Medicated Birth

klj0228

Are you interested in a medicated birth? Did you have an unmedicated birth previously and want a medicated one now? What types of meds did you get in past births and what were the effects of them? 

knitknitread

I am keeping my options open on having another medicated birth. Especially if labor is similar to last time. I was in labor for roughly 6 hours total and I basically had a 6 hour contraction. Also, back labor is some intense shit. General disclaimer that I pretty much blacked out from the onset of labor until I got an epidural.

I had IV pain meds and an epidural. I would rather not have IV pain meds again. I think they contributed partially to a few issues that DD had and they shouldn't have been given to me so close to delivery (if they had known that she would be born in that 4 hour window, 20/20 hindsight). Plus, I still remember being in pain with them. (ETA- I pulled out my medical records from DD's birth. The drug they gave me was Stadol)

I'll probably ask for an epidural again. It allowed me to be lucid enough to push. I didn't have any side effects. I had a generally good experience with the epidural portion of my labor. It helped me actually be able to do what I needed to do. (ETA- I pushed for 8 minutes) 

I really don't have a lot of expectations for labor this time except that DH is present (he was across the country for a mandatory class for DD).

smsaulino

I'll definitely be having an epidural. 

jhjocelyn

I’m def planning on pain meds, and starting w as little as I can tolerate. With Dd I had a shot in the arm of nubain, and it got me through everything very nicely. 

I really can’t complain, dd was an easy birth her chaos came after. I went in hoping for as little intervention as possible, and convinced labor would be less than 6 hrs tops since every woman on my mom’s side had been 4 hrs or less. 

At the 6hr mark I was only 6cm, knowing that there is a way to labor w o pain and choosing pain was beyond me by that point. So I told DH to pick what kind of pain relief to get, because I didn’t trust my own judgment. He chose the nubain, and within 2 hrs I was fully dilated and ready, my water hadn’t broken yet so the dr broke it when he checked and found me ready. 45 min of pushing and it was over, a small tear but he didn’t even bother to put a stitch in. 

This isn’t to brag, just to remind us good labors do happen too! I was 12 hrs from check in to birth. The hospital is super pro-bonding so dd didn’t get weighed until like 6 hrs later, didn’t get a bath till halfway thru the next day, never left the room until the discharge check up and even them daddy went w her. 

This time around I know more what I could do... like move around, I hated moving. They kept telling me it would speed things along, I had
no interest in bringing on more pain, faster. I tried the tub w jets and also hated it. Finally after the nubain I sat on the bed, and leaned forward hugging the birthing ball, that was perfect. So essentially, fetal position, not stretched out. Which is 100% my mo in general. Now I know, maybe sitting up in the tub would feel good, or bringing an inflatable ball to hug in there. Staying upright but still curled up was just comforting to me. That or it
was the drugs...

Also, I wish someone had told me that there is more pushing after the head and shoulders! I kept thinking one more and it’d be done and it kept foing.

ashh2018

I actually just posted in the unmediated thread as well. I had originally thought I wanted unmedicated, but I have severe anxiety and I’m terrified of pain, especially in medical situations. I really think my best bet would be to make sure I’m calmed as much as possible. I’m concerned about having an anxiety attack during birth and not being in control of my body, and the effect this could have on baby. If I can’t breath/hear/see/focus properly I fear that things won’t go well.  Does anyone have experience with anxiety attacks during birth? 

nlc8424

So I actually was induced due to high blood pressure, but I'm fairly sure that the high blood pressure was due to anxiety over my appointments and anticipating it would be high. 

In any case, from start to finish labor was like 8ish hours but not all active. I was a couple centimeters dilated and partially effaced with baby in good position and my OB assured me that things looked favorable for a vaginal delivery vs a C-section which is what I was the most afraid of. I went to the hospital and my OB broke my water. Some light contractions started, but the monitor wasn't picking up on them very well. I walked for a bit, I bounced on a birthing ball for a bit. Made a little progress and then contractions started to pick up. They wanted to add pitocin, which I only agreed to after agreeing to an epidural. 

