pain medication during labor

This is a very broad question and I know that everybody has such different advice and experiences.

I am taking a childbirth course, I just haven't decided which and am waiting to talk to my doctor and get more information. But in the meantime, I am looking for BTDT experience, or anything anybody has read, researched, etc. on pain medication during labor. Of course, I am hoping to do this as naturally as possible and I get so confused with all the options that may be available to me if things get too hard to bear. Which I completely expect that they may.

My friend having a baby is telling me she is getting an epidural right off the bat. Is that normal practice? And what are the effects of demorall...etc., Any advice or experience would be great and please I am not trying to judge anybody's personal choices! Just looking for some info to help form my own!

I HIGHLY recommend the Hypnobirthing classes Jenny. I cannot tell you how calm and confident those classes have made me. And they do NOT say 'no drugs' but rather 'make informed decisions about the drugs'. Epidurals can slow your labor and all women should be aware of that.

I think going in with the idea that you will need a drug just renforces our belief that labor/delivery must be difficult and painful even though it is a very natural process and doesn't have to be awful. You are almost conditioning yourself to be in pain before you even are- if that makes any sense.

I am a strong believer that labor should not be a painful experience. Yes, it is natural and women have been doing it forever without meds, but if the option is there to take the edge off so you can relax then I say go for it. Seriously, it may sound trite, but labor and delivery are not a walk in the park - yes, relaxation techniques can work for sure to make the process easier but it's going to hurt like hell. Period. Some people can deal with that, some can't. I can't- I hate pain, it makes me anxious and miserable and witchy. I will have an epidural to help me get through it and I don't feel like that makes my labor less natural than someone elses.

As for specific choices, have you looked in What to Expect... ? Some docs won't give epidurals until you are more than 4 cm b/c of the thought that it might slow labor- but that doesn't happen in every case and I don't know of any studies on the subject. Epidurals can be adjusted to be stronger or lighter depending on what you want from them- you can even walk around with an epidural. Demerol is sometimes used in the beginning before an epidural to take the edge off as labor is beginning. It can make you sleepy but is safe for the baby.

I just erased what I wrote because I don't want to get anyone mad at me... (I don't want to scare anyone)

I will say that for me, the epidural sped things along because it allowed me to relax. It took me almost 3 days to dilate to 5 cm, and once I got the epi, I was at 10 cm within no time.

I think it is great to research all of your options, however, once you are actually in labor, it is a completely different ball game. JMO.

Edited to add: I completely agree with you Jessica!

I also want to add - that slowing the labor down a bit is not always a bad thing. In most cases, once you are IN labor, everything changes.

In my own experience, I had been awake since 2AM with contractions....granted, they were not miserably painful to start, but I was still awake and anxious that my baby was coming soon! That said, I labored at home until 12 HOURS later! By the time I got to the hospital and was given the epidural, I was completely exhausted and damn thankful to get some rest (the epidural allowed that)! At that point, I was so tired, I did not care one bit if the labor slowed up! Little did I know that it was going to take me FOUR HOURS (and ALL the spare energy I had) to push Paul out b/c he was slightly turned in the birth canal.

So, don't assume that having an epidural slow your labor is necessarily a BAD thing. JMO.

Again, this was a very personal thing as each of us deals with pain differently but in my case I did not want to take any narcotics, i.e Demoral, etc. I was completely against it.

I started labor at 2:00AM, went to the hospital at 6:00AM and had an epidural at around 11:00AM, and gave birth at 2:04PM. I was wonderful, the labor pains never got too bad and when I started feeling I couldn't handle it any more because I was just plain exhausted I had the epidural, slept for two hours, they woke me and said it was time to push because I was 10cm!!

Good luck in whatever you decide!

Chris

Claud, I'm surprised they let you push for 4 hours! Usually 2 hours is the limit. What a trooper!

I had decided that I wanted an epi right off the bat. Keep in mind that I missed one class of my Lamze and it was the epi class. (I should have known then.) I never read up on an epi, so I was without any info.
NOT THE WAY TOO GO!! GET ALL THE INFO YOU CAN ON THE PROCEDURE!!!

Not going to tell my story, I dont want to part of the pregnancy police brigade.

But I will never have an epi again. Had I done my research it may have been worth it for me.

The epi I had had absolutley no effect on my labor,in terms of slowing it down or speeding it up but I was induced. It's different for every woman I'm sure.

