Oxytocin induction with no epidural?

I personally haven’t , however one of my close friends had the drip without an epidural and said it was the worst thing ever. When I went in for induction she advised me if I had to have the drip make sure I get the epidural first. She did ask for the epidural once on the drip but she was too far gone x

Me.. I started out with the gel for induction, had waters broken and then the drip. I had no epidural, did it all on gas and air. I'll be honest.. it was painful. It made the contractions come way quicker/closer together and a lot stronger. But, although it was painful, I wouldn't say it was horrendous like you hear people say. I didn't want an epidural and I'm glad I didn't have one. It will always be different for everyone x

I wasn’t allowed epidural due to medical reasons and was terrified because the only stories I had heard of was with epidural. I told the midwives I wanted to try as much as possible to induce without the drip first and they were amazing. However, I did end up needing the drip as nothing was moving. All I can say is it was the most empowering experience ever. It was my 2nd and the whole experience was great. The pain was a lot but the whole birth was a lot quicker. In total I went from nothing to baby in my arms in 37 minutes. (My first was 1 hour 28 total labor time, so I know that’s fast anyway) I had gas and air and managed fine, your body is incredible and there’s nothing like the satisfaction knowing you did it! Obviously, I don’t know what your situation is but I physically wasn’t allowed epidural the only pain relief my body could have was gas and air so I couldn’t even consider it.

Thanks mamas! Was the pain of contractions mostly like really strong painful period cramps? How would you describe the pain after the drip?

I had the epidural with drip literally yesterday and tbh I wouldn’t change a thing. I jumped from 6cm to 9cm in 6 minutes. I cannot imagine how excruciating that would have been if I wasn’t numbed😣. Contractions before my epidural felt like period cramps but so intense i could barely even take it. Ofcourse take everyone’s opinions with a pinch of salt because it is totally different for everyone and depends on ur pain tolerance too! Goodluck whatever you choose.

(UK based) I was induced last week with the pessary followed by the hormone drip once my waters had been broken. It was the most pain I've ever experienced and ramped up really quickly with no respite between contractions. It became a bit too much for me to handle so I ended up getting an epidural 5 hours in, and gave birth 45 mins later 😅 those last 45 mins were so much calmer though and it gave me a moment to gather myself before pushing. I did end up needing stitches after a large blood loss and the anaesthetist said it was a good thing I already had the epidural in as it meant they could numb me straight away. I would definitely get an epidural again if I was induced. You can control the amount administered so I was still able to move my legs and feel pressure without pain. Good luck, hope it goes well x

With my eldest I had Oxytocin with no epidural, just gas and air. With my second child's birth last week I made sure they knew I wanted an epidural from the start. Whoever would listen, I made sure I was having one!! That says it all 😬🤐

I had the drip without the epidural & omg I was so stupid looking back! Gas & air literally does nothing! I had it in at 12 and at first it was fine but within a few hours (they up it every half hour) it caused horrific back to back contractions much worse then natural labour. I can't even explain the pain I said to my partner tho how it's possible to be in this much pain & not die 🫠😭 I have a high pain threshold so I dealt with it well I stayed calm & quiet but in the end the midwife could see I was in agony & she said to me look we don't no how long this is going to go on for maybe it's time to have the epidural I was like yep give it to me.. anyway I waited for the anthesiast and u have to sit extremely still having it done which was hard but the minute he put it in and I got back on the bed she was born so it never got time to work 🙈 honestly don't try act tough like me I strongly reccomend you get it done. Like the midwife said to me you don't get prizes for not having pain relief

Hey I had an induction using the hormone drip and didn’t have an epidural. I always thought I had a really low pain threshold but I actually managed fine! Personally I found my birth with Nora really positive, yes the pain was extreme but personally it was manageable and overall a really empowering experience. I like that I felt able to work with my contractions. I relied a lot on hypnobirthing techniques which actually made the whole experience so positive and empowering. I was suprised just how much they helped and didn’t think they would but creating a calm environment and working with my breath during contractions was in my experience really helpful to manage the pain. The pain is so hard to describe, it’s un imaginable until your in it but your bodies hormones help you out soo much too and your body knows how to birth your baby. I would just say try to stay totally open minded, I didn’t rule out an epidural and had it in mind that if it was too much I would have one.

Remember you’re allowed to change your mind too! So I would say stay open minded and see how you get on. For me I just wanted the experience to be as positive as possible so I was so open minded to having an epidural if the pain became too much. The start of my contractions did feel like strong period pains and then for me the worst pain was the pressure in my lower back. Good luck mama you got this!!