My anesthesiologist was fantastic and placed my epidural perfectly and I felt just enough of the pressure and nothing else. I could move my legs some. Once I got the epidural they started some light pitocin and I went from 5-10 cm in like an hour. Then I labored down for a while which was really helpful since I didn't feel all of the pressure. I pushed for 30-45 minutes and he was out! I did have an episiotomy and 2nd degree years and a lot of stitches. I got to hold him initially but then they cleaned up him, got height and weight, all of the standard stuff and gave him back to me. We attempted breastfeeding and then they gave him a bath. I was up on my feet less than an hour after delivery which I was told was really great for having an epidural. All in all I had a great experience with my medicated birth.

If everything looks favorable again for this one, I'll probably go the same route. I will say that the hospital I deliver at is a bit outdated and very small, so they may not be as on board with delayed cord clamping and extended skin to skin right after birth, et. But they have great staff, all private rooms. My other options are both 30 minutes away and I'm not crazy about that kind of distance personally. 

klj0228

@jhjocelyn I have never heard of the nubain. I think I will write that down. If possible I would like to be as lightly medicated as possible, but I also don’t want to be in extreme pain. To me the stress of that along with my tendency to have high BP when stressed would be worse for baby. 

knitknitread

Ok, I'm feeling like I was probably more straight forward than I should have been and if I've made anyone afraid, I'm sorry. Not my intention, I've sort of detached myself from most of my birth experience.

@ashh2018 I've heard great things about a Hypnobirthing book (I'll have to ask my friend from DD's bmb for the exact book) and Ina May Gaskin's books for helping reduce birth anxiety.

jhjocelyn

@klj0228 I was super nervous about being hooked up to an iv and unable to move freely, so a shot in the arm was perfect. They told me most women say it makes them feel kind of drunk, which takes the edge off. I figured I’m usually a happy or sleepy drunk so it was worth a try. I remember sleeping and having dreams between contractions that were only one minute apart, and just blocking everything out to rest. ...it was just enough to relax me and let things get going. 


Also,  I could very well be spelling the name wrong.

jhjocelyn

Random food for thought. My childhood bff’s mother has had 11 singleton births over the last  30 years. As you can imagine, she’s pretty much done it every which way. Her first was a c-section, her last was with an epidural. I kinda figure if an expert in the process chooses an epidural(which I believe she did for many of them), there’s definite value in not ruling it out. She knows what she’s doing and doesn’t bother going thru the agonizing pain. Makes me feel better about choosing meds when I need them. 

nackie

I had an epidural with my first and it ended up being a pretty traumatic experience (so bad that DH is pushing for me to get a c section this time). The details are in the unmedicated thread. I think the epidural had a lot to do with some of my problems so I’m really not excited about the prospect of doing that again. I’m interested in other option but don’t really know what they are or if my hospitals offers them. I’d love something to take the edge off the pain though. The only options my childbirth class discussed were completely med free or epidural. 

southernlady07

I had an epidural with my first and 100% plan to do it again. It helped me to sleep for a few hours and had worn off enough when it was time to push so I could feel my contractions. My DD came out crying and not lethargic at all. I didn’t love being hooked up to the IV for so long though. I’m delivering #2 at the same hospital and hoping to have a positive experience this time around too! 

mrsman2018

My first I had a CS and I am undecided on another or a VBAC, as my OB will let me decide. I haven't seen any threads about VBACS yet (unless I missed one), but maybe closer to our due dates. If I choose VBAC, I will get an epidural. 

born2run911

@Jocelyn0415 your birth story sounds very similar to my first as well. Just one long ass contraction with no relief in between and absolutely not wanting to get out of bed to speed things up and make the pain worse. I had to be convinced HARD to try the tub. I didn’t mind it for a few minutes but the thought of getting up just to get into the tub was horrendous. So many people are pro wanting to be up and about during labour, but when that shit gets hard I want to curl up in the fetal position and die without anyone trying to convince me otherwise. 

