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May 2015 Moms
larissa3689
member
No pain meds. Would you do it again?
larissa3689
member
I've been on the fence my entire pregnancy about pain meds during labor. My question is for all the moms who did NOT use pain meds during labor. Would you do it the same way your 2nd time around. Why or why not. Please don't turn this into a debate about meds. I'm just looking for different experiences. Thanks!
Re: No pain meds. Would you do it again?
I had a 39-hour med-free labor with DD, including 10 hours stuck at 9 cm (the most painful part of labor), and I am planning a med-free labor again. There are a couple reasons I chose med-free. A big one is that you're suddenly hooked up to a bunch of things. An IV, a catheter, an epidural line, constant monitoring with a heart rate belt and a contraction belt, you're bed-bound, no birthing tub use, etc. Imagine the difference in experience of walking around free vs all those things on or in your body and bed-bound. Another reason I prefer med-free is because of the risks and side-effects involved with meds. You can leak spinal fluid and need additional interventions and a longer recovery, it can cause the shakes, they give you saline first and that can cause swelling, they can have difficulty placing ivs, catheters, and epidurals, labor can slow down, higher risk of c-section, and all drugs have a long list of possible risks and side effects.
Early labor (0-3 cm dilation) was not that painful. Active labor was harder (3-7 cm) but still manageable. I labored at home until I was 5 cm. Didn't know that until I got to the hospital, of course. At that point I was fine between contractions but had to stop and breathe through the minute or so of a contraction. It got increasingly more painful the closer I got to 7 cm though. It's the transition phase of labor (7-10 cm) that is really tough and you have to use your tools and really dig deep to manage. Thankfully on average that phase only lasts 1.5-3 hours. for me it was freakishly long but I was able to hang in there. Then pushing isn't as bad and is usually the quickest. About 30 mins for me. There's one part of pushing when the baby is crowning called the "ring of fire" - because that's what it feels like - but it only lasts a couple of contractions. Overall, labor is a gradual process so you have time to adjust instead of jumping straight to the hard part. And, it's amazing how much is instinctual and how inwardly focused you become.
Anyway, labor IS tough for most women. It's just a hard day or two we go through for the best reward ever. I'm a marathoner and it was definitely harder than any marathon I've run. But it wasn't the pain that was the hardest part, it was the exhaustion.
My biggest advice, no matter what you choose, is to lean in and fully participate the best you can without holding back. Resistance and hesitation and "woe is me" attitude causes unnecessary suffering. Even the wimpiest of people give birth. You can do it!
But, as someone who's seen 100s of births of all types, I'd say there are many beautiful ways to give birth to a baby and med free is just one of them. I'd also add that it's impossible to guess what a FTM's labor will be like or how she'll cope in labor until she's actually there. Preparation and desire are good indicators she will go med free, but sometimes labor takes another path.
When we got to the hospital experienced a bit of trauma and couldn't hold my baby right after delivery. There are actually a couple of reason we are doing it medicated this time.
Shortly after that the doc came in to tell me my contractions weren't getting strong enough fast enough. Because my water had been broken for so long we needed to start Pitocin to move things along. That was the worst experience of my life. The pain was so bad, I couldn't do anything but lay there and yell through each contraction. But it got the job done.
I am hoping and praying to have better luck this time. Hoping contractions will start before my water breaks. Hoping the epidural will go in successfully - I've been stretching my back!