For those of you who've already had babies...

[babyblog]

Feel like a traitor to sisterhood but cold hard truth -it's thw worst pain i have EVER felt. I can't describe it like any other pain, as nothing else has ever compared.

Each time a contraction came i felt like my stomach would explode, and it doesn't stop!

The minute i had an epidural (didn't even feel the eedle going in), the pain went and i have never known relief like it.I didn't feel any more contractions until it wore off-as for the pain on the actualt birth, i don't know as i had an emergency c section

BUT i'd do it over and over again in a hearbeat

 

[scaredmum2be]

I cant even handle a simple blood test without swearing cos it hurts lol. So the epidural is out the question for me, if they can pin me down they can do it lol.
Also the thought of being torn/cut terrifies me so thats why im guna be having fun in the labour ward haha x

 

[TattooedMama]

Hmmm.... Is it bad I can't remember labor all too much?! Seems so long ago!!!

Labor was not fun but the end result is amazing. My waters broke IN the hospital during a non-stress test and I wasn't contracting on my own so I had to be given pitocin which starts up & speeds up contractions. I was still not feeling the contractions for another few hours but when I did I was begging for the epidural!!! The epidural is not bad, seems scary when you think of it now but its highly unlikely when it comes time you will have any other thoughts then relieving some of the pain. My son is 3 now, he was 8lbs 1oz and from the time my water broke to him being born was about 15 hours. I did have a small tear on the inside that took two stitches but honestly you won't feel it if you tear. You can always tell your dr you do not want to be cut(episiotomy). Most women will tear on their own and that is preferred over being cut because a tear will heal much better.

So yes labor is painful and exhausting but trust me-those last few weeks of pregnancy you will be ready, whining & crying trying everything you can to get labor to start!!! LOL. Its all more than worth it

 

[scaredmum2be]

Well guys, ive always called a spade a spade so here goes..

im due my second in october and i'm absolutley sh*tting my pants about doing it again! If someone had come in with a gun during those contractions-i swear as true as i'm sat infront of this computer, i'd of asked them to shoot me and let it all stop!

And yet here i am..doing it again, it is worth it, once its out, the pain completely went..plus, now we're preggers we've got no choice!
then my best mate had one and said it was fine, no problem, enjoyed it almost! I'm a pussy i think!

I'm sh*tting myself at the thought im guna drop round august time and your worried for october lol you got plenty of time to worry ive been worried since i found out i was preg though im suprised ive had no more nightmares to be honest lolx

 

[Jomum2b-again]

i had a 2nd degree tear with my first and a 1st degree tear with my second, i was also there when my friend had an episiotomy (cut)

Do you notice it or are you just in to much pain?

nope didnt notice it at all until afterwards, i'd have happily got up after the birth and not noticed haha...with the 2nd degree tear i had to have stitches and when i went to the loo afterwards i thought i was going to rip in half
with the 1st degree tear, i didnt need stitches as it was only small, but it stung like a b*tch goin to the loo for a wee for about a few days afterwards until it had healed (sorri tmi)

 

[scaredmum2be]

is there another way of not being cut/torn down below area i mean is there another way of being able to get to the baby if you dont want to be cut/torn or will i have no choice at the time? lolx

 

[Sophie1205]

At the time, yes its awful, I wont lie. But you forget about the pain the instant you hold your baby. And looking back, labour is an AMAZING experience and I genuinely cant wait to do it again!!
I had pethidine, gas and air and diamorphine. They were all good. I didnt have the Epi and dont ever plan on having it if I can help it. xx

 

[polo_princess]

Imagnie the worst period pain youve ever felt in your life, times it by 10 and then add your OH standing on your stomach for 10 hours and thats pretty much what labour feels like

Its the worst pain imagineable, but you just get on with it because you know that 1. it'll be over soon, and 2. you'll get to meet your baby.

