Pain relief

[MummyKx]

Hey peeps, okay so another question....
What pain relief is people having/had during labor? My mum says the epidural leaves you with constant back pain (even tho shes never had it) lol just wondering :) xx

[FreshLove]

Warm water in a tub for sure! Oh my goodness, I couldn't have survived my back labor without water! lol And for some women the epidural works great, for others it only partially numbs then, and yet for others it numbs them so much they can't push. Even the anesthesiologist will tell you that there is no guarantee if or how well it will work, all women respond to it differently. The lucky ones get numbed enough not to feel contractions, just the pressure to push (that's exactly what the anesthesiologist said at my sis-in-law's birth 2 months ago, I was her doula).

They also have things like fetenol (basically strong Tylenol) that they give through your IV that takes the edge off the pain and makes it bearable.
If you're having back pain, have your husband/support person put counter pressure on your lower back, right by your tailbone. This was also heaven to me during labor, lol.

[Spiket77]

warm water in a tub :)

[sorenr]

I used only gas and air, but I had a particularly quick delivery last time, there was no time for anything even if I had wanted! It was a great experience and I was able to move around and let everythimg happen naturally.
I had an induced birth the first time and I struggled on with gas and air for hours before taking pethidine, it helped a little but if I were to be induced with pitocin again, I would opt for an epidural cos that was a particularly painful experience and I was unable to get out of bed or move around anyway as they monitor baby constantly when they do it that way, so an epidural may have made things easier. I was exhausted by the time I was to push and we ended up with a nasty forceps delivery, maybe if I hadnt been so stubborn about not having an epidural I would have had the energy to push him out myself.
I think it very much depends on how your labour starts and how quickly it progresses, be aware of all your options and dont close your mind to any of them, no-one can predict how a labour will go. What I have done is to have a list of options in my mind starting from my preferred experience and pain relief all the way down to things I really dont want to do but am prepared for if necessary.

[jdreyn]

I had to get an epidural due to my blood pressure, and I highly recommend it. I was scared because of the needle in my back, but it was only a little pinch. I couldn't imagine pushing without it. Some people say they couldn't really tell when to push, but I could feel the pressure to push and my back doesn't hurt me, and my son is 11 days old.

[chrystel1986]

epidural is good

[nnunez310]

I only opted for stadol when it was time to push...i didnt want any drugs otherwise.  Stadol is like Demerol just an IV pain killer...just helped temporarily.  I've had friends/family get epidurals and they said it was heaven...its described as a nerve blocker from your mid back down.  I personally couldnt get past the idea of having a needle put in my back so i opted for a mostly natural birth.