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If You Couldn't Have an Epidural, You Would...


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....?

 

This is assuming that you wouldn't have a natural childbirth.

 

I've been told that I can't have another epidural. I am one of those unlucky few who has an extreme sensitivity to this form of analgesia.

 

Are there other good options these days? Anyone used any of them?

Edited by Parker Martin
Random apostrophe flying around in there.
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Ummm.... Are you hoping there is another effective medication? You can do IV narcotics, but they tend to make people sleepy or loopy. They can also depress breathing in the newborn if given too close to birth. They also don't last long.

 

I had comfortable births using Hypnobabies. It's a hypnosis method and is quite effective. I had an epidural with my first baby. It worked, but I didn't like it (except for the no pain ;)). Hypnobabies was better because I could use it from the first contraction.

 

Water to labor in, moving around, and massage also helped.

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Last time I got to have a surprise natural birth because of the issue with the epidural. Was not a fan.

 

A planned unmedicated birth would be a different experience though.

 

I had a bad epidural experience with my first and went on to have two more really wonderful pain-medication-free births. It was completely different going in with a game plan than it would have been having an unmedicated birth by accident.

 

Hope whatever you decide works well for you. :001_smile:

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Oh, well, I was set to answer, but now I can't. :tongue_smilie: Natural birth worked for me.

 

 

That's my predicament. lol

 

Knowing it was muscles working to absolute capacity was crazily comforting. I wasn't going to die from pain. I'm not one with pain free -labors, but thankfully, they were fairly quick (the longest one was about 10 hours --water breaking to birth, so I can't complain there). 6 cm in an hour did make me twitch a little. ;) I think planning ahead makes it all a bit easier.

Edited by LibraryLover
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Ah ha. I'd never heard of using nitrous oxide. I think I'll probably also try the pudendal block. The contractions were crummy, but it was the end that made me think, "Natural childbirth is HORRIBLE!"

 

Now to figure out how to set these things up with the hospital so that they're ready to give them...

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A planned unmedicated birth would be a different experience though.

 

I had a bad epidural experience with my first and went on to have two more really wonderful pain-medication-free births. It was completely different going in with a game plan than it would have been having an unmedicated birth by accident.

 

Hope whatever you decide works well for you. :001_smile:

 

This is exactly what I was thinking. Being prepared as much as you can is key.

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Ah ha. I'd never heard of using nitrous oxide. I think I'll probably also try the pudendal block. The contractions were crummy, but it was the end that made me think, "Natural childbirth is HORRIBLE!"

 

Now to figure out how to set these things up with the hospital so that they're ready to give them...

 

Yes it burns and makes you feel like you want to crawl out of your skin but that part is so short! (relatively speaking) :tongue_smilie: I birthed both my babes in the water, I'm guessing that helped a bit.

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I had to go without an epidural (unwillingly), and I knew it was a good possibility, so I did a lot of preparation (as if I had wanted to, LOL). I read and listened to Hypnobirthing, etc. Fortunately it was fast, because it was sort of a violent event. My body was taken over by an alien force of hurricaine strength. It's a long story ;).

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Natural childbirth with preparation might be a very different experience from the bad epidural experience you had.

 

I've used Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies and it worked very well for me (all three of my kids were hypnosis births). Are you open to considering something like that? I would probably prep that way just in case other options end up not being on the table for you. It is simply deep relaxation, but it can work amazingly well.

 

I feel great if I can move around in labor. When you had your not so fun NCB experience, were you stuck in bed? Because for me, that's awful. But if I can move, I'm great. I like all of the varying positions like hands and knees, swaying, using a birthing ball, tailor sitting, etc. If you take those away from me, I really would not enjoy NCB. With those and hypnosis, I find labor very tolerable.

 

I labored in the water with one birth (didn't give birth in the water on that one) and had one waterbirth. If you are at a hospital, is there a shower or tub available to you to at least labor in?

 

One other option (non med related) that I can think of is TENS. I've heard of people using it in labor. You'd have to plan in advance to have a unit available to you though because it isn't something commonly used.

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Oh, well, I was set to answer, but now I can't. :tongue_smilie: Natural birth worked for me.

 

Same here. I had one with my first birth. While I liked the pain relief, I didn't like all the side effects and long term consequences (that I am still dealing with 18 years later.) The more I researched, the more convinced I became that the only way to avoid these issues was to not have medication ... period.

 

I took Bradley with my 2nd, had a wonderful, almost pain free birth. Became a teacher because I was so impressed with what I learned, not just about labor, but about options, choices, consequences, etc. Used it with my 3rd at home ... not a pain free birth, but a fantastic, healthy experience.

