Forum : Pregnancy

I'm onlly 7wks and have been asked to watch it. Right now i can't think of anything scarier. Right now we should be enjoying the whole experience of being pregnant not panicing just yet. I'm sure your midwife will be able to go through all the different pain relief with you though.

nobody knows how they are going to cope until they get there! best thing is to be open minded and go with it. i have had one long but easy labour with a difficult delivery - 73 hour labour at home without pain relief, got to hospital fully dilated but baby got stuck so i ended up having to have an epidural (which i did not want) and a forceps delivery. my second baby was very quick - 90 minute labour with gas and air and a very easy delivery. i was already in hospital with her though as my waters broke prematurely. either way, i thought i had a low pain threshold, but turns out i managed much better than i thought i would!
i personally hated the epidural i had to have and never wanted it in the first place, so i certain vowed to never have another again but i knew i was able to cope with the pain of labour. dont get me wrong, my second labour was very quick and got very intense very quickly but it was still manageable.
what i will say though is it isnt your husband going through it and if you want an epidural, then you have one!
i used tens in early labour with my first baby. i used it with my second baby also but i was already 4cms dilated by the time labour stated so i was passed the point it woudl work, plus it needs time to build up and given my second was quick it simply didnt get chance to do anything. gas and air doesnt take teh pain away but it just makes you not care about the pain! i personally wouldnt choose pethidine but again, that may be worth considering if you dont want an epidural.

Hi, I would agree with Livi's mum, you really don't know how you feel until you are in labour, so keep your options open. I was adament I did not want an epidural and chose not too have one. Like the other post my baby got stuck too and I had a ventouse delivery. I used gas and air and had the pethedine jab (wouldn't have the jab again) but the doctor though I had an epidural as I coped so well with the pain. Believe me I would have said my pain threshold was pretty much zero. I honesty believe that your mind and body just kick in and does what it needs to. I would say to you not to let others scare you with there stories and make the decision based on what you want not what others tell you to do. What is your due date? I am 12 weeks pregnant too x x

hi all
try not to worry your self and enjoy being pregnant.. my oldest is 16 now and baby girl is almost 9 months so i couldnt remember much about the first labour i watched one born and was terrified as i planned a home birth.. anyway i coped just fine with just gas and air labour lasted form about 9pm but didnt get bad till around 3 am and baby was born at 6.40am.. im now having another baby girl and still watching one born and not really bothered planning another home birth and cant wait 19 weeks to go.....
and i watched that 15 kids and counting talk about putting me off having anymore.(not that i want anymore hubby cant afford the shopping)
good luck hope all your pregnancies go well xx

hi all im not a fan of the epidural either
i had my first with no pain relief at all in 2005 my first niggles started at 10:30 in the morning when i was shopping in icelands lol and i gave birth to her at 8:30 that evening i surprised my self at how calm i was i even sent my husband on his driving lesson lol
my second in 2006 was again with out any pain relief but longer she started at 5:30 in the evening and i had her at 6:30 the following evening
my thrd in 2007 was a boy a right pain in the rear started like his sister in the early evening at 6 during tea i decided i would try and get some sleep rather than stay up all night and the little [censored] stopped contracting over night and just to say you are going to stay up all night started again at the exact same time the following day so i decided too stay up he arrived at 3:15 in the morning unfortunatly my afterbirth came away in half (it happens occasionally) and i had to have a spinal and manual removal the spinal has given me sume suffering since in cold wet weather it does ache but i was home by tea time that same day so i didnt have to stay in over night.
im 12wk pregnant again and hope i can have a natural birth again but every pregnancy labour and birth are all different none are ever the same i guess what im trying to say is go in with an open mind discuss your options for pain relief with your midwife try going without it and then if you cant do it with out try the gas and air or pethidine or epidural but give your self a chance to experience as well remember if it was that bad people like livi's mummy and myself wouldnt keep going back for more
try not to work yourself up to much you have a while to go yet and plenty of options for when the time comes
xxxx

I didn't watch the programme at all until after I had my baby (I didn't want to get scared by watching it) and am so glad I didn't! I have since watched the show, and most of the labours shown were so much worse than mine, and most of the women coped far worse than I did. Obviously an easy labour doesn't make for great TV....

Watch it if you want, but try to remember that every labour is different, and every woman copes differently, so just keep an open mind. What you want now may be different to what you want in labour.

Hi
i was never worried about the labour but i was worried about th epain relief. i was very determined to try not have any at all, which i personally think is unrealistic. of course some people do manage this which is fantastic but u shudnt put pressure on urself.
there are many different types of pain relief i personally loved the epidural. and, without sounding rude, ur the one who si giving birth not ur husband. when he has to squeeze a half a stone baby out a tiny hole then he gets to dictate what pain relief u have. i get u want to involve him let him have an opinion etc and i hope im not offending u in sayin this because obviously if u choose to listen to him thats completely up to u i just think he shudnt be anti epidural if he isnt th eone giving birth.
having said that, u may not even want an epidural urself in which case trying the gas and air, pethidine etc may be just fine for u. everyone is different no one knows has any idea how they will cope in labour even if uv done it before there are so many factors to consider.
have u looked into coping techniques? there is ALOT to be said for breathing techinques i think. haing a bath, using a birthing ball, walking around whatever can all help. with my second labour i found it helps me to push off the end of the bed everytime ihad a contraction and i ended up kicking the bed so hard it broke OOPS lol

honestly there is no reason to worry at all tho when ur doing ti ur mind is so focused udont have much time to be concerned u just get on with it.

Hi All, when is this programme on? Everyone is on about it. May have to watch it from behind a cushion though as trying not to think about that bit!! x

imb3cats its on on wednesdays at 9pm on channel 4 huni xxxx

Hi 5elaine, You are a brave girl to watch the show. Lol! I can't bring myself to watch it as im way too squeamish. Anyway by the time you reach the final stages of pregnancy believe me you'll just want baby out!

I defo echo what the others say, about keeping an open Mind after all you are the one who will have to go through labour so don't let anyone cloud your judgement aor make you feel pressured about choosing the right pain relief.
xxBest wises and enjoy the journey
xx
LK
30wks