Those who have had PITOCIN ctx *and* NATURAL- Please compare! - Page 2

[kijip]

Until I had pitocin my contractions were manageable (painful, but manageable). The pitocin contractions were much harder and unrelenting- little space between, none that were easier than others. Has your mother had pitocin? Otherwise, she does not really know what she is saying. Pitocin use also increases the likelihood of a c-section, in part because it increases the chance that the mother will decide she wants pain medication/epidurals. That is pretty much what happened with my birth- Water broke early leading to arbitrary and restrictive time table for birth to complete (hospital) leading to pitocin augmentation after 12 hours leading to an epidural about 24 hours into the labor leading to unproductive pushing leading to a c-section 36 hours after my water broke. Thankfully I am better informed and prepared this time around.

[kalirush]

Originally Posted by GooeyRN

There is NO comparison. I found natural labor and delivery to be a cake walk comparitively. Yes, natural labor and delivery hurts. But the pain was NOTHING like pitocin pain. 4 cm with pitocin pain = natural transition pain.

My mother told me that, too. She was there at my birth, and she said that the pitocin contractions looked like transition to her- no rest in between, hard intense contractions.

So, I guess it was like being in transition for 8 hours. :P I'm due in January with my second, so I'm hoping natural labor is better. But I did #1 with no epidural, so I'm not afraid.

[LacieD]

nak

Not even a comparison in my mind - pit contrax felt like someone was ripping my uterus apart and all I could do was scream in pain, even between contrax - I got an epi. Natural hurt, but it was manageable, and I dozed between contrax until I hit transition. Even then, they weren't as bad as the pit.

[SalmonBayDoula]

Originally Posted by Celticqueen

At least 13 to be exact Mother of 12, soon to be 13.

I see your point!

-Caitrin

Your MIL is pregnant with her 13th and you are pregnant with her grandchild? Cool and interesting! Trying to imagine that for my family..

So, happy birthing to all!

S.

[veronicalynne]

Originally Posted by Celticqueen

So last time around I had heavy pitocin induction which led to severe bleeding afterwards, complications, etc.

In terms of the pain of those contractions, there was no build up to them and they hit me like a sharp ax being thrusted onto my tummy, to put it bluntly. Also, they were extremely frequent- I was having transition contractions at only 4 cm- so very unnatural feeling, even though I had nothing to compare it to.

This is my second pregnancy, and I am planning a birth center natural birth :

When I told my mother (who is very non-crunchy, intervention friendly, firm believer in epidurals, etc.) that I was going to try for a natural birth this time instead of the transition epidural I got...

she scolded me saying, "If you think natural contractions are any better than pitocin, think again"



They HAVE to be different though, right? But she is so adamant that they feel exactly the same. I'm getting very frustrated that she feels this way because I can't reason with her, but at the same time, I keep wondering if she's right.

If you've had both, please compare and contrast the pain, how you handled it, what was different.

Thanks in advance!

-Caitrin

Has your mom had both????? Anyway, I had pitocin with my first dd (which ended up c/s....I wonder why) and the pain was agonizing and I literally begged for an epidural....with dd2 i did a vbac so there was no induction (pitocin) and no epidural (my choice)...........big difference! It was much easier for me. Don't get me wrong....there was alot of pain but the pain was different somehow. With the 1st, I couldnt handle the pain and was frantic but with the 2nd it was like my body "expected" and could handle the pain. It is not like breaking an arm. I was able to go inside myself and take the contractions like waves and the natural "high" at the end was incredible. Mind you, everyones perception of pain varies but I have read and heard over and over again that pitocin causes extremely painful and abnormally strong contractions that can be stressful for the baby (not to mention poor mama) while natural contractions build gradually so your body becomes accustomed to it. Have you read "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer? There is a section that addresses the difference between pitocin induced contractions vs natural contractions. For what it is worth, I am going for my 2nd vbac in late August and though they will not use pitocin on me, I am going to refuse any pain meds they might offer me. I know I can do it without it:

[Celticqueen]

Originally Posted by veronicalynne

Has your mom had both?????