My opinion is to keep your options open. You have no idea how you are going to react to the whole thing. You'd be surpised how you handle it all once your in the moment.
but you may get your first contraction and be all about an epi. Wait and see. Go in informed and take it as it comes.

I dont think the one way is better than another. Just do what you need to to make it through. I agree with the suggestions here. Look into alternative ways to handle it, (Hypnobirthing, etc..) and then if all else fails get your epi.

My aunt had Stadol, with her first, she had her fifth just a few months after my son was born. So I would call her to ask her all kinds of questions, being the expert that she was.
She made me promise on my eyes that I would not get Stadol. She said it was horrible. She said that it made her sleepy and ill, sweaty, and she had a very low ability to comprehend anything the docters were saying to her. She said that after her son was born she asked if she really had to hold him cause she was so tired!! (According to her Doc and Husband)

My nieghbor also had Stadol, put it this way she reacted so badly that they she almost did not live to see her son. But they had no way to predict that. She is fine and with her 2nd she skipped the Stadol, and went right to the epi. She says it was the best thing since sliced bread!!

My coworker had Stadol, she had no problems whatsoever with it. No reaction, but it took the edge off. So who knows.

Several of my friends had demerol, they said it made them really wacky, sleepy and foggy. They dont remeber the details of the experience.

But again each person is different. I would say tak to your OB and get there perspective.


I just wanted to add find out your hospitals procedures. My hospital did not allow you to walk once you were given an epidural of any kind!!

Also pain is relative. My mother was in labor for 28 hours From the time her water broke til my brother made his first cry. She had no pain meds at all. NOTHING!! She says it was like a case of bad cramps,she said it was annoying like a headache that lingers but she would not describe it as painful. (Yeah I never really like her much either!! LOL)
So you dont know how labor is going to feel to your body til ya get there. Giving birth is not painful for everyone. Who knows maybe you'll get lucky!! LOL!!

I really appreciate your responses. Just to clear one thing up - in no way do I think that one process is more 'natural' than the other. I mean...it's NATURAL to be pregnant and give birth - the rest is all frosting!

Thank you for your honest experiences. Michele, I am going to be looking into hypnobirthing as well as Lamaze and Bradley Method. I have yet to speak to my doctor about the options available through their office as opposed to the ones offered through the hospital.

Thank you all again!

I was thinking about this too. Since I am deathly afraid of needles, I am going to do whatever I can to avoid the old needle in the back. Actually my dear Vin got to experience this during a surgery… so he’s really understanding about wanting to do whatever possible to avoid it.

But then again, who knows how we’re going to react to such a painful situation?!

I never, ever think that one method of birth or taking meds make any women's birth more or less natural. Even my midwife says 'There are NO prizes given out ' - meaning each individual should make the decision for themselves and often circumstances ditates those decisions.
All I am saying is that if you go in with a 'this is going to hurt and I am afraid' then you WILL be. But if you try to atleast go into the whole process with a bit of a more 'positive' attitude (for lack of a better term) then you might just have a more positive experience.

I have a friend who prayed for a c-section- literally. She didn't want to ever do the whole labor thing. I pray my baby turns because a c-section is the worst thought in the World to me. It scares me to dealth and I will do whatever I must to avoid it. We both just want a different experience.

I am NOT against meds at all. I am NOT against doctors. I am having a hospital birth because I believe in those options. And yes, epidurals do help a lot of women every day so that is a great thing. I am just saying what works out great for one women, might not be the chose for every women. So make your own informed decisions and don't let the 'scary' labor stories scary you into thinking that your own labor will be 'awful'

they should give out prizes. that would be better. like a watch or maybe tickets to a show. something like that.

i know the baby is a prize, but a little something extra like a facial would be nice too.

I DEFINITELY agree - don't let labor horror stories scare you!! I'm sure everyone who is preggo has had friends, family, acquaintances, strangers ever so kindly feel the need to share their horror stories but I can tell you that you can have a very nice experience. I did. Everyone's experience is different and for God's sake - dont watch the show Maternity Ward, they show alot of extreme cases and you don't always know what kind of prenatal care they've had on that show.

ETA: To add onto what BriarRose wrote, I was not allowed to walk after my epi either. I was surprised bc my labor class teacher (who was a maternity ward nurse at the same hospital) said that I would get a walking epidural. It ultimately didnt matter for me bc it moved along pretty quickly but that was one surprise I had. So I'd inquire about that if you are considering an epi.