Did you use painkillers to give birth?

[LMS]

Did you use painkillers to give birth?

[Lynette]

Yes but both of my births were induced, my big ol' girls like to be fashionably late :D With Salina I was young and dumb and figured if cavewomen could do this for millions of years then so could I! 4 hours later I was demanding drugs. With Alaina I tried really hard to let things just happen naturally but with the GD and her being over a week and a half late, I just couldn't push my luck so I tried to go with the induction and no painkillers but after 12 hours and not being anymore than 3 centimeters and having to lay on my back most of the time for monitoring, I gave in :(

Both girls were born big and healthy, no sleepiness or lethargy, high Apgar scores, I was able to push, but the 2nd time the meds made me blotchy and itch like crazy?

[colleen&Kail]

THANK GOD FOR EDPIDERALS!
i tried to tough it out for 2 hours and i dont know how you ladies do it without them......

[Mom of 2]

I had two high risk pregnancies.With Patty, I missed the pain killers. We were still talking about it, and I went from a 5 to a 10 and it was too late for pain killers. With Tyler, since I had had a more difficult pregnancy with him, right from the beginning, we talked about pain killers so I would not miss it this time. I just had a small epidural. It felt weird not being able to feel your legs during labor, but I felt that I did need something for the pain...... Other than not being able to feel my legs during labor, i did not have any other effects from the epidural.
Both kids are healthy and after spending a few extra days in the ICU with Patty(the cord got wrapped around her neck during birth), we went home.

Kate
Mom to Patty and Tyler

[LMS]

I went into it knowing that I was okay with getting an epidural. I was pretty laid back about my whole birth experience. I wasn't hell bent on wanting a vaginal or a c-sec, having meds or not having meds, so i pretty much just went in for my induction and let stuff happen.
I was started on pitocin at 7amthen they broke my water. My contraction started hard and fast and i was told it would only be a metter of a few hours before the baby was born (I'd been 3cm dialated and 60% effaced for over 4 weeks, and was over 2 weeks past due) so i asked for some nubain to take the edge off. It made me hallucinate and was HORRIBLE. don't get me wrong.. it helped the pain, but i got nuts. I was trying to walk in my bed while laying down b/c i could remember walking made my BH ctx stop. I didn't want to have the epi b/c I was't convinced it would be quick, and I had this stupid fear that it would wear off (the nurse later informed me that they have a new type of 'pain pump' at that hospital where it doesn't just "stop" until they make it stop.) Finally I gave up and had my epidural. Best decision i ever made. Got the epi at around 10am, slept until 12:45, gave birth at 12:57

[LMS]

It felt weird not being able to feel your legs during labor, but I felt that I did need something for the pain...... Other than not being able to feel my legs during labor, i did not have any other effects from the epidural.


Same here! My legs were completely 'gone'... but then so was everything from my boobs down. LOL. When I was pushing, I had to actually ask if i was pushing b/c I couldn't feel it anywhere but my face, and i'd remembered being told not to push with your face or you could burst a blood vessel, so i had to check. LOL
My leg fell off the sturrup and JR had to pick it back up.
My labor was quite a comical event

[becky]

with Kayla i went from 9pm to mid morning with out anything. I got a shot of some kind at 5am when the doc broke my water and started the petocin but that was it. I didnt get my epi until about 10 min before it was time to push...i didnt feel a thing from that point on and it took ahile for the epi to wear off.

With myah it was different. I was induced at 6am and got the epi right away. I didn't feel a thing with the exception of her birht becuase the epi didnt numb me all the way.

this one will likely be induced as well so i know i want a epi for sure. if not...she jsut might come fast on her own and there may not be anytime for the epi....i jsut hope i dont end up like my mom whose 3rd came in an hour.

[daisydoc]

I had both kids all-natural! No nothing... sevannah was born at home in a birthing tub... Jazper at Memorial. Sevannah's labor was average for a 1st time momma. Water broke around midnight; bloody show around 330am with contractions 45 secs long and 5-6 minutes apart. They satyed that way until about 1pm when i went into active labor. She was born at 936pm... I retained my placenta so we transported to the hosiptal where I had to have a DNC to remove it.