@nackie talk to your OB about med options. There are many other options than an epidural like Nitrous Oxide and IV meds. An epidural sounds very tempting and I wish my hospital did it. I truly feel like I’ve proved to myself I can do it unmedicated so give me ALL the drugs this time! 

franklynns

I had an epidural after about 5 hours of labor when I was 5cm. It worked well for me and I was able to lay comfortably for some time. The epidural wore off about 6 hours later so they had to give me more. Then it wore off again about 3 hours later while I was pushing. I tried but I was in too much pain with contractions and back labor so they gave me another boost of epidural.I was then able to push for about 25 minutes and had my son. A total of 15 hours of labor and I had the epidural and zofran. I have horrible anxiety when it comes to vomiting which can be common during labor so so grab was part of my birthing plan. Since everything went pretty smoothly last time I'm very anxious it will not be so easy this time!

Jyoung327

I had mild contractions all day before my water broke at home. Nearly immediately my seemingly death defying contractions started and I lasted several hours in triage at the hospital before the anesthesiologist could get to me. As soon as it was in I was in heaven. I had no complications (except, he missed at first and had to do 2 attempts) and my 13 hours before ds was born were very calm.  A few hours after he was born I was up and able to go to the bathroom with help. If I'm able to do vaginal I will most definitely do an epidural again, but being twins it's kinda not up to me. I am much more nervous about a csection even though I've had a few surgery procedures where I've been put under (the awake part freaks me out).

jumpy57

This is very similar to what I posted in the unmedicated thread...

Book recommendation: birth Skills by Juju Sundin

I planned on birthing unmedicated even though I was induced (1 week after due date). I actually didn't feel any contractions until after my water broke (not typical and Dr said it might be different this time). After my water broke contractions started building so I walked, sat in the shower, and tried to move around. Then they contractions were very strong and unpredictable and I called for an epidural. 

Placing the epidural was fine and since I was hurting from contractions I didn't mind it. It wasn't working well on both sides so the nurse had me move around and then they called the anesthesiologists (who by the way was delightful wich helped me relax) to adjust the dose. Eventually we got it working. It felt like my legs were asleep and it was just a weird feeling. I could also feel some pressure during contractions like my belly was a balloon, no pain though.

Because I had an epidural I was able to take a nap and because I think I labored for awhile when the nurse came to check on me before starting pitocin I was already dilated 9cm. I didn't need pitocin and since I could feel when contractions were happening I could time my pushes and everything went well. 

I do plan on trying unmedicated again but I'm open to another epidural if it gets to be too much. Hopefully I won't need to be induced this time as I think that had a lot to do with the crazy contractions.

jumpy57

Oh as far as med types. My doctor advised against pain medication because it typically makes people woozy and she said I wouldn't be allowed to get out of bed while on it (which is why I was asking). I don't think laughing gas was an option at the hospital. Definitely discuss the pros and cons of different options with your doctor ahead of time.

Wishilivedinflorida

I was induced and was planning med free and almost made it. Almost. 

I only had pitocin because I was dilated 3 cm for a while at my checkups. But despite walking halls, bouncing on the ball, and doing all kinds of movement, I only dilated to 4 cm in the next 5 hours. They jacked the pitocin to max dose and I wasn’t getting any breaks in between contractions. Plus, I was having horrible back labor. I got an IV push dose of fentanyl, which did nothing. Then, when I caved and asked for the epi, which took some time to get placed. It was only half effective on my left side, and totally effective on my right. And suddenly, a half hour later, I was fully dilated!

I believe either I was in transition when I asked for the epi and didn’t know it, or the epi is exactly what I needed to relax and not fight the contractions. Either way, I don’t regret my decision. I will try med-free again this time and hope I don’t need another induction, but I will ask for an epi again if I need it.  All in all, I had the epi in for around an hour and a half, and was up walking pretty quickly after skin-to-skin, so it wasn’t too bad. 