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Natural childbirth with preparation might be a very different experience from the bad epidural experience you had.

 

I've used Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies and it worked very well for me. Are you open to considering something like that? I would probably prep that way just in case other options end up not being on the table for you.

 

I feel great if I can move around in labor. When you had your not so fun NCB experience, were you stuck in bed? Because for me, that's awful. But if I can move, I'm great. I like all of the varying positions like hands and knees, swaying, using a birthing ball, tailor sitting, etc. If you take those away from me, I really would not enjoy NCB. With those and hypnosis, I find labor very tolerable.

 

I labored in the water with one birth (didn't give birth in the water on that one) and had one waterbirth. If you are at a hospital, is there a shower or tub available to you to at least labor in?

 

One other option (non med related) that I can think of is TENS. I've heard of people using it in labor. You'd have to plan in advance to have a unit available to you though because it isn't something commonly used.

 

Heh. I am open to anything that makes it not a hellish experience. I will look up the Hypnobabies so many have mentioned here. I think my doctor will be open to providing pretty much whatever I want.

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Heh. I am open to anything that makes it not a hellish experience. I will look up the Hypnobabies so many have mentioned here. I think my doctor will be open to providing pretty much whatever I want.

 

Hypnobabies is a home study course or live class: http://www.hypnobabies.com

 

The practice is essential in order for it to have maximal effect. I was skeptical, but I followed the instructions and it worked amazingly well. :)

 

Birth stories using Hypnobabies are here:

 

http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/POSITIVE_birth_stories.htm

 

I will be using it for the fifth time in June. :)

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A planned unmedicated birth would be a different experience though.

 

I had a bad epidural experience with my first and went on to have two more really wonderful pain-medication-free births. It was completely different going in with a game plan than it would have been having an unmedicated birth by accident.

 

Hope whatever you decide works well for you. :001_smile:

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

Preparing makes all the difference in the world. I learned a lot from the Bradley method. Also called Husband Coached Childbirth or something like that. Just want to say that my dh didn't do any coaching. He didn't even go to the classes. I had gone to the classes to train to be a coach for a friend after I'd birthed 2 already with epidurals. My 3rd, also an epidural but I had a spinal headache afterwards for several days. I never wanted to do an epidural again so I re-read the Bradley book from years before practiced some stuff and it was amazing. My 1st one I wanted to go natural but didn't go to any classes and maybe read 2 paragraphs in a book about lamaze. What a joke. The pain was so intensely horrible. Dh swears I almost broke his hand. Horrific. But I was unprepared. I did not experience anywhere near that level of pain with the ones I delivered naturally. Not even close.

 

I would almost recommend that everyone go through some sort of intense preparation for natural childbirth because you just don't know how long you're going to have to wait for the anesthesiologist or if you'll get stuck in traffic. You just never know.

 

I did have a friend who couldn't do epidurals. She did spinal block instead. But her issue wasn't with the drug, it was her back. She'd had scoliosis or something as a kid. So I don't know if that would be an option for you. It could be similar medicine just administered a different way. No idea.

Edited by silliness7
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... maybe have fewer children. I'm kind of serious. My labors have been pretty dreadful. I've tried Bradley (which didn't do a thing for pain relief, but just made me hypervigilant to medical interventions and disgruntled with DH's lack of innate gifts as a labor coach ;)), then home birth with a water tub (transferred for pain relief -- have zero regrets about that), aromatherapy, acupressure, homeopathy, etc., etc. None of it helped much.

 

HypnoBabies seems to work for a lot of people. I tried to do it with my last one, but wasn't able to find enough quiet moments to practice. I actually just came across the binder and thought about giving it another try, but it's a 6 week course and our new baby is due in a month. So maybe I'll play it at double speed, LOL.

 

ETA: Just found a shortened schedule for HypnoBabies. I'll try it and report back. :)

Edited by Eleanor
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I would definitely have a doula with me.

 

Staydol might be an option for you although it was a horrid experience for me.

 

:iagree: Explore your options and be prepared with as many "tools" as you can. Hire an experienced doula, if you're able. She can help you with your options, make suggestions, and be an encouragement in a way that a husband is unable to be. Husbands are great for hand-holding and loving and they certainly have the most important, irreplaceable role! But, for ME, when my SIL told me I was doing great, I truly believed her and it made a huge difference. She'd been there.

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I took Bradley with my 2nd, had a wonderful, almost pain free birth. Became a teacher because I was so impressed with what I learned, not just about labor, but about options, choices, consequences, etc. Used it with my 3rd at home ... not a pain free birth, but a fantastic, healthy experience.

 

I used the Bradley method with my 3rd baby. It really was good for me. I still had pain but I felt empowered with each contraction because of what I learned in my classes.

