Pain relief during labor

[ice_chick]

So as the time gets closer I am getting more & more worried about how I am going to cope with the pain of labor without drugs. I plan to stay home as long as possible to keep comfortable. I might hang out with my birth ball for a bit or with a bunch of pillows on my bed. I know I will probably get in the shower at some point since I find it soothing, but I am not a big tub person. The hospital has a jacuzzi tub, but I was not impressed with it at all. If I labor during the day, my best friend who is also pregnant will come over to help distract me otherwise it will be just me, DH & my doula. Anyone care to share what they plan on doing or what has worked for you in previous labors? This is my first birth that I am planning naturally & I really don't know what to expect. Help!

[AidansMommy1012]

I had an epi with my son, so this is my first time planning a natural birth, too. My dh and I have been practicing Bradley exercises for some time now, and we plan on staying home as long as possible. I also plan on using the tub to help alleviate some of the pain. And lots and lots of backrubs from dh.

[turtlemama77]

Your doula should be able to suggest things/help with pain management.

The best advice I read though was that if it's hurting really really bad, you probably need to change positions.

[AidansMommy1012]

I may have to haunt this thread for awhile. :

[ice_chick]

What really scares me is that DH can't understand why I want to go without drugs. For 9 months all I am talking about is a "natural" birth & I thought he was on board with me & the other night he said I understand you want a natural birth & that is fine, but you can take a little morphine or demerol if you need it. He thought that natural meant vaginal & I had to explain that it meant without pain meds so now we are just starting to talk about different things that he will be able to do to help support me. I think I will be depending mostly on my doula in this area. Men are so frustrating!

[TeaghansMama]

i ended up with an emerg section but only after 30 hours of natural labor... the only thing i can tell you from my experience, is that there wasn't any way for me to anticipate what i would want/what would work in labor at all. throughout my pregnancy, this time too, i LOVE my birth ball.... in labor i wanted NOTHING to do with it. everything i envisioned wanting or needing to get me thru ended up annoying me and all i really wanted was to stand in the shower (thought i'd be a bath person) and sway my hips back and forth.
your doula will be the best friend ever, cause she'll have so many tricks up her sleeve something is bound to be "it" for you!!
good luck Mama!!

[Mama Poot]

This is the only advice I have- the only thing natural about my first birth was the fact it was vaginal. DON'T FREAK OUT. When my labor started and it was ALL back labor ( and would continue to be until 17 hours later when my son was born ) I was not prepared for it. I was scared and thought something was horribly wrong. My son was posterior, and no one cared enough to tell me until he was born face-up. Stay calm, and in your case remember that you've been through this before. If you start to feel panicky, try to distract yourself with anything. When I would have a contraction, I would get VERY chatty and talk a million miles an hour to DH. Even if it didn't make any sense, just having someone there to talk to helped.

Don't get intimidated by the pain. Sometimes I am amazed when I think "I went through all of that horrible pain and thought it would never end, but here I am perfectly healthy and fine." It does come to an end, so remember that.

Do what YOU need to do to relieve the pain, and do not let anyone stop you. This is where my birth experience was ruined. The nurses didn't want me vocalizing my pain, so they shot me full of drugs and thanks to them I don't remember most of the birth, including my own flesh and blood being handed to me to nurse for the very first time. You throw those nurses and anyone else with a needle OUT. The hospital staff will take advantage of your vulnerability during the pain, and they will constantly offer drugs unless you have someone there reminding them that you do not want any drugs. So make sure you have someone who can spend a good deal of the time fending off these problems for you. You don't need to be worrying about stuff like that when you are in labor.

Ehhh....getting tired I'm sorry I HTH!

[momsmyjob]

For me the big key is relax and I mean, let your whole body relax, don't tense up just try and lay like Jelly...seriously. Try and think about something/or someone you love. It takes some concentration but it totally works. I've birthed drug fee..9 and 10 pound babies, my last was drug free and 11lbs 13 ozs. You can do it!!