AdmiralKitty

I had a really great medicated birth experience with my son and will probably do the same this time around. I had been having contractions nightly for almost a week before sh** got real. It was around midnight when they kicked in 1-1.5min long and 2-3min apart. I hadn't slept at all and was so miserable when I got to the hospital around 1:45am. I asked for an epidural purely so I could try and sleep a little before having to push. I was 4cm when I was admitted, got my epi around 3am and slept a little from then until 5:30am. It made the contractions manageable, despite being 1-2min apart at that point and 1-2min long, and I still had feeling in my legs below the knee so I could easily move in bed to get comfortable. When they checked me around 5:30 I was 9cm and ready to push by 6am. The nurses asked me if I wanted to get another hit on the epidural before I started pushing but I liked that I could still feel my contractions so I opted to just keep going even though things were wearing off. I pushed for an hour and had a second degree tear with my 9lb2oz son, had a serious amount of bleeding right after he was born that the OB had to work very hard to stop but still felt like the pain was there but manageable the entire time. I was up and going to the bathroom within 2 hours after. 

I'm hoping for a daytime labor and birth this next time simply so I'm not so exhausted through it all, but otherwise would be thrilled for a similar story. I didn't have a plan last time, wanted to keep all my options open, and will do the same this time. I'd love to go longer without the epidural, but considering that my labor was only 7 hours for my first kid, I have a feeling I'm going to have to make quick decisions for the second. 

chillmama1518

So I did not have an epidural last time, and in theory don’t want to this time (I’m afraid of the giant needle and don’t really react well to anesthesia) but I certainly was thankful for other medications during my sons birth! 
I had to be induced (ugggghhhh I hope for not having to be this time), induction was because there was meconium when my water broke and then no progress whatsoever (they wanted him born within 18 hours or they’d c-section). 
I had an IM shot of morphine a couple hours after induction when contractions were really starting to HURT and then asked for pushes of fentanyl as often as I was allowed (every hour? Half an hour? Can’t remember) until I had progressed as far as they’d give it. I really did feel it helped a TON with the pain, until it started to wear off, and it didn’t make me too goofy (the first shot of morphine made me a bit giggly but not much beyond that) They also gave me the gas but I don’t feel it did ANYTHING besides make me feel like I was hyperventilating. Near the end I told my nurse I changed my mind and wanted the epidural but she informed me that I probably only wanted it because I was in transition and at the worst part and it was too late. I’m glad I didn’t get it in the end, it was all over pretty quick after that. 
Long story short: I don’t want an epidural if I can help it, but, give me all the other drugs! 

stothi

So, I was induced due to severe pre-eclampsia. Technically my blood pressure was in the range they consider actually eclamptic.
I was on magnesium for my blood pressure and then pictocin and whatever all they shoved up my hoo-ha.
I was never offered anything but the epidural. Like the nurses wouldn't even discuss other options with me. Does anyone know if the other medications are bad for you if you are on magnesium or have high blood pressure? Like is there a good medical reason I wasn't given options?
P.S. the epidural totally didn't work for me. From the time they started the induction until my son was born was roughly 45 hours and it was hell.

dexnie

At this point I’m not set on anything, but I think I want an epidural without any opioids. I know from prior surgeries that I don’t tolerate opioids well (nausea, vomiting, migraines) and definitely don’t want to deal with that while laboring. The only thing I’ve read though is that combining opioids with local anesthetic (epidural) reduces the amount of local anesthetic you need and thus potential complications. I don’t know what complications though - stalled labor?  Low BP? Something else? 

Wishilivedinflorida

@stothi If you were ecclamptic, my guess would be besides the mag, they didn’t want to give you much else that could make your mental status foggy in case you developed seizures. Just my educated non-OB healthcare team guess. 

nackie

@stothi I didn’t have any kind of eclampsia issues and epidural was the only thing ever offered to me either in the hospital or in my childbirth class that was supposed to cover all our options. It seems like some hospitals really push the epidural over all else. I’m going to have to start pushing to see what my other options really are since the epidural did not work well for me either. 