With Jazper I was 100% effaced, dilated to 6.5cm and at station 1 when i went into labor (and had been for about a week!) My water broke around 1pm but it broke high so I wasn't sustaining labor. We elected to have thebag at the bottom broken and just under 3 hrs later he was born in an almost like home atmosphere (calm, quiet, very little light, only my mom, James, the nurse and Suzie Saunders... one of the CNM at Women's OBGYN... LOVE HER!) We left the hospital when Jazper was about 14 hrs old so i could come home and shower in my own shower!

[jellybeanmichelle]

I had the epi when I was ready to jump out of my own skin!
Water broke at 5:15am, hospital at 11am, waited till the next day 4am to get epi. 13 hours later c-sec. being topped off with the epi was kind of fun and scary at the same time. Felt like I was flying when they would move me, but it also felt like my head was going to explode if my head was lower than my feet.

[barb]

Petaluma Valley Hospital doesn't give epidurals for vaginal deliveries!! I had DS#1 there and I was given Stadol. It was bad. I had planned on a natural birth, but I was induced and in a lot of pain because things happened very quickly.

DS#2 was born in Washington State. Again I was induced, and again I was given pain meds, but it wasn't an epi (I don't remember what it was). The side effects for him weren't bad at all. :)

[meeg124]

I had pain meds and an epidural and I totally regret having both, especially the pain meds. I was freaked out about having an epidural because I did not want the catheter in my back. I had some pain meds (no idea what they were) and all they did was make me cranky and groggy. I finally asked for an epidural and they wanted to wait until I was moved into the labor room to give it to me. What they didn't tell us was that the anesthiologist was not even at the hospital, so I think it was almost an hour after I requested the epi before Scott flipped out completely on the nurses and they told us the doc was on his way. If I have another baby, I would definitely not have any pain meds, might think about an epidural and I think I would want a doula and a quiet birth. Every time someone talked, I almost flipped out lol.

Megan

[cascade]

I was 'hell bent' on NOT having meds, which i think is the only way i made it through without them! I think if you'll consider meds, then you'll get them, because the pain is definitely bad enough! Re: the OBGYN post before, someone mentioned Memorial hospital nurses being 'intervention happy'. The one i had really helped me make it thru w/o meds--she had read my birth plan and did things like (when i started asking if there was still time to get an epidural) suggest i wait 1/2 hr more until she checked me again, etc. i knew i wanted to really feel what it was to give birth and don't at all regret going natural. it was awesome, and the post-birth euphoria went on for like a week. but i can definitely see the benefit to meds, and after caden was born i was going off to the DR about how i was going to get an epidural next time so i could actually watch the birth (instead of my eyes clenched shut, focusing). however, i only hope hope hope that i can go natural again, if and when there's a next time! interesting that as of now, 50% of respondents to the poll went natural. the DR's said it's only about 20% when i asked...but that seems really low...

[becky]

Every time someone talked, I almost flipped out lol.
i did the same thing when i was in labor with kayla. i just about pulled the phone out of the wall.

[Lynette]

What they didn't tell us was that the anesthiologist was not even at the hospital, so I think it was almost an hour after I requested the epi

That happened to me with Salina, the guy went home for dinner and didn't come back for 2 hours! Oh I hated that guy, I remember after she was born he was wiping her down and telling a student nurse who was watching, "See, you really have to piss them off!" Nice.

A friend of mine had every intention of having drugs but it was a little busy at the hospital the day she had her daughter so they never got to her. She said she was yelling at the lady next door: "Hurry up bitch!" LOL!

I guess what kind of bothers me about my having meds is that I have two kids and have never gone into labor on my own and from what I am told being induced is a lot harder because it is like being in hard labor from the get go but so I don't really know if things progressed like they should have if I could have handled it or not?

[My3sonsplus1]

al-Natural times 4. Like Cascade I was hell bent on no meds so I didn't have them despite nursing bugging the shit out of me to get them the first time. Because of that I labored 5 out of 5.5 hrs of #2's birth at home. #3 was an unplanned homebirth becasue they nurses told me I wasn't really in labor plus I had no intentions of laboring for any length of time at the hospital. #4 was a planned homebirth. So for my last 3 births pain meds were never an option and thus I endured :).

