Pain Relief

I tried the IV meds before I decided to get the epidural which worked until I was about 6cm.

Some hospitals give nitrous oxide, which is the laughing gas. Other techniques are breathing, “singing” ooo or aaa, Hypnobirthing or any type of meditation, squeezing a comb, moving to better positions. Since everybody is different some things might work for ones and some for others. Also, some of these require practice

@Sabrina I appreciate the information. That’s why I was asking what has been used by others. I don’t want to try something if I don’t know anyone who has experience with it.

@Kameron so you basically ended up doing that medicine and the epidural?

When I had my first I used all of them, which were really helpful until I got to the hospital and they told me that my baby was going to get born on the following day (which ended up not being true), and I asked for an epidural. I know a lot of people who didn’t ask for epidurals also using those techniques, mostly knowing how to breathe

Although I received an epidural, I was using a birthing comb prior to help with contraction pain. Sounds silly but it helped a lot by focusing on the hand tension rather than the pain of the contraction as I breathed.

I gave birth a week ago! Breathing, counter pressure, laboring on the toilet and in the shower! I had to stay moving or it was just too much. If you feel like screaming you have to make low gutural growls. I swear it helps. I gave birth laying on my side. Nurse held one leg up for me. I couldn’t get the nitrous oxide because I couldn’t keep the monitors on my baby. They just kept rolling and coming off because I couldn’t hold still. I also used guided meditations to help coach my breathing and keep me grounded. Jason Stephenson on YouTube! Any of his meditations kept me calm during labor. My labor was 11 hours long and only had 13 minutes of active pushing.

@Jacqueline yes, and everything went very smooth