Lcardinal04

I had an epidural did DD and plan to again with this little one.

I start labour around 10 pm at night and it was bad hip labor from the beginning. I labored at home till 3 pm the next day, and when we finally got a room and I got check I had dilated to 6 cm. So I got my epidural around 5pm. It hurt going in but besides that I had no side affects. It allowed me to sleep a bit as I was exhausted. I pushed for four hours and finally ended up with the option of c section or foreceps (DD was no longer tolerating contractions). We chose foreceps and DD came out after about 30 minutes of that. 

jjess1201

For DS I went into labor with an open mind regarding meds and I will this time as well. I wanted to try to hold off as long as possible but was open to an epidural if I needed it. I had to be induced due to pre-e and that went very slowly. I was admitted on a Sunday night and did not go into active labor until Tuesday night. I was exhausted and discouraged by Tuesday because I had to stay in bed the entire time because they wanted to constantly monitor the baby and my BP so I was wired to the bed! I think I could have stuck it out without an epidural had i not been exhausted and emotional. I got an epidural several hours after contractions started and it went so smooth, I would totally do it again! I was nervous about getting it but I totally did not feel anything when they put it in and it worked like a charm! I was able to sleep all night (minus them checking on me every hour) and then at 6am they woke me up, told me it was time to push and he was born 13 minutes later! I was on magnesium for my BP so he (and I) were very groggy for the next 24 hours (but there was nothing I could do about it, I needed the magnesium) but it all worked out in the end. Based on my experience, I would totally do another epidural.

MandyMost

I HATED my epidural experience. Getting the big needle in my back wasn't actually that bad. But the loss of feeling in my legs, and not be able to move, was just so, so, so terrible. It had me so freaked out. I'm not sure if I'll do an epidural again, because it was just so traumatic for me, that feeling. But I definitely want medications!

Actually, I'm really hoping that i go into labor naturally ahead of my due date, get whatever drugs I can, and have a VBAC; otherwise they may try to induce (last time I had an induction, then failure to progress which ended in a c-section). If I have risk factors I may end up with a scheduled c-section.

klj0228

This is my first, but I am hoping to labor at home as long as possible. I would like to go unmedicated for a while too, but I am so very open to medicine and reducing the amount of pain I am having. I really appreciate reading what others have gone through with their meds in the past so I know what type of questions to ask and what options I have. 

nlc8424

Just wanted to mention since I forgot earlier, my hospital did have stadol available. The nurse told me that I could certainly get that instead of an epidural, but I was limited to two doses and there was no guarantee that it would last/be effective when I would want it to. This could be because I was induced and they didn't know how quickly I would progress and/or how long I would have to push for, but those factors definitely influenced my decision for an epidural.

DanyTargaryen

I'm hoping to go unmedicated this time, but since I had an epidural with my first I thought I would mention my experience with it here in case it helps anyone.

They placed my epidural with an initial dose. I was given a button that I was allowed to hit every 15 minutes to give me another dose and I ended up hitting it twice, both before 1am (DS was born just before 9am). I couldn't get out of bed, but I could feel and move my legs. It was really nice not being completely numb but at the same time I wasn't feeling any pain from the contractions.

I don't know if this is a common approach to setting up an epidural, but this seems to be the standard approach at my hospital and I figured it was worth sharing in case it is an option at other hospitals.

chicandbubbly

This thread is so great! I have been thinking about this a bit... my first birth I was induced (pitocin) but it was really quick- 3 hours. I didn't have an epidural... I started begging for one when my sons head was coming out LOL and they were like honey it's a little late for that!!

I did have some sort of pain med and it made me feel awful- I felt so out of it so I won't be having that again. I am just debating about skipping the epidural again- I feel like since I did it once I can do it again but also I am not opposed to having it if my labor is way longer or more difficult this time around. I am kind of planning on playing it by ear.

