Epidural not an option,need a little encouragement

[staciababy]

Hi there!

        My husband and I will be TTC in Febuary.I have a past history of blood clots due to trauma, and will not be able to get an epidural because I will be on blood thinners. A little background: I am a registered nurse, and I work in labor and delivery. I am a breastfeeding advocate, and do not want a huge amount of IV drugs on board, I don't want my baby so sleepy that she can't nurse. I have two previous children, and had an epidural with both, which I loved, and if I could, I would absolutly get it with our future baby. What I need is the most effective method of pain relief possible that does not involve drugs. I would like some feedback in the form of  A) What methods were tried during labor, and B) thier effectiveness on a one to ten scale, ten being the best pain relief possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jdhshamoo]

 There is nothing that will completley take the pain away. With that being said I feel that sitting in a warm bath and counter pressue are the two things that help the most. Good luck!

[Lynette]

I had epi's w/ my first 2 children.  but for my 3rd I did hypnobabies (google it) it was amazing!!!

[dc2chik]

Freedom of movement for me was about a 7.  Nothing was more painful than lying in the bed.  Swaying my hips really helped.

Accupressure was also fantastic and I would rate it a 6.

I had the epi with our first after many hours of pit and would never ever do that again.  After that experience I didn't even consider my natural childbirth (in a hospital, no less) to be particularly painful  :)

[UCMamaMandy]

I had an epidural with my first that didn't work :o/  With my second I gave birth at home, so obviously no pain meds, and there was very minimal discomfort.  What worked for me to reduce any discomfort was walking, bouncing on my birthing ball, visualization of the contractions swelling and ending, and swaying my hips.  I also believe that birth doesn't have to be painful.  Read "Childbirth Without Fear" by Grantly Dick-Read, he talks about how our fear of pain is what causes it in most cases.  It's a wonderfull book, and it really helped me prepare for an all natural birth.

[KaRaBaSsEtT]

I had all 3 of mine without an epidural (that scares me more then the labor!)  Aand I think the thing that helped the most was the jaccuzi tub!   I was still in alot of pain but I could tell there was a huge difference being in there :)

[kaysun]

I don't believe in pain meds ect. But i also would not put much stock in a book a man wrote-how can he judge when he has never been in this positions. It like kicking him in the balls and saying the pain you feel is just in your mind-its hyped up from the medias ect. Pressure and pain can go hand in hand. I had 3 natural child births two at home-no pain meds but moving around different positions is the best for you and sorry but it can be painful- I had 10# babies and they were posterior until the end. plus the burning from the stretching I surely did not imagine that. But with that being said it can be managed without pain meds-also look into soothing sites (focal point) and sound and smells to help relax and clam you, during labor. Hot water also works wonders!!!

Quoting UCMamaMandy:

I had an epidural with my first that didn't work :o/  With my second I gave birth at home, so obviously no pain meds, and there was very minimal discomfort.  What worked for me to reduce any discomfort was walking, bouncing on my birthing ball, visualization of the contractions swelling and ending, and swaying my hips.  I also believe that birth doesn't have to be painful.  Read "Childbirth Without Fear" by Grantly Dick-Read, he talks about how our fear of pain is what causes it in most cases.  It's a wonderfull book, and it really helped me prepare for an all natural birth.

 

[UCMamaMandy]

Don't knock the book until you've read it ;o)  Just because the author is a man doesn't mean that he's ignorant about how a laboring woman's body works.  He goes into great detail about the different reasons for pain during childbirth, posterior baby being one of them.  And not to be rude, but childbirth and getting kicked in the balls are two entirely different things.  Pain is our body's way of telling us there is something wrong, and being in labor and having contractions is not something that's wrong with a woman.  He covers the topic of pain because there is something wrong (like getting kicked or tearing) vs. pain caused by the fight or flight response from being scared of labor.  In a nutshell, you get scared that labor is going to hurt, your fight or flight reflex kicks in, causing the blood to rush to the body parts essential for fighting or running (arms and legs) and away from the body parts that are not essential for fighting or running, including your uterus.  When there is not an adequate blood supply to the uterus, it doesn't function to the best of it's ability, and therefore contractions become painful.  It's actually a quite simple concept, and I know several women who have had not only pain-free, but pleasurable, orgasmic births because they were not afraid of birth, unlike most women (and men) in our culture.  Like I said, it's true that there are reasons for pain during birth besides fear, but they are not the majority.

