Drugs during labor

I went through a midwife with both of my pregnancies and survived birthing each of them with no drugs at all, so it can be done if you opt to go that route. The midwife had me drinking some horrible tasting tea to help...do something...relax the cervix, maybe? And I made use of the whirlpool tub and did lots and lots of focused breathing. Just something else you might consider. :flowerforyou:

You rock too!

To the OP, I had a natural drug free birth. IF you desire to look into that option, I studied hypnobabies and bradley method. Both are amazing programs.

lucky you that u can use epidural!!!!!!! Im my country we dont use that!!! so ... push hard and with painnnnnnnnnn! and my boys were like dinosaurs!! huge babys hahaha!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

so i dont really know how is an epidural ! i just push very hard with the contractions!

I had 2 drug free births with my daughters, BUT with both I told the nurses that if I ask for drugs give them to me lol.. I used a birthing center so epidurals wern't and option but I made sure the nurses had gas on 'stand by' I just didn't end up wanting anything.. not sure why lol it hurt like hell but since the pain comes and goes it was managable..

anyway I geuss what i'm saying is choose what you want and ask them to have it ready if you want it but don't make any definate plans because you never knnow what your going to want untill your actually in labour and you might find you don't want anything either.. hope this helps lol

I would avoid Stadol (butorphanol) at all costs. Might not be able to get it even if you wanted it right now due to national backorder situation and only one US approved manufacturer. I was given that with my first child because I was experiencing some significant back labor pain and wasn't sure yet that I wanted to go the epidural route. I hated it. It did nothing to relieve my pain. It just made me fall asleep between contractions during which brief naps I would begin to dream vivid and often unpleasant dreams. Then I'd wake up as the next contraction started and would be babbling crazy stuff out of my dreams leaving my husband and mother wondering what I was going on about. I'd realize it had happened again and tell them never mind, but I started to wonder if I was losing my mind. Boy was I glad when *THAT* wore off! I wound up having an epidural later and felt no pain after that. I could still feel the contractions come and go, they just didn't hurt, and I didn't have problems pushing.

My second labor was a much better experience, the epidural failed somehow (never got pain relief from it), but the baby was in the proper position (first child came out sunny-side up and got a little stuck in the birth canal), I had come up with some good personal techniques for dealing with the pain, and due to the quirk with the epidural my nurse turned down the oxytocin (IV drug that stimulates contractions) long enough that I relaxed better and dialated quickly. World of difference.

So I feel like an epidural or not is entirely up to you and the situation in which you find yourself, but I don't recommend butorphanol. The hospital I work at now is using low dose fentanyl in its place, but I've never had fentanyl to comment on it. I highly recommend practicing relaxation/calming techniques before your labor begins... teach yourself to feel your muscles relax one area at a time, slow and deepen your breathing, and feel your heart rate slow a little. If you can talk yourself into letting your stress seep out and leave your muscles deeply relaxed like that you can use that to help diffuse some of the pain... tensing against the pain will only make it worse and I feel like it makes you labor longer too.

Best wishes on your birth!

I had 3 natural births and the last 2 were at home; no pain meds at all. And I FREAKING love giving birth! LOVE it! I would say to just go with your body and not fight it. Your body knows what its doing. Go in to it strong, cofident and focused, and you will be alright. And on the plus side, you get such a natural high after.

I just had 2 doses of iv fentanyl with both of my girls, and only during transition. With my eldest, it was a 6ish hour induced labor, lasted until transition before I needed anything. With my youngest, 4 hours of labor, again lasted until transition before I needed anything to take away some of the intensity.

Thanks everyone!!! The problem I had with my epidural was that I could not feel to push!! I wonder if the walking epidural would do better for me. I plan on talking to my Dr. I just wanted to hear others experiences too!! I appreciate all of your suggestions

Have your epidural when you are ready. When you are complete (fully dialted to 10) ask to "labor down". "Laboring down" simply means to rest until you have the urge to push. During this time do not push the button for another dose (PCA). Slowly you will regain feeling, pressure and the urge to evict the kid will come.

Best Wishes :-)

With two of my kids I had the demerol. It didn't really help me with the pain at all. With the third, I didn't have any pain meds by choice. I just found something to concentrate on, and focused on it as hard as I could to block out as much of the pain as I could. I wished now I had tried to go without meds with the other two. I just had a clearer mind, and was able to relax more. After it was all over I then had a couple vicodine to get on top of my pain. I do have an unusually high tollerance for pain though. I didn't feel the first cramp with the contractions until I was dialated to 9 1/2 centimeters...lol

I had a baby in May --- laughing gas takes the edge off and the effects are very short lived--- no feeling stoned when it counts... And it makes you giggle... Humor is needed during delivery...

I finally relented and got an epidural after 5 hours on pitocin due to a labor that didn't progress. It ****ing sucked, pardon my language. Look into hypnobirthing, it is fantastic for pain management without drugs (I did it up until my doula had to leave, and it kept my head clear even with the pitocin).