[CallMeProtart]

Just a random thing that popped into my head. Sorry it's long. When I was researching pain relief options in hospital, it was very much seen as an escalation where you start with gas, then try pethidine if you need more, then to epidural if you need more again.

After my research, I decided to try to avoid the pethidine option, largely due to it's effects on the baby (as compared to gas and epidural, which I believe has fairly minimal effect on the baby), it's duration (in that at my hospital it was offered as an injection not a drip, so if I didn't like it I was stuck with it for 4 hours), and the experiences of my SIL's who had it, and hated it (nausea, feeling out of control, feeling it didn't reduce the pain, but reduced their ability to cope with it).

Once I got to hospital, I laboured for almost 24 hours only to find I was still only a couple of cms dilated, so at that point I knew I couldn't do another 24 hours on gas and figured I was going to end up with an epidural anyway, so I thought I'd go straight to that and avoid the nastiness of pethidine in my bub. I was also already 'hooked up' to a drip due to having ketones, so I wasn't able to have a free and active labour at that point anyway.

Anyway this was strongly opposed by the midwife and Dr on shift, and they heavily pressured me to take the pethidine (even when I was happy with gas and hadn't mentioned epidural!). They pushed and pushed until I started to doubt my own judgement, but thanks to the wonderful support from the previous midwife who respected my preferences, plus a midnight call to the SIL's to strengthen my resolve, I ended up saying no and got my epidural. I'm pleased I did, as I had lots more labour to go!

ANYWAY I'd just put this down to bad luck in the Dr and midwife that were on shift (which it certainly, partly was).

Last week, a friend of mine reported the same sort of experience. I had told her my story so she was rather against pethidine as well, but she was also heavily pressured by the midwife to take pethidine, and even after saying no she was interrogated, and pushed, in much the same way I was. Luckily they ended up calling her ob (she was private), and he respected her wishes.

Two different hospitals, one private one public, similar treatment and lack of respect of the mothers decision regarding pethidine.

Why is this? I'm just wondering - is there a good reason for there to necessarily be a progression THROUGH pethidine before epidural? Or is this more of a 'tradition'? Is there any reason why staff should be so keen on it that they will be very pushy and attempt to override the mother's choice? Or is it a case of bad staff?

I was just surprised that she should come across someone so innapropriately pushy, and on the same issue as me, and was wondering
1) is this common, and
2) why might it have happened?