 

Like a pp said though, I wouldn't have been able to handle no-meds as easily if I had been forced to stay in one position in the bed. My nurse was incredible and helped me move into different positions even when I wasn't thinking about it.

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I haven't had an epidural before- but have had 4 natural deliveries.

For my pain relief I used gas/air with them all.

Certainly,as pp's have noted, being prepared for a non-epi birth does make it easier.

 

Perhaps a TENS machine would be an option.

 

The hospital where I delivered DS this year were also offering injections of sterile water into the lower back/buttock region as pain relief. I opted not to try it as I was happy with the gas- but apparently it does work for some.

 

Here is a little info on it.

http://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/sterile-water-injections

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I use HypnoBabies and water birth (often called a natural epidural). :)

 

:iagree: I've had three awesome Hypnobabies births after my first birth with an (unplanned) epidural. My epidural birth was by far the most difficult one.

 

 

I hope you find something that you are comfortable with and that works for you. If you are unable to have an epidural, does your care provider have other suggestions?

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Learn the Bradley Method. It is very effective at pain management when done correctly.

It's very effective for some people, but I've never seen any proof that it works for everyone. If you look around the Internet, you'll find a lot of anecdotal evidence that it doesn't. It seems a bit presumptuous to suggest that those women were all doing it "incorrectly." :confused:

 

In our case, we took the classes, read the books, and followed the advice. Multiple times. My labors were never anything at all like their descriptions, and the specific relaxation techniques didn't provide effective pain management. If anything, they made things worse. I've done better with a few things I've figured out on my own (some of which, I later learned, were closer to Lamaze than to Bradley).

 

I don't mean to say there's no value in the method itself. It's just that people are all wired differently. Just because it worked for you, doesn't mean that others are necessarily to blame when it doesn't work for them.

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I had always intended on having a medicated birth. But I still read up on the Bradley Method. There's a lot in there about changing your mindset from "oh my gosh! Freaky bad pain!" to "Yeah, this stinks, but my body is working properly, how do I work WITH it." It talks a lot about different positions for labor, practicing relaxing your body to not fight contractions, etc. It's a pretty hard-core advocate for unmedicated birth, but if you can read around that, it's very helpful.

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I have PTSD from my 4th natural birth, so I would opt for an elective c-section under general anesthesia (I have no idea if that's in the same category as what you're allergic to though). My homebirth was devastating to me emotionally and physically in terms of the pain... can't even be described. And yes, I'd done it 3X before with no meds, so I knew what to expect, or at least thought I did.

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....?

 

This is assuming that you wouldn't have a natural childbirth.

 

I've been told that I can't have another epidural. I am one of those unlucky few who has an extreme sensitivity to this form of analgesia.

 

Are there other good options these days? Anyone used any of them?

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. What is your adverse reaction to the epidural?

 

2. Is assuming you're not doing a natural childbirth meaning you're looking at a scheduled c-section?

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I know you said you wouldn't have a natural childbirth, but why not? What other safe options are there for mom and baby?

 

There are some women who are sadly not built to give natural birth. Have you really never come across one?

It got rather dangerous for my oldest dd and me once I'd tried for 20 hours and she just couldn't come out,.... natural childbirth is great, but thank God there are other options these days, I wouldn't be alive anymore otherwise!

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I had both my son and younger dd without an epidural. I had a low dose of Staydol with my son. I had a midwife for both births in the hospital and that helped. It helped that I could be on my hands and knees for the birth of my dd for part of the labor.

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I know you said you wouldn't have a natural childbirth, but why not? What other safe options are there for mom and baby?

 

:iagree: I have decade long complications from my epidural, but I had 4 great natural births. I would not pick anything else, personally.

 

What about waterbirth? That and Hypnobabies were lifesavers during my last two births.

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Lots of good suggestions already given... I agree with a PP that preparation means a lot, but I think mindset is also important in that it can make things much easier or harder. I read about Bradley and Hypnobirthing, but used neither as I had way too much on my plate with all three pregnancies.

 

I had three hospital births, no jacuzzi or birthing ball, just on your back hooked up to an IV births.

 

#1: induced with pitocin, spit of an epidural

#2: no pitocin, no epidural

#3: pitocin, no epidural

 

Of the three "flavors" I had, no pitocin (no duh :) ) and no epidural was the easiest.

 

It helps to keep it all in perspective (and I say this having experienced my last and most difficult birth only 5 months ago - I'm not exactly far removed). Yes, it's hard and intense, but it does end, and is oh so worth it!

 

Good luck and congratulations - I hope you end up having a really good experience this time! :grouphug:

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