Quoting kaysun:

I don't believe in pain meds ect. But i also would not put much stock in a book a man wrote-how can he judge when he has never been in this positions. It like kicking him in the balls and saying the pain you feel is just in your mind-its hyped up from the medias ect. Pressure and pain can go hand in hand. I had 3 natural child births two at home-no pain meds but moving around different positions is the best for you and sorry but it can be painful- I had 10# babies and they were posterior until the end. plus the burning from the stretching I surely did not imagine that. But with that being said it can be managed without pain meds-also look into soothing sites (focal point) and sound and smells to help relax and clam you, during labor. Hot water also works wonders!!!

Quoting UCMamaMandy:

I had an epidural with my first that didn't work :o/  With my second I gave birth at home, so obviously no pain meds, and there was very minimal discomfort.  What worked for me to reduce any discomfort was walking, bouncing on my birthing ball, visualization of the contractions swelling and ending, and swaying my hips.  I also believe that birth doesn't have to be painful.  Read "Childbirth Without Fear" by Grantly Dick-Read, he talks about how our fear of pain is what causes it in most cases.  It's a wonderfull book, and it really helped me prepare for an all natural birth.

[Bmomma2]

I gave birth to my 9 pound baby girl after a 13 hour labor with a 2 hour transition period.  I had no medication at all during my labor.  You can do it.  Your body has a natural way of getting through the pain.  I used movement, a hot bath, a yoga ball, and my husband applied counter pressure to my lower back.  I also used relaxation techniques.  I made a soothing soundtrack and kept the room dark and quiet.  I cannot stress to you enough that educating yourself is the key here.  I am an RT who has worked in the NICU for years.  You need to put your medical knowledge aside and open your mind a little.  I strongly recommend taking a Bradley or Hypnobabies class.  You must read Birthing from Within.  I wouldn't do it without a doula.  These are tools for success and believe me when you are in labor you are going to be happy you have all these tools especially the knowledge about NATURAL childbirth.  It really is not that bad.  Consider a midwife rather then an OB.  They are more in tune to helping a woman labor naturally and safety.  OB's are more in tuned to rushing things and not getting sued (not all I'm sure, but most of the ones I've met fit the generalization). 

[mostlymaydays]

I've had all 4 of my babies with no pain meds. My first 3 babies were fairly quick (under 4 hours) so progressing steadily encouraged me greatly. But the ONLY thing I would say was of any help for pain was the labor tub. With my last baby, I was stalled at 5 cm for over 4 hours, contractions one on top of the other. I got in the tub, felt SO MUCH BETTER and actually thought I was probably further stalling my labor, but in an hour I was 10 cm. It allowed me to get in positions to get the baby down that I couldn't achieve "on land", like squatting and rocking on all fours. I was lucky enough to be able to birth in the water as well, but laboring in the tub was absolutely necessary for me (my first 2 babies were land births, and after my 3rd was born in the water, I can not imagine a dry birth ever again. The water is THAT good :)

[FriendlyJas]

Ina May's guide to childbirth helped me tremendously during my VBAC. I needed the freedom to move about and she had some techniques to share that helped. It also helps to change your point of view on contractions. Instead of viewing them as a negative (inevitable pain to try to avoid) you can view them as a positive (a miracle of your body to help you meet your little one). I did read the Bradley Method book, but opted not to take the class because it didn't fit well with me. Also, you could hire a doula. Doula's know all the tricks and have those super positive things to say that can help your birth, though not painless, be extremely positive. I wish I would have had a doula! I am definitely getting one next time (if we are so blessed to have a next time).