giving birth!!!

[darlingnc]

Hi everyone,
i am due to give birth to my first child in June and i am a total wuss when it comes to pain and am actually quite scared of when the big moment arrives, what if the pain is too unbearable and i cant handle it i am really worried, has anyone got any advise like how does the gas and air benefit and the other drugs they might offer me, what ones are best?? please any advise will be really appreciated. nicola

[DaisyMae]

It is more than 50 years since I gave birth so things will have moved on dramatically since then. Some advice I can give which doesn't change is try not to get too far ahead of yourself, enjoy the time you have with the close intimacy of pregnancy with your baby. Also, classes are useful in telling you how to minimise the pain and what to expect. But I used to look around at all the mums with their babies and think, "If you can do it so can I".

Relax, live for the moment and go to as many classes as you can. Good luck.

[hollie1586]

gas and air, or entonox as it is professionally known, helps to remove your perception of pain but does not remove it completely. it could possibly make you feel a little woozy and nauseous.
another pain reliever is Pethidine which is a synthetic opiate similar to morphine. It relieves pain by stimulating specific 'opiate receptors' in your brain and spinal cord which are also the target of your body's own natural painkillers. It is administered by an injection into the muscle of your buttock or thigh and takes effect within about 20 minutes. It is an effective method of pain relief and is particularly useful if you can't have or don't want an epidural. The reported side effects of Pethidine include drowsiness, dizziness, loss of control, nausea and vomiting. It can also make your baby sleepy and for this reason, if you are in advanced labour, Pethidine may not be offered.

http://www.vhi.ie/topic/pregnancy/midwife/mw_0 01.jsp#12

take a look on here for more info!!

[cazzz1975]

congrats on your pregnancy, pain is a personal thing, there are a lot of options available for pain relief, some women swear by them others dont, make sure you are aware of what is on offer, if you are interested in having the epidural make someone aware ahead of time so an anesthetist can be available.

I went through a natural birth, no pain relief or gas and air, the pain was not as bad as I had anticipated, just imagine a very strong period pain, I found walking about during labour, listening to music quite helpful, I also found if you walked around it distracted you away from the pain more than if I had been lying on a bed.

I also had stitches without anesthetic and to be honest I never felt those that badly either, you have to strengthen your mind and not fear it so much, it is a natural process, if you go to pieces and panic you will make it harder for yourself.

relax and let nature take its course, be aware of the pain relief on offer, the important thing is that you and your baby are safe and healthy.

good luck x

[redcrx]

hi nicola.
as a woman with a fear of pain, needles, hospitals etc etc i was dreading giving birth and all that it would entail. I worked myself up into a complete panic about the whole thing.
I went 17 days overdue before i gave birth to my first. a midwife at hossy said that i went so far over as i wasnt relaxing, not sure how true that is.
anyway, all i can say is that labour was not at all as bad as i thought it would be. Yes it hurts, theres no denying that, but there are ways to deal with it. Read up on all the pain relief options and write your basic birth plan, thn keep an open mind and be prepared to listen to advice as labour goes.
Id say try water (bath or birth pool), tens machine and also breathing correctly (deep breath in through nose and breath out of mouth) to help too.

[zzxxee]

epidural brilliant got me through my 1st labour mixed with as and air youll be floating chick x

[B00]

Aside from the excellent advice you've already been given, I would say that you're going to have to give birth whether you want to or not now...lol, so accept that yes..it's going to hurt, but there's nothing (or at least not much) you can do about it.

I was just like you, petrified but once i'd accepted that baby was coming out, one way or another and I just had to go along with it, I relaxed about it all.

Good luck!

[ummmm]

Gas and air made me puke. Didn't stop me using though. Usually the pain starts mild and gets gradually worse so your body egts used to it.

I had quite bad but quick labours and I was a sh!t patient.

I wouldn't let them monitor me, I refused to push and was convinced that they wouldn't give me drugs because they didn't like me.

In the end I had no choice....my body started pushing on it's own accord....even with me trying to stop it.

It was fine.....'ish'

[redcrx]

there is a point in labour where you just want everything to stop. Its just at the pushing point. I was like ummmm and even managed to keep quiet during about 5 contractions at pushing stage as i didnt want to push, but body soon takes over.
even my midwife when having one of her children, she was fully dilated at the ime, climbed off the bed, took the drip from her arm (she needed a drug for her labour, its not the norm) and asked if she could come back and finish the next day lol

[darlingnc]

hey guys,
daisymae, hollie & cazzz, thanks for your advise, i will try to relax a bit more about the enivitable and try and accept it lol great advise thanks!
zzxxee & ummm - lol thanks that made me laugh, i know im driving my family mad with me panicing all the time, i will promise myself to stop worrying about it,
boo & redcrx- so its not that bad then? really?? ok, ok i believe you but im still scared lol

[zzxxee]

hey cant be that bad people go on to have more than one all the time dont they? i was crapping myself more with my 2nd cos you no what to expecet however i ended up having a c section with baby number 2 so you cant plan these things theres only one way and thats out.. youll be fine love if a woss like me can do it twice anyone can xx

[dustinmyeye]

if it was as bad as you are imagining it then women would only ever have one baby.
yes the pain is bloody bad but everyone is different, you might have yourself all worked up and be one of these VERY lucky women that have a 20 minute birth. regardless of the pain straight after when you have your baby in your arms you will know that every second was worth it.
good luck with the rest of your pregnancy x

[redcrx]

well, ive got 2 so i wasnt put off by my first lol. second was still late and just as heavy but labour was less than 2 hours from first twinge.

and id do it again

[redcrx]

i think most will agree that whatever the pain, the moment baby is out the pain fades and its hard to actually remember what it felt like (until the next time lol)

[Ice.Maiden]

I think this is the main thing that ALL first-time mums worry about, but don't believe all the horror stories. I know I was very lucky when I had my two, but the pain never got unbearable - and I didn't need any pain relief. It's a very exciting moment when you actually give birth to your baby, and the relief afterwards is immense. Try not to worry, and just let nature take its course. Good luck anyway.

[natalie_1982]

I was the opposite, so excited, Mrs Smug-face-looking-forward-to-labour like "Oooh, it'll be a breeze - no drugs for me, thanks".

Cue nat, a few hours in screaming for anything to take the pain away LOL, by the time my daughter was born I had had every drug they could administer including two epidurals or maybe 3 I can't remember) and about 5 top ups PMSL. Oh, and they had to take the gas and air away from me because I was just breathing with it normally as opposed to just when you're having a contraction.

It is true though that it is completely natural and your body will take over. I, too, was trying to "cover up" my pushes to the midwife (like they didn't know what a pushing pregnant mother looks like LOL), but eventually you are growling like something possessed and can't help pushing.

If anything, I would say it was the pure exhaustion that got me more than the pain and I vidily remember one of the midwives asking me during my second stage (which incidentall was flipping long at 18hours) if I would have more children, and I told her I wanted another two or three, and that didn't change throughout the birth and hasn't changed since.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what drugs are best and what aren't, just read up on everything and go in with an open mind - you might be one of those mums we all hate that does it drug free in about 2hours with no stitches and back in your old jeans and your own bed by tea time!

[natalie_1982]

Red... I heard that.... might there be a no.3? :-D

[redcrx]

lol natalie, only by accident. Mind you first two were accidents pmsl.

[natalie_1982]

Happy accidents :-)

[redcrx]

of course, more like oopses :)

[darlingnc]

awww u guys are great! thanks to you all for the reassurance, im needing all of it right now! im sure ill be fine. thanks again xx