Yeah she has! Natural with me (her first) and pitocin with her second and 3rd. She said they feel the same. BUT this is also coming from someone (her) who thinks labor is a horrible thing that she wishes I would stop going through :

My husband does not believe her- he thinks she's just trying to scare me into going to the hosp to get an epidural again because she thinks epidurals are the best gift to women besides chocolate.

-Caitrin

[Celticqueen]

Originally Posted by SalmonBayDoula

Your MIL is pregnant with her 13th and you are pregnant with her grandchild? Cool and interesting! Trying to imagine that for my family..

So, happy birthing to all!

S.

Thanks

Yeah I know- it's hard for so many people to imagine. So this means that her unborn baby will be my unborn baby's aunt or uncle, and that her unborn baby will be younger than mine. Think about that one

It took me awhile to process it but I'm ok now, lol.

-Caitrin

[chaoticzenmom]

The differences for me were big.

With Pitocin, the contractions hurt right away. With natural labor, contractions didn't hurt until almost pushing time. I showed up at the birthing center not even sure I was in labor and I was about 8 cm's.

Also, with natural labor, you can rebuild your strenght inbetween contractions. You've got a minute or so to "relax." With pitocin, you're terrified of the next contraction, so you ask for an epidural, which they are more than happy to provide.

Trust yourself.
Lisa

[Staciemao]

Originally Posted by Celticqueen

"If you think natural contractions are any better than pitocin, think again"



They HAVE to be different though, right? But she is so adamant that they feel exactly the same. I'm getting very frustrated that she feels this way because I can't reason with her, but at the same time, I keep wondering if she's right.

Oh, your mama is WRONG-O. I am sure she's a lovely woman, but here's the deal with pain:

If you think it's going to hurt, you are absolutely right.

The truth is that birth CAN be painful, but God (or nature or whatever you believe in) has given us marvelous coping tools...those wonderful endorphins...to deal with the pain. While I was in heavy labor with my daughter I remember telling my midwife that every intense contraction was worth it, because of the amazing feeling I got afterward. It was like an orgasm that didn't end. Awesome.

In fact, the ONLY part of my daughter's birth that hurt was when she crowned. I had had an episiotomy with my son and was expecting to tear...and lo and behold I did. I got nervous and expected pain, and pain happened.

With my son I did have pit, and the contractions were terrible. But again, I think attitude is everything. I know several women who have had epidural-free pitocin births, and they say it is intense but bearable. The thing that empowered me to have a nearly painless birth the second time was the knowledge that if I did need to have pitocin that I COULD deal with it.

Just my 2 cents. And it of course is true that the endorphins are not there with pit. All the PP's are absolutely right. But (and I could totally be wrong) it occurred to me that you might be posting this out of nervousness.

Stacie

[Serenyd]

Pit is bad. Hurt me and caused fetal distress in my baby. The nurses had to turn it off. Never again.

[Night_Nurse]

1st child was a hospital birth where I work, an induction with Pitocin, and a nightmare on many levels. The onset of contractions and the lack of breaks between them was too much to handle (plus they made me stay on my back). I wasn't "for" or "against" epidurals going into the birth but I wanted to labor as naturally as possible. Once the Pitocin kicked in I was unable to do anything but cry and after about 15 minutes I begged for the epidural. Never again.

2nd child was born 100% natural, drug free, and at home. The actual labor was just about the same length but the pushing phase was much shorter. Natural contractions are no where as intense, long or as painful as my Pitocin induced contractions. For comfort during the labor, I labored in very warm water (very hot, actually) and I used positioning. But it helped just as much as the epidural. I can't say it was 100% pain free because pushing him out was very hard (but pushing baby #1 out was very hard too and eventually led to a vacuum extraction which was painful for me & baby). But the labor part of the natural birth was just as pain free as the first birth after I got the epidural.
The natural birth was by far my favorite birthing experience and would birth at home naturally again if I became pregnant. If for whatever reason I had to birth at a hospital, I would labor at home as long as possible, until transition if possible, and then refuse Pitocin once arriving at the hospital.

Sorry to be rude, but your mother simply does not know what she is talking about.

