs.
consider all options and be informed, dont let anyone make any decisions unless youare fully aware of what they entail for baby and you!
Read up as much as you can on the pros and cons of each pain relief and go into the labour ward knowing in your mind what youd ideally like, but be prepared to change you mind if things get painful.
I used a TENS for the first hour and it seemed ok, I then jumped into a bath for 4 hours and got from 3-8cms.
after that i had nothing, not because i wasnt in pain but because i am needle phobic and for the sake of avoiding a pin prick i chose to push through the pain.
This time I may be brave enough to go for some drugs as gas and air made me feel ill so i only had 2 puffs.
consider all options and be informed, dont let anyone make any decisions unless youare fully aware of what they entail for baby and you!
Yep, thats why im asking. My sis had a baby last year, she's like "oh just take what you're offered". But, I really want to get through it on my own, no pain relief at all.
But, Im looking into pain relief just in case I wont be able to cope with the pain!!!
Im not writing a birth plan because you cannot predict what will happen, and this is my first so I really do not know how my body is going to react at the time.
The only thing I'm going to ask of them is to not cut the cord until it has stopped pulsating, this way my baby gets all the goodness it's supposed to right until my body says 'stop' and not when the midwife decides.
Who knows anyway, knowing me I'll probably end up having a ceasearian which I really, really really do not want!!
30 days to go!!! :)
But, Im looking into pain relief just in case I wont be able to cope with the pain!!!
Im not writing a birth plan because you cannot predict what will happen, and this is my first so I really do not know how my body is going to react at the time.
The only thing I'm going to ask of them is to not cut the cord until it has stopped pulsating, this way my baby gets all the goodness it's supposed to right until my body says 'stop' and not when the midwife decides.
Who knows anyway, knowing me I'll probably end up having a ceasearian which I really, really really do not want!!
30 days to go!!! :)
id say write a birth plan stating that youd like to cope without pain relief if you can. That way the midwives wont keep offering you different drugs to help you. Also you can specify that you need to ask a few times before you get gven anything and want to be encouraged to go without if you want.
A birth plan is never fixed but you can put down your ideals and the midwives will get a fair idea of what you really want to aim for. It also helps if your birth partner can have it to hand to back you up if youre otherwise occupied with labour.
A birth plan is never fixed but you can put down your ideals and the midwives will get a fair idea of what you really want to aim for. It also helps if your birth partner can have it to hand to back you up if youre otherwise occupied with labour.
Hi Cwpsi!
I did use a TENS machine and it did help but to be honest, I do remember feeling quite annoyed by the pulses of it when it was at the highest setting but maybe that was just an emotion I was feeling in labour.
I was exactly the same as you, I didn't want any un-natural pain relief - which was surprising as I'm a real wimp!! I won't go into it much because I don't want to panic you but in the end I had to have an epidural (my very last option) for an emergency c-section - birth plan right out of the window!!
My advice is just like some of the other's - read up as much as you can on all the availiable options and then just go with how you are feeling at each stage - only you know how much you can cope with. Just be prepared to be as flexible as you can and know that any choice you make will be the right and best one for you and your baby.
Good luck!!
I did use a TENS machine and it did help but to be honest, I do remember feeling quite annoyed by the pulses of it when it was at the highest setting but maybe that was just an emotion I was feeling in labour.
I was exactly the same as you, I didn't want any un-natural pain relief - which was surprising as I'm a real wimp!! I won't go into it much because I don't want to panic you but in the end I had to have an epidural (my very last option) for an emergency c-section - birth plan right out of the window!!
My advice is just like some of the other's - read up as much as you can on all the availiable options and then just go with how you are feeling at each stage - only you know how much you can cope with. Just be prepared to be as flexible as you can and know that any choice you make will be the right and best one for you and your baby.
Good luck!!
Hi,
Hope all goes well for you, best advice I can give is be open-minded about it all. One thing I don't think's been mentioned yet though... if you end up being induced the TENs machine might not be much good as the contractions come on much quicker and stronger and you may need that pain relieve. I was very opposed to epidural throughout my pregnancy but ended up having one and it wasn't as bad as I feared. I didn't even see the needle let alone feel it and it brought me an amazing amount of relief. I also ended up having a C-section due to complications and again this was nothing like I expected. I didn't feel any pain, my husband was allowed to stay with me and they put a curtain up so we couldn't see anything. Baby was out within a few minutes, was very quick. I hope this reassures you a little, good luck and I hope you have an easy time of it.
Hope all goes well for you, best advice I can give is be open-minded about it all. One thing I don't think's been mentioned yet though... if you end up being induced the TENs machine might not be much good as the contractions come on much quicker and stronger and you may need that pain relieve. I was very opposed to epidural throughout my pregnancy but ended up having one and it wasn't as bad as I feared. I didn't even see the needle let alone feel it and it brought me an amazing amount of relief. I also ended up having a C-section due to complications and again this was nothing like I expected. I didn't feel any pain, my husband was allowed to stay with me and they put a curtain up so we couldn't see anything. Baby was out within a few minutes, was very quick. I hope this reassures you a little, good luck and I hope you have an easy time of it.
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