Now, supposedly, there are tons of drugs out there that can help take the edge off. However, the only one I can find adequate information about is the epidural and I don't want an epidural. Epidurals scare me. Why anyone would want to stick something into their spine so they can be completely numb and immobile from the waist down is beyond me. Nerves can be tricky little devils and I don't like to mess with them, especially the major ones in my spine.
This isn't some baseless fear, either. When I was 16 I had surgery that included cutting and moving bone that had nerve endings going straight through the bone. Immediately after the surgery numbness was expected because the nerves received a shock from being moved, however the odds of permanent numbness were very slim. The odds were against me and I am permanently numb from that surgery. Keep the epidurals away from me!
So I want to know what my other options are. Magazine articles will briefly mention there are pain reducing medicines and options, but then they move straight on to epidurals. I am taking a series of classes in November, but I want to know now what other types of drug-induced pain relief there are. Any advice?
6 comments:
OK, this might get long winded- I apologise in advance...
My advice is to do whatever you're most comfortable with. No one can make you have an epi. But I suspect that the reason they're talked about the most is because the other drugs available are basically useless as you progress in your labor. There's no pain med on earth that's going to help you once you pass a certain point. I know that sounds negative, but it's the darn truth. And I think that's why so many women who are afraid of needles or swear they will never get an epi are screaming and begging for one once they're actually in hard labor. (Not saying YOU will. But C'mon, you've probably know a bunch of women who insisted they were going to have a natural childbirth and it all went out the window 12 hours into their labor...)
I'd say if you really want to stay away from the more invasive pain relief methods you might do better to learn all the "mind over matter" techniques for birthing naturally. I cant offer you any advice on what the best method is (I've never had a drug free labor and delivery). Andrea at Sgt and Mrs. Hub had all 3 of her babies naturally. She might be able to give you some good advice and point you in the right direction :)
Mrs.~
Thanks for the advice! I'm not by any means saying I want an all natural child birth. Please give me drugs. I just want to know, aside from the epidural, what some options are. I realize they might not be as effective as an epidural, but I think anything is better than nothing. And surely there are other options because from what I've read some women simply can not have an epidural for various reasons and what do they use? For me, all natural and epidural are the 2 extremes. I'll take something in the middle, if I only I knew what that was.
good luck with your search. I am terrified of preganacy and child birth.
I sort of fell into that "cant have an epidural for various reasons" category. I wanted one with Nathan and got one- but it didn't work. They couldn't seem to thread the catheter correctly in my back. It kept going off to one side and I only ended up with a numb right leg. Couldn't get up and walk for HOURS afterward, It was so weird! By the time the doctor decided the darn thing wasn't going to do me any good it was worthless to ask for any other type of pain meds- I was pretty far into things by then :P I just suffered through it. But all in all it was a wonderful labor and delivery compared to my first!
Anyway, I have girlfriends who've used other drugs during labor. I just cant remember the details. I'll ask them what they had and how helpful it was and Email you back :)
When I gave birth to my first, I wanted to attempt a natural birth. I had preeclampsia, so he had to be induced a week early. This really sucks because if you don't go into labor on your own, it's a WAY longer process.
I was induced at about 0930. I made it until about 1800, then I asked them for something because I was completely, totally, exhausted. My doctor had just checked me, and I was only 5cm. Sigh. She looked at me and brightly announced, "Oh, you're doing great! You should go 1 cm an hour now!" Yeah, do the math - five more hours to go! I caved at that point. (He was finally born at 0024 the next morning.)
I didn't want an epidural, either, as my sister in law had some problems with it not numbing the right parts of her (as in, her waist UP was numb - not good). There are some narcotics you can have injected into your IV, which is what I did (there may have been other options - I know the nurse was talking a long time to me, but I was in a labor fog at that point). It worked for another hour or two. As in, it took the edge off. I had about three injections, but each one lasted for a shorter time.
Finally, I asked for the epidural. The guy who did it did it perfectly. I could feel enough to push him out, but I was comfortable. The part at the end where you can't move your legs, that wasn't so much fun, but they were great about helping me get around, and the effect didn't last ridiculously long.
The second time around, my water broke naturally - at 0230. I had illusions about doing it naturally this time. He came pretty fast compared to my first one, and since most of my labor actually happened at home, it was a ton easier. But, I was tired and not in the mood for pain, plus I had had a good experience with the epi, so I just said yes when they asked. I was able to fall asleep during labor, and although it wasn't perfect (I had to stay on my right side because of his heartbeat, so my left side felt it a lot more than my right), I had no complications.
So, yeah, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but my experience was that there isn't anything as powerful as an epidural. You can, however, give the narcotics a try. They might work if you can go into labor on your own, and you can wait until you are a lot closer to delivery before having them. That's my best advice on that one; maybe someone else is aware of something I don't remember being offered now!
the epi - I was scared of it too.. but oh the relief! but with your history, I'd be nervous too. As your first commenter said, nothing else works. and too much of anything will cross the placenta, making the baby groggy and stoned too!
LAW
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