[veronicalynne]

Originally Posted by Celticqueen

Yeah she has! Natural with me (her first) and pitocin with her second and 3rd. She said they feel the same. BUT this is also coming from someone (her) who thinks labor is a horrible thing that she wishes I would stop going through :

My husband does not believe her- he thinks she's just trying to scare me into going to the hosp to get an epidural again because she thinks epidurals are the best gift to women besides chocolate.

-Caitrin

Hmmmm....maybe she doesnt like to see her "baby" in pain? Yeah, there are some people who would prefer to be totally pain free which is fair....but she needs to respect that this is YOUR birth not hers and you will do what you feel is right for you. It must be hard for mothers to know and deal with the fact their daughters are going to be in pain when they are in labor. I am weird that way....my older dd1 is only 3 1/2 and I wonder sometimes how I will deal with it one day but that is my problem. As far as I am concerned, when our children become adults we have to let them live their lives and do what they feel is best for them kwim? And support them with their decisions. I have personally never heard of anyone who said pitocin induced labor and natural labor were the same

[mikayla's mama]

Natural contractions are no where near as bad as pit contractions, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Put it this way, I was in so much pain with my pit birth that I was vomiting and thought I would die for sure... by the way I had an epidural too.

Natural labor is just doable, the breaks, the working up in intensity, ability to move around, etc. I didn't find it to be pain-free like some stories I've seen here but overall I found natural childbirth really amazing and suprisingly easy in comparison to my medicalized birth with my first. Another wonderful thing about it, my recovery after natural was so much easier. I was asking when we could go home about 10 minutes after she was born.

[sacredmama]

I'm the exception here. I attempted a homebirth and after about 40 hours, being fully dilated, and many hours of pushing I tranferred to the hospital. DS was posterier and stuck in the curved part of my birth canal. My labor was stalled, and my contractions were starting to fade. So they gave me some pitocin so that my contractions would get strong again and I could push him the rest of the way out. My pitocin contractions were equal to my natural ones. But this is different than being induced by pitocin. I feel that my labor is one good example of the proper use of pitocin (so grateful that I didn't have to have a section).

[veronicalynne]

Originally Posted by sacredmama

I'm the exception here. I attempted a homebirth and after about 40 hours, being fully dilated, and many hours of pushing I tranferred to the hospital. DS was posterier and stuck in the curved part of my birth canal. My labor was stalled, and my contractions were starting to fade. So they gave me some pitocin so that my contractions would get strong again and I could push him the rest of the way out. My pitocin contractions were equal to my natural ones. But this is different than being induced by pitocin. I feel that my labor is one good example of the proper use of pitocin (so grateful that I didn't have to have a section).

You know, I have heard that with posterior labors....they stall and then the pitocin can help pick it up again. My dd1 who turned into a c/s was posterior too. I know the back labor was complete hell for me.....There is definitely a time and place for pitocin etc and it sounds like they made a good decision in your case

[Onemagicmummy]

i hjave had 3 pit labours and 1 natural labour and i swear my natural labour was by far better.

number 1 was cold induction alsmot 6 hours of labour, i didnt know any better so i think i did ok on jsut gas and air.

number 2 was natural cx started at 3am got to hospital at 5.30ish baby was born at 7.56am. i got ther at 5cm and i didnt even think i was in "real" labour yet i was jsut getting to the stage where i couldnt talk throught them.

number 3&4 were pit augmentations for different reasons muber 3 was meconium in waters and i was stuck at 3cm (had been for a week, im sure i would of done okif i was left alone but htey had they whole he has to come out today thing going and i didnt know different so i just went with)
number 4 was blood in the water and clots too, so i jstu went with it even tho i KNEW that given time, space to move. i would of been ok but i was so scared i clammed up and was stuck at 3cm from 9.30pm till 9am untill i had epi places and baby was born with in an hour of that.

the last 2 were horrendous, scary, way more painfull than number 2.

so normal contractions for me were way better than pit cx. if i ever have another baby i so do not want augmentation by pit ever again.

kiz

[lovingbeingmom]

I had Picotin with my first and it was full on. Went from nothing to full on labour within a short period of time and being my first it was overwhelming. I didn't require a c-sec nor any pain relief though.

Second I had been in labour for a very long time without much progress. I agreed to be induced and she was born within 5 minutes of needle being inserted. Appeared she only needed that extra little push.

