Pethadine?

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I used this last time when I got to 8 cm and while it did make me feel a bit out of it, I was still able to push normally and I do remember everything. The main downside was that it did make my son sleepy- we had to keep waking him up to feed him for a few hours after giving birth which was a bit stressful.

I had gas&air and pethadine. I wasn’t out of it, I still remember my whole birth, and was absolutely fine after giving birth. X

Yes this has thrown me off too I thought pethadine was a step down in comparison to epidural but apparently epidural doesn’t cross the placenta and pethadine does which has really thrown me. I really don’t want a needle in my back if I’m not having a section though due to chronic pain already

I felt out of it and was falling asleep between contractions, didn't do much for the pain at all and I got an epidural anyway. I would still consider it this time around as it helps you get some rest and I'm aiming for a home birth so my pain relief options are limited! Definitely still remember the birth

Can you see if your hospital has remi-fentanyl instead? Some places have started using it and lots of women like it. It only lasts for a couple of minutes so you press a button at the start of your contraction and by the end it has worn off, it does cross the placenta but because it's so short acting the baby doesn't come out sleepy in the same way. If you don't like the effects of it you can just not press the button and it will wear off within minutes. Risk factors are that it can make some women have reduced oxygen saturation in their blood, so you'll likely have a monitor on your finger just checking that throughout

I used it with my daughter and I only came around to being semi present during contractions. I do clearly remember my daughter being being born and being passed to me. I was very drowsy for the hours after though. I used Gas and air also so much that my jaw locked around the tube. I’ll be going for the same pain relief this time around so it wasn’t bad for me

I had it at 7cm.. I gave birth at 7cm.. and baby got most of it he came out and wouldn't cry he was happy breathing and just very chilled .. he was absolutely fine.. I didn't have much feeling of it .. I felt all the pain of labour and the stitches afterwards was awful. I don't remember feeling out of it or whatever just felt normal 🤷‍♀️ this was 8years ago though

Ive heard it helps with sleep so my plan is to use it early on in established labour (4-5cm) if I’m feeling absolutely exhausted from a long early labour/night of no sleep. Hopefully give me enough energy for the rest of the labour. Other than that scenario, I’m a bit hesitant too to use it further along as I don’t want me or baby to be drowsy. X