Forum The birth

Vomiting during childbirth

11 replies

Coconut
I have a severe phobia of vomiting and my due date is coming up soon, so I'm pretty nervous!

I'd like to know who of you did or didn't have to vomit during labor.

For those who didn't have to, did you also have an empty stomach (ate less) before the delivery?

For those who did have to, did you choose a certain type of pain relief? (I wonder if the vomiting is mainly due to the contractions or also due to side effects of pain relief.)

Replies

  1. Mijn Guest #2

    Didn't vomit. Did have back pain though. Appetite was really strong at first, but when I got hungry, I waited until after the birth to eat.

  2. Ukke #3

    Didn’t vomit and just kept eating as usual. Did have an epidural though. But I think it varies from person to person whether you vomit or not. I don’t think the pain relief has much to do with it.
    But at that moment you’re really not focused on what you were afraid of beforehand (at least I wasn’t).
    You’re so busy with the rest of your body that you can’t deal with the fears in your head anymore.

  3. kirstnn #4

    I threw up here and had an epidural, but I started vomiting as soon as I got contractions, and it went on for the whole labor. So it really is so different!

  4. Maria Guest #5

    I think you can't really say anything about it beforehand. I had eaten, because I didn't know I'd give birth a couple of hours later. When we were at the hospital, I had to throw up twice. I didn't get any pain relief or anything like that. But even if I had gone for it earlier, I would still have thrown up, because it was right after we arrived at the hospital.
    What I understood during my pregnancy course is that vomiting is a way your body prepares you for labor, so that everything unnecessary is cleared out.

  5. kruimel #6

    Vomited during both births, no pain relief.
    I had to vomit as soon as I lay down, so touching wasn’t really pleasant, but luckily it was hardly needed thanks to the quick labors
    Both births were at night, and I ate normally the day before..

  6. Kat #7

    I didn't throw up either time. With the oldest, I hadn't eaten, and with the youngest, I had, so it didn't make much difference. I think it's really just very different from person to person.

  7. Anonymous Guest #8

    No experience here, but I do have a question. How did you handle the pregnancy? How did you survive it? I also had an intense scare with vomiting, and we've been trying for two months now. Every time I take a test, I get a panic attack because it just has to turn positive... And my desire for a child is so big

  8. Red_tears #9

    Vomited during the first contractions during labor. But this had a different cause. We had been to a baptism party the evening the contractions started, and I couldn't digest the food very well. Especially the tomato cream soup came back up ????

  9. Coconut started this #10

    Hi anonymous, I totally get you. I was really scared of pregnancy too and waited a long time to have kids, partly because I didn't dare. I've been pregnant three times now. I lost one baby boy and one baby at 14 weeks, and now I'm pregnant again, all within a two-year span. I was really nauseous during the first two pregnancies, didn't actually vomit but came pretty close a few times. I always had a stash of anti-nausea meds on hand and took them regularly. During the birth of my first child, I also got injections in the hospital for vomiting just in case. I didn't feel nauseous for a second. But I was living abroad then; in the Netherlands they're a bit more hesitant to prescribe meds for that, which is why I'm so anxious now. By the way, I haven't been nauseous at all during this third pregnancy, so it can definitely be fine!

  10. Anonymous Guest #11

    I had to vomit once during labor, but it was mostly just water and the dextros I’d taken. There wasn’t much else in my stomach since I’d started early in the morning and had absolutely no appetite. (I was chowing down right after the birth I was really hungry then!)
    I don’t really mind vomiting; it usually relieves me when it happens.
    I also spent a lot of time hanging over the toilet during the first three months of pregnancy, but I could always eat again afterward. I’d definitely have an appetite again. But well, in healthcare, you need to be able to handle these things a bit, otherwise, the job can be tough sometimes.

  11. Coconut started this #12

    Hmm, so there's no real connection then with a full or empty stomach or with pain relief... Is it just luck then? Hopefully the medication works!

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