[JeriAnne]

Yep, I had the epidural with Austin because I just couldn't take the pain. Although even after having 2 epidurals neither of them worked (two, meaning they did one and it didn't work so they took it out and I had another one put in...yea, two for the price of one...yay). Then ended up having a c-section. Then with Ryan he was a scheduled c-section so no choice there.

[LMS]

I can be pretty vulgar when in pain (ask Anna about the story of me biting JR while getting my tattoo. LOL!!) so EVERYONE was *really* concerned about how i'd be in labor. But I never yelled, never screamed and never got mad. I just kept appologizing to JR.... totally threw him for a loop and he thought something was really wrong with me :lol He still doesn't quite understand what happened there

[JeriAnne]

I left bruises on my moms arms because I was grabbing her so tightly. Andy just looked like a deer in headlights the whole time...he was totally freaked out.

I don't handle pain very well.

[Marisa]

interesting that as of now, 50% of respondents to the poll went natural. the DR's said it's only about 20% when i asked...but that seems really low...

I think we have a unique site of open-minded mommies here so the stats could be skewed from what a 'typical' hospital sees.

I wasn't "hell bent" on not having drugs... I wanted to give myself permission ahead of time so I wouldn't be disappointed with myself if I had to change my plan. That said, I didn't want to use meds if it wasn't necessary, so I didn't!

I think I had a really good labor experience for a first timer though. My water broke around 9:30pm so dh and I went right to bed to try to get some sleep for the night ahead. Around 12:00am I woke up to regular contractions and timed them for a while. When they were 2 minutes apart (at 12:30 am) I called Kaiser. They said come on in when you're ready and we'll check you out. We got there a little after 1am and the nurse said "you're not ready yet, you're too cheerful." WTF? I'm supposed to be yelling or something?... Oh, you're about to see it if you ignore me some more! DH and I had the room to ourselves for a while and then my mom arrived. After repeated attempts to drug me, dh finally yelled at them to get out. But then at around 5:15am I said I had to push and they literally had to track down the doctor b/c they didn't "believe me." Brianna was born at 5:50am.

[Sara]

My first birth was a lot like Jackie's. I was induced due to high blood pressure and after my water being broken at 8:30am and the pitocin started I had strong hard contrax with no rest in between. I tried the nubain and it made me so loopy!! And it didn't even help the pain. So I finally got the epidural at 11:45 and delivered at 12:30pm (on a side note I was complete for about 20 min before I delivered because the dr. wasn't around to deliver Jacob).
With Amelia I went into slow labor the night before and changed about 1cm overnight. The doc. broke my water (9:30am)and as soon as that happened labor really started. I got my epi around 10:30 and it was a great one because I could really feel everything but pain. I delivered at 2:30 and it had mostly worn off but still took most the edge off the pain so I felt her coming out and it was amazing. I am happy I got the drugs and really happy that I didn't get the nubain and that it was turned down so low that I felt everything.

[LMS]

I'm really torn on what I'll do next time... see, I have an aversion to needles... specifically those that go into veins and such (tattoo or piercing needles dont' scare me at all) and i FREAKED OUT when I got my IV. I was seriously hysterical and almost ripped it out b/c it felt so 'unnatural'. However, the nubain is what knocked me out enough to get the epidural. I don't knwo that I would have been able to handle the epi had i not been basically 'not there' due to the other drugs. so as much as i hated the frantic hallucinating feeling of the nubain, I'm almost affraid not to get it b/c that makes me affraid to get my epidural (and yes, i know that not every situation is the same, the nubain may not work next time, i may be awake for the epi next time, etc etc etc, but you can only go by your previous experience)

[jellybeanmichelle]

I'm with you there Jackie.
I'm not sure what to do the next time.
Part of me says no epi, but try nubain, or use nothing, or go ahead and have another c-sec.
I guess it will all depend on how the next pregnancy goes, weither my uterus can handle the pushing or not, or if the next kid just comes really fast/early with out notice.
So many choices/options to choose from. Maybe I'll just go with the flow.

[becky]

i'm right there with you all. I have a doula this time so i have more options but i still worry about not having any drugs or how they will affect me. I think my biggest fear is that the labor will go really really fast.

