I went into the hospital on June 14th for planned induction at 39w for three days. When I went into hospital, I had already been having consistent contractions from the morning and was in the very early stages of labour. I had a balloon catheter inserted at 5 pm, and cramping began soon after.
At about 8 pm, the cramping had become quite painful, so I placed on my TENS machine. It provided me with so much relief in the early stages I actually fell asleep with it on.
My catheter fell out at 5 am. I had removed my TENS machine for a few minutes and instantly regretted it. Once my waters were broken at 7 am, I had a Pitocin drip started, and the contractions started coming very regularly. The TENS machine allowed me to regain focus on my breathing and concentrate to breathe through each contraction.
"The TENS machine was a life saver in the early parts of labour and I would 10/10 recommend"
At 12 pm, my doctor had pushed for the drip rate to be turned up even though I was contracting at a rate my midwife considered to be desirable, the contractions sped up, and I became overwhelmed, as did the baby; I was having a contraction every 45seconds lasting for 30seconds at 6cm dilated. I was getting no break. Babies heart rate dropped at this moment, and my resolve of no epidural faltered here.
The TENS machine had given me so much strength up until this point. The moment it came off to prepare for the epidural, I missed it.
I gave birth at 4.41 pm after about four pushes; the doctor hardly had time to put gloves on. I was able to pull my glorious baby up onto my chest and had delayed cord cutting.
The TENS machine was a lifesaver in the early parts of labour, and I would 10/10 recommend. So easy to use, the battery was fantastic, and it really helped me rest and prepare myself. I will be hiring again if we have another baby.
