One born

[reren]

Anyone watching tonight? What is diamorphine?? Don't remember that being on the list of things that we could have at kings?

[Lochie]

I'd never heard of it for labour either

Basically heroin?

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/painrelief/diamorphine/

[reren]

Sounds good! Wish it had been on the list of options!!

[sillywoman]

It was reren, Pethidine is its equivalent at Kings, but they don't have it on offer on the LW at Tommies (for good reason).

[reren]

But according to the post lochie attached it works better than pethidine - still crosses over the placenta which obv not great too late in labour- but interesting that it is more effective than pethidine...

[ratty]

Pharmaceutical heroin. Very effective pain killer as it is what they give to cancer patients (usually terminal ones so it does not matter if they get a habit).

Unlike street heroin there is no need to cook it up on a spoon, which is quite handy in labour!

[sillywoman]

Mmmm, it does too reren, dunno then . Money? Physicians choice? Dunno why not at Kings.

[ladywotlunches]

OK, so I have proof now that Northern ladies are tougher than southerners like me. The lady having twins that gave birth naturally, with no pain relief, one back-to-back (I think?) followed by a breach twin. Fair play.

[Kes]

I was told recently by an Obstetrcian at St T's that they do now offer Pethadine (though they didn't 2 yrs ago whn I was there).

I think it's a bit dramatic to call it "heroin" Many painkillers are opioids including pethadine, morphine, diamorphine co-codamol and heroin, but no one is going to turn into a trainspotting character because they had a shot of pethadine in labour.

Many patients who take these things long term can become addicted, but the additiction is initally psychological - fear of the pain returning if they stop the pills - not really an issue if you're not in labour anymore. (With terminal patients they have to keep increasing the dose as it stops being effective)

Not seen this weeks OBEM but my understanding of it was that they gave these drugs when the birth was still a long way off so the mother could get a bit of rest and a break from the pain, it would then have warn off by the time the baby was born with no lasting effects on either? Without the opioids the alternative is an epidural and all the issues that come with that (or just putting up with it).

Sorry I know people were probably joking when they said heroin but if I had to do another 30+ hour labour and I was offered pethadine this time, I'd like to think I wouldn't be looked down on as being a junky if I took it!

K