Our thoughts......
Once you reach transition, or the end of 1st stage, it is often regarded as 'too late' to use medical forms of pain relief. If the cervix can be pushed back this may be a quick solution. If this (or other solutions) do not work, and it is taking a long time, then pain relief may be the answer.
Many women will first try the
gas. This wears off quickly, and will not slow the labour down. Most caregivers will advise avoiding a
narcotic injection if possible, at this late stage. This can cross the placenta, and can affect the baby's effort to breathe at birth, if born within 2 to 4 hours after the drug is administered.
Epidurals can take 10-30 minutes to start working (sometimes longer, if you have to wait for an anaesthetist, or if you need to transfer from home or the birth centre). Be aware that you may need to wait a couple of hours for the epidural to wear off, before you can feel the urge to push your baby out again (the anterior lip should have gone by then). However, an epidural may do the trick, but ideally you should be able to wait for it to wear off, before pushing. You may wish to read more in
epidurals for labour.