Pethidine vs Epidural

In theory it can make them sleepy which can be a concern if given close to birth. It can work really well in the early stages. You can have both. There is no best as such, it depends on what you need at the time.

I’m super undecided on where to start if I’m the birth centre and then move into the labour ward if needed or if straight in the labour ward just to ensure I’m close to docs, anesthesists etc

I had an epidural first time. My midwife at the time said you can have pethidine to reduce this pain by 20% or an epidural to take it away and by that point I said take it away 😅 If your birth centre is next to a labour ward then that feels like a safe bet starting there and seeing how you go!

Personally neither, I'm hoping I can get by with gas and air only as there are very very limited side effects with it 😅 however, trying to be open minded in case I need it. I'd go with pethidine as you can have it safely in starting stages and it can have a sleeping effect on the baby so cant have it in later stages. Epidural is great however I think it still passes through the placenta as well, and can't have it if your too far along. However, there's also research now that states that it can cause long term back pain and they often need a few tries putting it so I'm trying to refrain it from it unless I absolutely need it 😅x

🤣 that changes things a little ahah! The birth centre is on the upper floor of the labour ward, I think it wouldn’t take too much time to change me, I would love to go natural but I also don’t want to be in pain just for the sake of it! I’m more concerned with the pain in the expulsive moment and all the tearing and whatsoever 😬 especially since it’s the 1st baby and all the unknown is killing me

@Amanta I was hoping for gas and air only too!! 😅 but yes my baby was still a little sleepy after the epidural (though also could have been due to very long labour). However just wanted to share a positive story of an epidural from someone who absolutely didn't want one, in case it helps with open mindedness! And no back issues / failed entry or anything like that here :)

@Jenny that's promising! All I keep hearing is horror stories 😅

Epidural definitely better in terms of pain relief for me. Pethidine didn't do anything x

We will probably need to go with the flow I guess and see the status hour by hour

I had an epidural with my daughter, during a looooong induction and it was the best thing ever! No issues getting it in, worked super quickly, was still able to move albeit with help and I could finally rest after 48 hours of being awake. There are lots of potential side effects however including babies heart rate dropping when it’s first done. This did happen to my LG but it recovered quickly. I would say, know all about your options and go with the flow. You don’t get a medal for being brave at the end, which you totally should 😅 so if you want the pain relief, take it xx

I'll be having " do not offer me pain relief, I Will ask if needed " and hopefully coping with just the pool . My first and thurdni had just gas and air and my second was just the water birth. It's really not as "painful" as you imagine it will be. I don't feel comfortable with pethidine as it can effect the baby , and I definitely don't want an epidural because of the increased risk of interventions such as episiotomy, forceps/ventouse or section . It also can have bad side effects , people have a bad back for years! There arenother options thab the two though, there's meptid or paracetamol etc xx

I had epidural with my first when I got to 5cm as I just wasn’t coping no more. It was great for a few hours and I got some sleep. However when it got to the pushing stage i could feel everything as it had worn off and was too late for another one so i ended up having to do it with just gas and air 🙈 it hasn’t affected my back or anything like that but it also doesn’t work for everyone, ill be trying just gas and air and tens machine this time round x

I had pethidine, followed by an epidural with my first baby. For me, pethidine didn’t really help with the pain, it just made me feel like I was drunk - I was super spaced out and I could tell I was slurring my speech when trying to talk and for this reason I won’t be opting for pethidine this time round. The epidural helped so much more with the pain and I actually managed to have a rest. Also I was already numb for stitches etc after birth so was speedier. The downsides were that it takes a while to wear off after the birth, I haven’t had any lasting effects from it.

@Alana I'm glad that you were lucky that your births so far weren't very painful, mine definitely was!!

@Jenny I'm not saying they weren't painful, likez there was pain. But it wasn't excruciatingly unbearable, and it's only during each contraction it's not constant. It's pain with a purpose kind of thing lol. I was trying not to thibk of it as pain but waves if that makes sense. Like, ride the wave 🤣