[Mama2ABCD]

the way that i handle the pain is that i understand it's a working pain. i try to envision my cervix opening and then squat into it. it helps that it's a wave because once it peaks, you know it's going away. but work with it, and like turtlemama said, change positions too.
i also picture my baby working with me to open the cervix up.

but, your doula should be able to help you cope.

[lotus.blossom]

Something you can try is taking a comb and pressing it into the tips of your fingers. There are pressure points there that are supposed to help with pain.

Other than that, I'm a newbie at this whole birth thing so I'm not even sure what I'm in for!

[SillyMommy]

Everything that I have read says it's more mind over matter. Laughter and doing things like moo-ing during a contraction or making horse lips all help your cervix dilate - don't fight it, welcome it.

[momsmyjob]

Originally Posted by SillyMommy

Everything that I have read says it's more mind over matter. Laughter and doing things like moo-ing during a contraction or making horse lips all help your cervix dilate - don't fight it, welcome it.

It is!! I actually went to sleep with my last one, thinking about my kids and things we've done together. Plus I did picture my body relaxing and cervix opening with the baby coming down. It was great!

[Max'sMama]

I would suggest go with the pressure. Don't be intimidated by anything or anyone. I never thought I would vocalize during labor and that is ALL that I did. I was as loud as an entire pack of wolves. That is what worked for me. I had planned a waterbirth, but the tub was the last place, at the time, that I wanted to push. I ended up opting for a birth stool instead. Going with the flow and not letting my preconceived notions guide me was the best decision ever.

What also helped me, was when I would think " I can't do this" I would actually say it, then follow with, " I am doing this, I can do this" over and ove, that really helped.

[Still_Snarky]

Originally Posted by Max'sMama

I would suggest go with the pressure. Don't be intimidated by anything or anyone. I never thought I would vocalize during labor and that is ALL that I did. I was as loud as an entire pack of wolves. That is what worked for me.

: Me too! That was the only thing that worked for me yesterday...screaming/yelling at the top of my lungs, saying I was scared with one contraction, saying I could do it with the next, saying I didn't want to, saying I wanted him out. Just doing and saying whatever I was feeling at the time. I never in a million years would have guessed I would be the verbal type. I didn't do it "pretty" or "dignified" but I did it!

[writermommy]

Originally Posted by ice_chick

What really scares me is that DH can't understand why I want to go without drugs. For 9 months all I am talking about is a "natural" birth & I thought he was on board with me & the other night he said I understand you want a natural birth & that is fine, but you can take a little morphine or demerol if you need it. He thought that natural meant vaginal & I had to explain that it meant without pain meds so now we are just starting to talk about different things that he will be able to do to help support me. I think I will be depending mostly on my doula in this area. Men are so frustrating!

You sound just like me. This is my fourth baby and first that I plan to go drug free. DH also doesn't get it. I really think he hates to see me hurting. Men want to make it better. They think that they should help take the pain away and if drugs will do it and they don't have to see us in pain, they think that's helping. I think that's what it is with my dh. I've been worried about this one too. I have a very low pain threshold and I've been trying to keep positive thoughts.

We've been practicing Bradley exercises and relaxation. I have some relaxing music that I plan to bring to the hospital. I also plan to stay at home for as long as possible. In my past births, I've gotten there too soon and they always want to start Pitocin. This is where I lose it and ask for something. I hope that by staying home I can avoid the whole Pitocin/drugs cycle. Good luck with your birth!

[sewaneecook]

From my experience, vocalizing the pain helped. I had a lot of moans and yells, but I kept them low pitched (the higher pitched screams make your whole body tense up). Another thing that helped is my DH was 100% supportive of a natural birth. Tell your DH that no matter what he really feels, to tell you that you are doing a great job and you can get through labor without meds. Good luck! You can get through it!!