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Using Stadol as Labor Pain Relief
How Narcotics affect Mother, Baby and the Mother's Labor
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Brenda Lane
Jun 10, 2007
Narcotics can provide rest and relaxation to mothers in labor. However, narcotics can also affect the mother and the baby. Find out what you need to know.
Narcotics such as stadol are used very commonly as a pain relief option in labor. They are typically administered by the labor nurse through an IV during early or active labor. Because they do enter the mother's bloodstream, they are considered to be "systemic" in that the effects of the medication travel throughout not only the mother's body, but readily cross the placenta and reach the baby. What are both the pros and cons of this type of IV pain medication to help you decide what is right for you?
How Stadol may Affect the Mother
One of the advantages of narcotics is to allow mothers to relax or rest during labor. In some cases, mothers may even fall asleep for brief periods right after the medication takes affect. However, most mothers find that the effects of stadol provides some relaxation only between contractions, while during contractions, they often "wake-up" and feel they still need to do other coping methods such as breathing patterns. Unfortunately stadol and other narcotics often have other unpleasant side effects such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting and even hallucinations.
How Stadol may Affect the Baby
Since narcotics have a depressant effect on the mother, the same can be true for the baby. If the mother is still in labor, the medical staff will need to more closely watch the baby with continuous electronic fetal monitoring. If stadol is given to the mother within 3 hours of giving birth, the effect of the narcotic on the baby will be greater. Babies affected by narcotics such as stadol can have more difficulty in breathing as well as latching on well to breastfeed.
Other Pain Relief Options to Consider
While some mothers may find that stadol is effective, many are not happy with the side effects. In fact, mothers who have used stadol during labor often report that it did not effectively reduce their pain and they would not choose to use it again for their next birth.
Some mothers may opt to have an epidural instead of narcotics. Others may prefer a whole host of comfort measures or pain relief techniques such as hydrotherapy, position changes, massage, breathing and relaxation, to name a few. Use of a doula will often provide a greater array of pain relief techniques to the laboring mother.
Did you use stadol during your labor? Why or why not? What was your experience like? Tell us about it on the forum.
The copyright of the article Using Stadol as Labor Pain Relief in Childbirth - Labour & Delivery is owned by Brenda Lane. Permission to republish Using Stadol as Labor Pain Relief in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Oct 10, 2008 2:44 AM
Guest :
I am a mother who was given stadol during labor with my first child. I felt
like the medication relaxed me and let me sleep in between contractions and
i could still feel when i was having a contraction. When it was time to
push I was alert and able to push my baby out.
Nov 20, 2008 10:20 PM
Guest :
I am a mother that was also given Stadol and i have to say it was very
relaxing for me.. i am one who cant deal with pain to well i slept and i
also had the experience of feeling the labor in between sleep.. my baby
came out very healthy.. she is now 3 years old and very advance for her
age.. so i would tell anyone who would like comfort to seek it..
Nov 25, 2008 11:54 AM
Guest :
Stadol turned me into a lunatic on the day of my labor & delivery. I
became dizzy, disoriented, and basically a nutso...AND, it BARELY relieved
my pain! Definitely let your OB doc know you're not interested in Stadol!
Mommy to Simone Isabella, born 11/4/08..our beautiful baby
girl!
Dec 18, 2008 5:54 AM
Guest :
I had stadol during delivery and it helped me greatly with the pain. I had
an epidural with a previous delivery and the back pain was worse than the
pain left from giving birth! Stadol was very helpful and didn't seem to
have any effect on my baby. He is 23 months and very advanced for his age.
He also had NO problem latching on and his first feeding was nearly 30
minutes.
Jan 15, 2009 6:45 PM
Guest :
I used stadol for my first baby. I did not like it because it didn't help
with the pain and it made me feel loopy and high.