[justamom]

With my son, now 8, I labored through 11 hours natural. The reason being that I had back surgury when I was 14. The anesthesiologist did not think they could do an epi. So he finally decided to come and see me 20 minutes before I started pushing, and I got an epi then. I pushed for an hour and a half and just before my son crowned the doctor gave me a local and then an episiotomy. He did not even ask my permission just did it.

With my daughter I asked for an epi right away and did not get it until several hours later.

Since then I have regretted using anything. I wish I had gone natural all the way. With the next I plan on a natural home birth.

[Doulamoon]

Did you use painkillers to give birth? No I had both kids all natural. Anna was born at Memorial and she was my family doctors first all natural birth. I fought him the entire way and even afterward in regards to breastfeeding.

My son I had at home with a homebirth doctor. He sat on the floor and read a seed almanac. He looked up every once and an while to make sure all was well.

[becky]

why did the doctor fight you about breastfeeding?

[Lynette]

why did the doctor fight you about breastfeeding?

I think that is Anna's mom so that would have been what, the 70's? I would assume they were very pro-science then...I know my mom was told bfing me until I was 9mo was a long time back then.

[My3sonsplus1]

I think that is Anna's mom so that would have been what, the 70's? I would assume they were very pro-science then...I know my mom was told bfing me until I was 9mo was a long time back then.

And I am a 1980 baby, I know Anna is a tad older, my mom was told I was not gaining fast enough at 2 wks so she quit so I am guessing another possibilty is if Anna was not gaining at "ideal" proportions, or if mom never leaked or if she couldn't respond to a pump or ???. I know in 2003 at Asher's first post hospital appt. he had not gained quite as much as they had hoped. This is the child that was roughly 20 pounds at 4 months (well should I say my first child with those stats, Elias appears as if he will far exceed that)!

[daisydoc]

why did the doctor fight you about breastfeeding?
Ya that is my mom and that was with me. I was born in 1978. My moms doctor didn't think Breast feeding was "okay"... back then it was not the norm and more looked down upon than it is today. My mom was just "pro-natural" and the doc wasn't. But it wasn't b/c I wasn't gaining enough! I was a chunky baby like Jazper!

[Lynette]

Ya that is my mom and that was with me. I was born in 1978. My moms doctor didn't think Breast feeding was "okay"... back then it was not the norm and more looked down upon than it is today. My mom was just "pro-natural" and the doc wasn't. But it wasn't b/c I wasn't gaining enough! I was a chunky baby like Jazper!

Brian's mom was actually told her milk was poisonous for him because she had pre-eclampsia and that was 1973....

[daisydoc]

Brian's mom was actually told her milk was poisonous for him because she had pre-eclampsia and that was 1973....
OMG!!! Are you kidding me! That's ridiculous!

[StacyK]

Did you use painkillers to give birth?
No- I did A LOT of reading and really tried to educate myself, and I decided that I really didn't want to go that route.

W/ Ashur it was a lot harder because even though we were planning on having him at a birth home, I went 2 weeks over due and had to be induced. And let me tell you, for anyone who has been induced before and are wondering if it's a different labor - YES! it's soooo different! I don't know how I did it w/o any pain killers - I think my only saving grace was that the labor was only 6 1/2 hrs long and I had a wonderful doula by my side. But between the pitocin and the nurses trying to show drugs down my throat, it was amazing I didn't cave in. That birth experience is what made me decide to be a doula.

I don't think anyone could have asked for a better birth than Ebin's. He came on his due date, I only labored for about 45 min, he was born 5 minutes after we made it the the birth center and we came home 4 hrs later. The only thing that would have made it better is if we would have just planned on having him at home in the first place - next time :)

[jellybeanmichelle]

Ya that is my mom and that was with me. I was born in 1978. My moms doctor didn't think Breast feeding was "okay"... back then it was not the norm and more looked down upon than it is today. My mom was just "pro-natural" and the doc wasn't. But it wasn't b/c I wasn't gaining enough! I was a chunky baby like Jazper!

I'm a 1976 San Francisco baby, the nurses told my mom to breastfeed every 4 hours and if I got hungry inbetween to give me water, well that depleated my mother's milk. So at 3 months, she could no longer breastfeed cause she had no more milk. Guess I was hungry alot! 5 years later in 1981 for my brother, Dr. Smith-Doyle Park Drive- told my mom to BF when ever he was hungry, no water!

