I've had quite a few questions about my TENS machine, and since it helped me *so* much during labor, I thought I'd post a little info. Here is a good link explaining the machine: http://www.preciouspassage.com/TENS.htm I have extreme back labor due to scoliosis (and with this last birth, position of the baby). The TENS didn't take away all of the contraction, but helped a *lot* with the back pain. Until I was over 7 centimeters, my birth support people and I were laughing in between contractions and I felt really good. The relief was not as complete during transition, but the TENS coupled with hip squeezes or the belly lift (from the book "Back Labor No More") worked very well.
I bought mine from a UK based company (we are in the US) and it took about a week to arrive. This is the one I bought, but they have other models: http://www.babycaretens.com/bounty/acatalog/Elle.html You can also use a regular physical therapy TENS unit, but I liked how easy the ob version was to use
I liked being in control of my relief and the routine of turning the power up and down was very empowering during contractions.
Make sure you check to see if TENS are allowed where you are delivering. The hospital we were going to deliver at before we switched to the birth center did *not* allow them because they said it would mess up the monitors. The birth center had no problem with them, and the hospital we were transported to had no problem with me using it. By the way, the TENS had absolutely no effect on the monitors, and we ended up with continuous monitoring.
I hope this helps someone!
I bought mine from a UK based company (we are in the US) and it took about a week to arrive. This is the one I bought, but they have other models: http://www.babycaretens.com/bounty/acatalog/Elle.html You can also use a regular physical therapy TENS unit, but I liked how easy the ob version was to use
I liked being in control of my relief and the routine of turning the power up and down was very empowering during contractions.Make sure you check to see if TENS are allowed where you are delivering. The hospital we were going to deliver at before we switched to the birth center did *not* allow them because they said it would mess up the monitors. The birth center had no problem with them, and the hospital we were transported to had no problem with me using it. By the way, the TENS had absolutely no effect on the monitors, and we ended up with continuous monitoring.
I hope this helps someone!