I would definatley do it again in a heartbeat, as soon as you see your baby you forget the hell you just went through, i know it sounds like a cliche, but its true

 

[Jomum2b-again]

is there another way of not being cut/torn down below area i mean is there another way of being able to get to the baby if you dont want to be cut/torn or will i have no choice at the time? lolx

if you tear, u wont have a choice, but u'll only be cut if you actually NEED to be i.e: if the babys head is crowning and it needs more room to allow it to come out without it resulting in you having a serious 3rd degree tear

 

[scaredmum2be]

I know see why women can have so many babies ie..4 and love being pregnant but ive not even had my own first child yet and all im thinking to myself is that i wont want anymore after this because i can just imagine the pain is real bad
If i can handle 3 days in agony with contraction typed with the last resort of morphine, im starting to think i wont be that bad x

 

[Mamabel]

Hi, I had an epidural with my first, and didn't feel a thing with the birth, which was disappointing in a way. Also, the nurses shoved my ankles over my shoulders, like that was helpful, and since I couldn't feel anything...I let them. All my muscles down there were pulled terribly, plus an episiotomy, so my recuperation post-birth was long and very uncomfortable.

For the second delivery, I got myself a competent midwife and asked her to manage the birth for me. I typed up a birthing plan ahead of time, and she followed it, knowing I wanted to avoid medication, as well as a few other requests. I can tell you this: I am a self-determined, focused, independent woman. But, the pain of childbirth made it impossible for me to manage the situation and my body at the same time. Having someone else tell me what to do and when was great. I had ultimately delivered a little girl on a birthing stool. The pain at crowning was a 10 out of 10, and for about 24-hours, I wasn't sure the whole experience was worth it. However, I felt better in about 8 hours and was ready to go home with my little girl and introduce her to her big sister and get on with things. I felt super! No ripping, episiotomy, etc. The midwife knew how to manage things so that I didn't tear. Also, after 24 hours, the pain went into a 'different place.' I've heard a lot of women say this too. It's like a fuzzy memory or a dream...doesn't feel real.

So, for the next one for me, no medications, and I'm considering having it at home. Now I just need a zygote!

Hope this helps. Don't be too worried. Women have been doing this for millenia after all, medicine free, and they actually choose to do it again, so you can too! Hope you find the right answer for you.

 

[mummy3]

Ive had a forceps birth a completely natural birth and a c section!
Forceps, cant really remember but after the stiches were very sore, contractions not terrible, had epidural due to pre eclampsia and never want one again! It just made the pushing stage so much harder!

Natural was amazing! one push and out he came no pain relief at all and up and about fine in about 20 mins

C-section was worst, horrible horrible feeling, I felt completely like I couldnt breathe, scary more than painful!

Next time im aiming for natural again, one thing I would say is that I was always waiting for the pain to get much worse that it was harder to cope, fear of the unknown!

 

[tasha41]

Labour... feels like very intense menstrual cramps.

To me when I was pushing though I felt like I was being ripped apart inside, my baby was pushing on some of my other organs though and causing me pain because she was too big (or I was too small) for her to come through.

Back labour... feels like hell... epidural does nothing for it...

Epidural... more painful for my OH to watch than for me to get, I had my mind on other things, I said Hail Marys and was focusing on sitting still through contractions, it's over fast and they give you the drugs quickly, I remember the cold fluid travelling down the tube they taped to my back but not the pain from the needle. They try to avoid letting you see the needle though, I think if I saw it first it would have been more traumatic. It's big/thick. Your legs become total dead weight though so it's nice to have 2 people in there to hold your legs up, they are super heavy when you can't help yourself hold them up really well.

But it was lovely to have it, I was able to sleep 2hrs at 10cm dilated. It also delivered the anesthesia for my c-section quickly with no extra needles etc. If you have an epi you can feel certain sensations (pulling, pushing and just rummaging around in your belly) during the surgery, but no pain. I didn't mind the surgery much at all TBH.

I personally thought the pain from my kidney infection when I was in 1st trimester was worse, it was way longer lasting with no end in sight lol and no pain relief really... labour you at least know will be done soon and you get a reward for it (baby)

 

[bethneebabe]

I used to be really scared of labor but I have watched some amazing videos of natural labor/water birth and for me that seems more right for me. I plan on doing a lot of pre-natal yoga and meditation so that I am mentally in a good place for labor. I also hate feeling numb, even from the dentist so no epidural for me!

 

[xLisax]

:wave: Hey Fuffy!

I was always terrified of labour when it was fast approaching, but now actually experiencing it I cant wait to do it again!