[Jennie]

Petaluma Valley Hospital doesn't give epidurals for vaginal deliveries!!

Whoa! Really??? We were going to switch our insurance from Kaiser at the next open enrollment... but now I might have to reconsider. Because I really want that option available to me.

I had the epidural. By the time I got it, I was exhausted by not having slept in over 24 hours, and I was in sobbing hysterics from the pain. Don't know exactly how I would've pushed him out five hours later without it.

[Lynette]

Whoa! Really??? We were going to switch our insurance from Kaiser at the next open enrollment... but now I might have to reconsider. Because I really want that option available to me.

I would double check that because my old OBGYN delivered at that hospital and I remember reading a flyer that did same they used something different than the norm but that you had a button where you could increase the meds if you needed it. It said it was different in that it didn't make you numb so it reacted differently with your brain than a regular epi. Of course, this was about 3 years ago so it may have changed.

[tcolera]

:lol I love that this came back up but no one has anything to say, just votes. So fess up...who brought this back???

[Brandi]

Uhh, sorta, yes, and no

With Emily, I was on pitocin for 24 hrs, epi for the last 5, which only worked about halfway

With Damien, pitocin again, epi 6 hours in, totally worked. Good thing because he was 11lbs, 1oz.

With Cali, nothing, started labor on my own, had her 30 hrs later, though at the time I pushed her out, I was on the c-section table and they were attempting a spinal, lol.

[tcolera]

I said no...4 kids no drugs.

[juliansmom]

nope

[Brandi]

My last, no pitocin, no epi was by far my favorite labor! Pitocin is definitely an evil witch.

[Lorah]

Hahah I thought this was new....I was thinking...wow Jackie is posting something sort of random :lol

I don't know who brought it back up, but I hadn't seen it before, so I voted... Both my kids are 100% ALL NATURAL!!!! GO ME!!!! :thumb

[Stacey]

I don't know who brought it back up, but I hadn't seen it before, so I voted...

:yeah

[wyattsmama]

I said no...4 kids no drugs.

i voted after it was brought up, but no one had responded newly.

wyatt was all natural. this baby *should* be natural as well and assuming every things goes according to plan it will be.

[Brookepanda]

:lol I love that this came back up but no one has anything to say, just votes. So fess up...who brought this back???

:wave

I was bored this afternoon.....:giggle

[Brookepanda]

and FWIW I had a natural labor/delivery
but it wasn't by choice dammit all....
I wanted drugs.....it was my plan all along to get all drugged up and not feel pain....alas......I didn't get a drop of pain releif :mecry

[MamaLaura]

I went the IV route first with Lucas, then did an epidural. He was vaginal.

Kaylyn was a c-section, and I had a spinal with her.

[CrystalD]

My labor seemed like FOREVER...which I am sure everyone elses does too. Except my dear friend who had her baby in like 2.5 hours. Kayden was 9 days late and I was having contraction all week but not dialating. I went on pitocin and then had the epi about 9-10 hours later. They took the epi away gradually to help me try to push him out. No luck. They tried to re-position him and I pushed for 3 1/2 hours and no progress. I ended up having a c-section due to his head/shoulder/arm trying to get out.

[surmick]

I had a c section so Natural was not an option.

[Michelle28]

i had a vaginal delivery - water broke, no contractions - so pitocin was used and consquently i asked for an epidural when I was 5 cm dialated. Oh, I was so happy after that epidural. Loved it!!! :)

For those of you who did it natural...i'm super impressed and amazed!! you gals rock!!!

[weg'smom]

:) Epidural and happy!

[Lorah]

i had a vaginal delivery - water broke, no contractions - so pitocin was used and consquently i asked for an epidural when I was 5 cm dialated. Oh, I was so happy after that epidural. Loved it!!! :)

For those of you who did it natural...i'm super impressed and amazed!! you gals rock!!!