Can anyone that had an epidural answer about how restricted you were in terms of movement during labor? Can you move around at all? Also- I have heard some people get really bad headaches from it?- I suffer from chronic headaches so this is kind of a fear of mine!

knitknitread

@chicandbubbly I wasn't allowed to get out of bed by myself for a few hours afterward. They had a nurse help me to a wheelchair.

I don't know about being allowed to lay on your side but I don't see how it would be an issue? (Eta- I couldn't lay on my side because of issues it caused for DD's cord even before the epidural was placed. So I have no idea if they would have let me lay on my side or not.)

They pretty much didn't want me to be in any position that relied on my legs after the epidural.

yogapants247

I had an epidural with my first birth and it worked great, zero lasting issues and it didn't stall labor. I have only good feelings/memories of that birth experience and I don't want to mess with what works!

pourmeanothermocktail

Just wanted to let everyone who is planning on meds know, sometimes your epidural or spinal doesn't work, or only works on one side, or partially numbs. In my case I had a spinal that totally failed. So even if you plan for meds (which is an absolutely fine option!) you may want to do some prep work for in case baby comes too quickly or the meds don't do their job. Back up plans are so helpful for everyone's birth plan!

sarah-ruby-21

All women are different. No two women's labor experiences are ever the same, in my opinion. 

I went medication-free the first time. Love the tub and shower, and prenatal yoga was majorly helpful. I listened to meditation music too. I made it to 7-8 cm (and it really wasn't too bad), but they gave me pitocin when my contractions stalled to "help me push." Huge mistake. It made my contractions unbearable with no breaks. Then this news: My son was sunny side up and stuck. After 3+ hours of pushing, I begged for a csection. 

So two years later, I tried for a VBAC. I got the epidural at 6 cm and things were going well.  When it was time to push, I had horrible back labor tho. I thought the epidural  would numb me, but I could still kneel and stand up and I had to push a button every 2-3 minutes to get a "dose" of meds. Two hours of painful pushing and zero progress. I had a csection. The doc said the cord was wrapped around my DD's neck and that stopped her from moving down.

I have the worst luck.

I am leaning toward scheduling a csection even though I would love to try again. 

jumpy57

@chicandbubbly with my epidural I couldn't move my legs, the nurse did help me get positioned on my side for awhile with a weird shaped ball for leg support. I wasn't allowed to sit up (slight incline was ok) because it would made the medicine pool funny I guess

Car0liiine

@chicandbubbly My anesthesiologist did a good job and I was able to move my legs and feel some sensations like pressure and I could tell at one point that one leg had fallen asleep. I labored with a peanut between each of hour of pushing (3 hrs of pushing.) I was able to roll myself to switch from side to side while using the peanut. I may have had a little help just because my legs were clumsy, but I could move them.
Sidenote, baby was stuck because I had hypertrophic pelvic floor muscles that made a tight ring in my vagina that baby couldn't get through. Otherwise I probably would've had her out in a few pushes my labor went so fast before pushing. But we ended up with a forceps delivery which worked in a couple of pushes.

NinnyJean

I was induced due to severe pre-eclampsia and when labor finally started I got the nubane shot which made me feel a little wine drunk. I got up to 8cm with just that and then just needed sleep, my water broke as I was falling asleep so had been awake for a log time, so got the epidural. I had been really against an epidural but the need for sleep won. I was still able to get on my knees at times and then ended up needing a c section so would have ended up with it anyway 

natalie115

I had an epidural with both my kids and they were great. I definitely plan on getting on with this baby. I do labor for as long as I can without so as not to stall progress, but end game is an epi. With my son I was having regular, strong contractions for over 24 hours before I got it and by that time I was so exhausted I just needed to sleep some.

iba34

@chicandbubbly Regarding your concern about headaches, my understanding is that the headache that some people get from an epidural or spinal happens when the anesthesiologist accidentally punctures the membrane around the spinal cord. Given that cause, I don't think that having chronic headaches should make you any more likely to experience this. But I'm not a medical professional, so I would ask your doctor.