The third, the midwife was hinting at hooking me up because of my history of fussy labour. I told her that this bub was coming and won't be necessary. Due to being midnight she was also trying to get me to take a sleeping tablet too. I refused and bubs was born three hours later after an all natural, induction free birth.

[Momsteader]

For me, I found no difference between pit contractions and regular contractions after my water broke. Meaning, pit contractions were intense and felt the same as 'natural' contractions after my water broke. The only difference for me, is that usually my water breaks right before I'm pushing a baby out, so I don't have to deal with the natural contractions for long!

My labors prior to my water breaking were easy, painfree affairs. Once my water breaks (or was broken in the case of my last one), my contractions are intense, one on top of the other with very little break and basically the same as my pit induction. Though, my water was also broken in that labor, so I don't know if it wouldn't have been the same even without the pit.

That said, I managed each one with no pain meds, even the pit induction.

#1: Labored with no pain until my water broke at 10 cm and he was born 6 min later.
#2: Pit induction for medical problems in me. Pretty intense contractions and labor was 5 hrs long with only the last hour being pretty bad.
#3: Labored with no pain until my water was broken at 10 cm and she was born minutes later
#4: Water broken at 5 cm for induction. Baby A born 3.5 hrs later and Baby B 6 mins later. Pretty intense for the last hour or so, and had I not been at 8 cm when I asked, I might have gone for something for the pain! The end of this labor was more painful than my pit induction, but I think it had to do with it being twins and my uterus being so huge. 14+ lbs of baby.

[Celticqueen]

Originally Posted by veronicalynne

Hmmmm....maybe she doesnt like to see her "baby" in pain? Yeah, there are some people who would prefer to be totally pain free which is fair....but she needs to respect that this is YOUR birth not hers and you will do what you feel is right for you. It must be hard for mothers to know and deal with the fact their daughters are going to be in pain when they are in labor. I am weird that way....my older dd1 is only 3 1/2 and I wonder sometimes how I will deal with it one day but that is my problem. As far as I am concerned, when our children become adults we have to let them live their lives and do what they feel is best for them kwim? And support them with their decisions. I have personally never heard of anyone who said pitocin induced labor and natural labor were the same

Yeah I can see that.

I want to show my mom that I CAN DO IT.- Obviously, I mostly want to show myself that I can do it, but I also want to show her.

Lately over the phone, she has constantly compared our (hers and mine) pain threshhold and how alike they are. She said, "If it felt all the same with me- pitocin and natural- it will be the exact same for you"



I really don't want to believe that.

This time, I'm going into labor (finally) with a positive attitude : - knowing that birth hurts but that I can handle anything that is set before me and it will always hurt as much as I think it will. :

(I like my new attitude- my attitude with my first was "Anything less than a natural, not very painful, intervention-free birth will make me a failure" so my postpardum recovery was massive because of my utter disappointment/depression about the delivery and myself.)

My point is, I'm hoping to be able to tell my mother after labor and delivery, "It wasn't that bad compared to the first! I knew I could do it" mostly because it's a reaction she does NOT expect to hear from her daughter.

(I should also note- she won't be there for many reasons but mostly because someone needs to watch my toddler)

Anyhow, and yes she does not like to see her "baby" in pain. That's why she won't be there this time Her AND my father (who I specifically said couldn't be there but showed up anyway were begging the midwives to give me an epidural and telling me to as well.

If it's too hard on my mom to see me in pain- I don't want the stress of seeing my mom stressed out that I'm in pain, ya know? It's one less stress I want to have to deal with. I'm aldready stressed beyond reason thinking about when I go into labor and her having to watch my son who does not like her because she's never liked him either.

-Caitrin

[jennyfah]

I know it's been said a hundred times, but pit is is nightmare.

The pit contrax I had with my first birth were beyond awful.

My completely natural (homebirth) with my second was like a walk in the park in comparison! Of course it hurt, and in transition I wanted to quit, but it was completely bearable. And the recovery was a breeze, too.

The very word "pitocin" makes me sick to my stomach to hear because I know what it does. . .

Jen
mama to 2 boys