Feb 12, 2009 1:30 PM
Guest :
I was also given stadol during labor and it made me hallucinate... I
seriously thought I was going to die. Not only that but it didn't help
with the pain - it just made me too high to complain about the pain. Stay
away from it!
Feb 12, 2009 7:45 PM
Guest :
I used stadol for all 3 of my pregnancies. I was relaxed just enough to
rest when I needed too and I was able to walk about an hour after giving
birth and could shower a few hours later. Not to mention, I nursed all 3 of
my lovely little ones and they all latched on perfectly, as a matter of
fact I was asked if the 3rd could be used to show a student lactation
consultant how perfect latch on should look. I think that just as with any
other drug...the reaction you have depends on your own chemical make
up...but at least I wasn't having a needle stuck into my spinal cord in the
middle of a contraction!
Apr 4, 2009 8:28 AM
Guest :
I took Stadol with the birth of my first child. I had been induced to due
to my water breaking prematurely on my due date. I was told it would
"take the edge off" my pain. After it was put in my IV I did not
know if I had pain or not, I was so high and out of it. I even forgot how
to push when the time came. I don't remember what happened during the main
part of the delivery. I wish I would have been more informed about
possible side effects. If you are not tolerant of narcotics, then stay
away from Stadol!
Apr 22, 2009 9:47 AM
Guest :
They gave me Stadol after the Tylenol PM we took at home didn't work. I
just wanted a nap before pushing, and that's all I got. No pain relief.
Breathing and staying calm worked fine, anyway. Unfortunately, my head and
body weren't working together. I wasn't as alert as I would've liked. I was
loopy and could barely hold my head up.
I wouldn't suggest
Stadol if you want to be alert, but if you don't mind being woozy, go for
it. My baby was born completely alert and at 7 months is starting to walk,
so no side effects from what we've seen.
May 23, 2009 7:24 AM
Guest :
I was given stadol 4 years ago when I was in labor it did not help at all
for pain, I could not rest. I havent been the same since mentally.
Jul 17, 2009 8:02 PM
Guest :
I am 8 months pregnant and have begun to dialate a little along with
sometimes very severe contractions.The doctors that I have seen have pretty
much just been trying to keep me from progressing any further.The last time
that I went to the ER , I was given stadol to control my pain. It is a good
thing that I didn't go into full labor because I would not have been strong
enough to give birth.I felt dizzy, loopy, high as a kite,and completely
disoriented along with the fact that my breathing and heart rate slowed so
much that it scared me.And then came the overwhelming need to sleep. I
cannot imagine how any woman is able to go through labor and delivery while
feeling like this. I have previously had an epidural, and that would be my
reccomendation for pain in child birth, it just takes the pain away almost
100%.
Aug 7, 2009 8:30 PM
Guest :
I am a mom who had stadol about 7yrs. ago it worked like a charm , I
received 1st dose at 3 and went to sleep woke up at 5 received a little
more and slept again til I was 10 and ready to push . By then it was
completely worn off I dealt with an hour of labor pain at the end and was
able to feel all!!!It did make me feel woozy a little but I didn't fight it
just let it put me to bed, lol. But I didn't mind one hour of pain is
nothing compared to what most mom's go through. I am currently pregnant and
plan to use again with this delivery.
Oct 5, 2009 6:27 AM
Guest :
My dr's gave me Stadol to help me sleep when my labor stalled. But they
were wrong - it was just the stall during transition. So I got half a dose
of Stadol, which knocked me out so much I was falling asleep between
pushing contractions (it didn't kill the pain of the contraction, but it
did take the edge off enough to relax me some), and my daughter was born
only three hours after they gave me the drug. As a result, she was born
not breathing and blue and they had to give her two minutes of oxygen
before she even made a sound. Meanwhile, I was so drugged I couldn't bring
myself to care. I had a 24 hour labor and wish I had taken Stadol 12 hours
earlier so I could have taken a nap. But never again will I risk taking it
with my labor in such a late stage. Too dangerous for the baby.
13 Comments
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