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Pain relief - should I opt for an epidural?
Hi ladies, not sure whether to post this here or in pregnancy, but here goes...
I am based in Tower Hamlets in London and have the option to have my baby at the Barkantine Birth Centre. The Barkantine is fairly new and has 5 birthing rooms with ensuite shower room and loo, outdoor balcony and sleeping facilities for me and DH and a new baby. Each room has a birthing pool and there is a communal lounge centre and kitchen where you can cook your own meals etc.
It is staffed by midwives only with no obstetricians, paediatricians or anaesthetists so pain relief is confined to breathing exercises and gas and air.
I really like the idea of being able to walk around, use the pool and have my own space but I am concerned about not having the epidural option on hand. In case of complications, they take you by ambulance to the Royal London which is nearby but I'm worried about the pain getting too much for me. I would prefer not to have an epidural as I'd like to be able to walk around but then again, I have never given birth before so I have no idea what I may be letting myself in for!!
Does anyone have any advice? Just how painful is childbirth? Will I be able to cope?!?!
I am based in Tower Hamlets in London and have the option to have my baby at the Barkantine Birth Centre. The Barkantine is fairly new and has 5 birthing rooms with ensuite shower room and loo, outdoor balcony and sleeping facilities for me and DH and a new baby. Each room has a birthing pool and there is a communal lounge centre and kitchen where you can cook your own meals etc.
It is staffed by midwives only with no obstetricians, paediatricians or anaesthetists so pain relief is confined to breathing exercises and gas and air.
I really like the idea of being able to walk around, use the pool and have my own space but I am concerned about not having the epidural option on hand. In case of complications, they take you by ambulance to the Royal London which is nearby but I'm worried about the pain getting too much for me. I would prefer not to have an epidural as I'd like to be able to walk around but then again, I have never given birth before so I have no idea what I may be letting myself in for!!
Does anyone have any advice? Just how painful is childbirth? Will I be able to cope?!?!
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Replies
this might not be what you want to hear but i gave birth 4 days ago
my birth plan was gas and air and tens. i was against everything else ESPECIALLY epidural and expressly stated on my birth plan that i would not have it
i thought my pain threshiold was ok.
this was my first baby
my hub was with me and i had an almost 17 hour labour...i just couldnt take the pain and was so glad that i had the epidural option as the rest didnt work for me
i had to have a c section in the end but just before was so relived thst the option was there
so please think carefully , im not saying have it as a furst option but my view is not to rule it out completely. i know eveyones expeerience is different but my view on epidurals has changed 100% since i gave birth
xxx
It all depends on your pain thresh hold. It only hurt me a bit as I delivered. I had him standing up holding onto a chair. I didn't rush to push, I took it slow & steady & just knew when to push. I only got a slight graze.
Ask your midwife their advice, get all the facts & make a realistic desition. You don't need all the drug pain relief. The centre you want to give birth sounds fantastic but you also gotta think about if things go wrong. My son had to be put in NICU for 4 days because of breathing difficulties as he swollowed miconium. What exactly is this centre equipt for? Hope this helps Yvette x
With my first lo I really didn't want an epidural, the hospital I gave birth at didn't have gas and air and I live in Norway where they don't give pethidine. So the only pain relief I had was accupuncture. I was lucky and had an uncomplicated and relatively short labour, I had listened to hypnobirthing CDs prior to the birth too which i think helped me to stay calm.
I know some women have bad labours and epidurals are a godsend in that situation but I od think too many women worry how bad it will be and take the epidural option out of fear of how bad the pain will get rather than needing it because the pain is bad - if that makes sense?!
The birth centre sounds lovely so if i were you I would go there. x
Second time around I really planned my labour & rented a TENS, did Hypnobirthing CD's, had paracetamol in the house ready & my gym ball, I kept people away from me too (last time I had friends popping in etc & didn't concentrate on the labour properly).
My second labour was so different than my first & an epi was not in my plans for deffo this time around...cuz I know just cuz you ask for it doesn't mean you get it!
I would recommend Hypnobirthing & concentrate on the outcome & not the pain!
Good Luck!
xxx
It sounds like such a great place to have your baby and I like their minimal intervention policy but I do just worry that I am speaking bravely out of ignorance and will regret my decision when going through it all.
This baby thing is HARD!!
Home from home delivery's can be less painfull than hospital delivery's as you tend to feel more relaxed But if for any reason you don't feel you are coping on the pain relief they offer they can trancefer you to hospital very quickly. I have had 3 babies in water with G&A and felt the pain was managable and am hoping to have my 4th at home in a pool any day now! I think the trick is to try to stay relaxed and stay open to things changing while you are in labour.
My birthplam was birth pool, gas and air and pethidine if needed and specifically wrote NO EPIDURAL. My gawd I was glad I could change my mind.
Labour hurts and my epidural was amazing, I could still easily move around, had no pain but still had the pushing urge and as the delivery was forceps - very pleased that was covoured. The epidurals are topped up hourly so wear off quickly after and I was showering myself alone, 30mins post epidural.
I slept through part of the labour and considering it was over night and I was about to be a new full time mum, this was very much needed. Plus my partner didn't need to spend the whole time worrying and seeing me in pain.
As a student, delivering a fair few babies, you can see the difference! Delivery at the birth centre involves women being in pain and pulling hair. Delivery in the hospital involves a fair more laid back approach with pain relief and jokes!
Two tips, my biggest regrets
1) Attend antenatal classes
2) Be open minded
And make sure you find out the hospital transfer procedure, including times with rush hour traffic! Delivering in an ambulance would certainly be an interesting storey,
Our midwifery unit here actually allows ladies to delievr at the hospital and are transferred to the centre for post op care which is certainly an alternative and much nicer than the post op wards,
Hope it all goes well for you and well done on the research so far
xx
I have put on my birth plan that pain relief should depend on how I am coping. The only thing I don't want (unless absolutely neccessary) is a forceps delivery. I was delivered by forceps and they bruised all around my eyes by accident. I now have extremely bad eye sight (have done since age 11) and believe that this was the reason.
An epidural for me has been reccomended as i'm having twins. This is reccomended for twins in case the babies need to be delivered by emergency c-sec.
Hopefully i'll manage!! Not long to go now!
xx