You know what is interesting to me... With Mav I had a fast hard labor...7 hours total from first contractions. I opted no meds with him and I'm happy about that....but becuase the pain was really bad I told myself that this time I'd try natural/no meds, but reserved the right to change my mind... well, I had braxton hicks that were actually painful from judt over a month along on...then at 32 weeks I had preterm labor, and on and off from there I had strong false labor with contrax as close as 5 minutes....and then prodromal labor the day before for sure if not a number of days beforehand...and then real labor , but early labor started and it felt basically the same, so I had grown to learn how to manage... and then since it all just gradually progressed over the next 13 hours I guess my body accepted it and it ultimately didn't hurt as bad as the first labor... With Mav I actually thought in my head Ohhh maybe I want meds....this time...nope....never even thought about it... I wasn't even totally sure I was in labor until about 30 minutes before she was born..... interesting huh...

[momtoM&D]

With Melody I tried so hard to do it naturally, but after 20 hours, pre-e, and the drs saying pitocin or c-section, I just couldn't do it anymore. It did wear off enough by the time I was fully dialated that I could sort of feel enough to push, but I couldn't move at all, which was bad when my bp and the baby's heartrate were dropping and they wanted me on my side. Melody had to spend time in the NICU, but that was most likely because of the magnesium they gave me for the pre-e, not because of the epi.

With Dorian I went into it wanting to try again to do it naturally, but knowing that after having the epi once it would be really hard to resist getting it again. I ended up having days of prodromal labor with him, most of that time pretty painful ctx, so when they finally admitted me to L&D I was ready for the epi. He ended up being born maybe 2 hours after I got it (I could tell I was in transition while I was getting it because I couldn't stop shaking!), so I always kind of wished I had stuck it out. But his delivery was perfect really, so I don't really regret it.

[Lorah]

Isn't the shaking during transition crazy! That's how I knew the second time i was in transition, that and I was crying, that's the only time I cried with Mav too...

It's also the only time I wanted an epi, never said anything about it just thought it, with Mav..and the thought never crossed my mind with Noelle ....I was in the car at the time with her so its not like I could have had anything for it anyway..and once we got out of the car I felt way better :lol

[ktjo17]

i had a vaginal delivery - water broke, no contractions - so pitocin was used and consquently i asked for an epidural when I was 5 cm dialated. Oh, I was so happy after that epidural. Loved it!!! :)

:yeah For Ben. I wanted to try and do it naturally, but the pitocin was just too much. With Henry I was induced because I was overdue, so, I asked for the epi as soon as I could have it. I am hoping to not have pitocin this time but I think I still want an epi. My doctor let me keep my epi until after delivery, I have a different doctor this time and I hope she does the same.

[4kids3dogs1cat]

well after four births, I can answer yes to all three of those choices. If I had to do it again, I preferred the shot I got, I think Fetenol? (sp?) An epidural was my least favorite and I honestly would rather do natural than do an epidural again, Although it's a moot point ;)

[lornabrown]

With baby #1 I decided that if things were progressing at a decent rate I'd consider aunatural. After 15 hours of contractions it was clear that it wouldn't be a quick delivery so I got an epidural. After 30+ hours (including almost 2 hours of pushing) ended up with a c-section.
Baby #2 was c-section. Annoying because I was a good candidate for vbac but because of stupid insurance stuff I opted for the c-section.

I really admire everyone who delivered without drugs but I also feel that thanks to science we don't have to feel that pain.

[floridamom]

Nope - had natural water births with 3 of them, but my 2nd child (my stubborn one) ended up being born a few days too early to use the birthing center and I did a natural labor in the hospital;-)

[Christyn95]

OK, i admit I had an Epi. I don't do too well with pain, so when I went from 5min apart, to 1 min apart in a matter of 10minutes (driving from RP to SR Memorial) and yelling at my husband, "what the heck (explative) did we do?? Why did we do this??? Why did you do this to me???" ....I KNEW I needed the meds. I went to the hospital around 2am, I think, and got the epi around 3, and from 3-8am I went to sleep..woke up and they said it was time to push. I pushed for 1 hour and then we welcomed Morgan! :)

I also had my leg fall off the stirrup...and also off the bed (after I got the epi)..it was pretty funny b/c I felt like I was lifting it back up..but I really wasn't (didnt realize how paralized it makes you). I also had to ask, "is that a contraction? should I push??" The only thing I felt (after the epi) was the stinging 'down there' when he was pushing through.

I commend any woman who gave birth naturally, as there is no way in the world I could do that, nor would think about it for my next one (some day). LOL