Yes, it hurts like hell, but the pain is manageable ya know? You know it is worth it, every contraction brings you closer to your baby! And these days you can have pain relief which means you don't feel it really

I agree with Tasha...contractions are like extreme, intense menstrual cramps as such. I found the crowning and pushing to be the worst pain, but that was the shortest part of labour...15 minutes for me And if you push the pain eases!

I ended up having gas and air and a shot of pethidine (which we later complained about, as they gave it to me 30 minutes before I was 10cm...) Max was 10lb shock and I did it fine...and I think I'm the biggest flid with pain EVER

And, as soon as the baba is in your arms...that pain? Gone! You dont even really feel the placenta being delivered...your on by that point

Haha, The End. Novel over

xx

 

[Ley]

Cold hard truth please! lol did you have any pain relief?

sorry I had to go offline last night so didn't get a chance to reply.

I've never had textbook labour. I don't get the build up in contractions, I get 1 on top of another right from the start. I also have very short labours. My first was 3 1/2 hours and my second was 45 minutes.
Yes the pain is absolutely unbearable, especially towards the end, there comes a point when you are transitioning from 8 cm's to 10cm's where you will probably tell everyone you don't want a baby anymore and you want to go home. I've heard most women do this.
The only way I can describe pushing (and it's very very TMI) is if you have ever been badly constipated. it's a similar feeling to try to go to the toilet whilst constipated only way more intense. It's like trying to push out the biggest, hardest poo you can imagine, then it burns and stings - a lot! while the babies head is crowning.
With my first I split my whole perineum right from 1 end to the other as she was being born and whilst I felt it tear, I was more concerned about the baby coming out between my legs lol.

Pain relief - With my first I had gas and air and pethidene. Gas and air was pants for me but I didn't have any time between my contractions to let it build up in my system. If used correctly it can be really helpful. Pethidene is a weird one. It doesn't take the pain away but it makes it marginally less intense and it makes you feel like you can rest in between your contractions.
The only downside to the pethidene is that, because my daughter was born so quickly she still had some of it in her system so was very sleepy and struggled to feed after birth. I was also still out of it on the drugs when she was born and felt weirdly detached from the situation.

My second was born totally naturally mainly because of the time issue and it was a much much nicer experience. Although the pain was much more intense than with my first, it was so lovely to be more with it and involved. When she was born the midwife held her up to me and I got to tell everyone she was a girl and then I burst out crying. The natural birth had been so so worth it for the feelings I got afterwards.

My last point to make is about your water. There is a definite difference in contractions before and after the waters break. Before the waters break they are less intense and are more in your stomach, like period pains and the water gives a sort of cushioning effect.
Once your waters break that cushion is gone and the contractions spread lower down. You also get so so much pressure down there which helps to amplify it all.

Anyway sorry for the essay (I did warn you lol), I could write all day about my labour experiences lol
If there is anything else you want to know give us a shout lol

 

[cleckner04]

My pain was a bit different because I was induced and it came on so strong. I had 25 hours of labor and that didn't even get her out and I ended up needing an emergency csection. I felt like someone was stabbing me in the cervix over and over with a knife. I can still feel it just sitting her picturing it. It was horrible. But you know what? It was worth it. I'd do it 100x worse if I had to.

 

[Ley]

oh and 1 more thing. For me the pain didn't go after I had the babies. I mean the contractions did (unless you have afterpains which are common when breastfeeding and in subsequent births) but you will feel like you have been hit by a bus for a few weeks after the birth. You will be very uncomfortable. You just pushed a baby out so it's gonna be sore for a while.

Oh and a tip - never look at your foo foo after giving birth. It won't look like your foo foo and will probably scare you lol

 

[cleckner04]

oh and 1 more thing. For me the pain didn't go after I had the babies. I mean the contractions did (unless you have afterpains which are common when breastfeeding and in subsequent births) but you will feel like you have been hit by a bus for a few weeks after the birth. You will be very uncomfortable. You just pushed a baby out so it's gonna be sore for a while.

Oh and a tip - never look at your foo foo after giving birth. It won't look like your foo foo and will probably scare you lol

 

[lisa-lovelife]

ummmm you will all prop hate me for saying this but i found it very easy ,i went in to labour whilst xmas shopping and i carried on by the time i made it to the hospital it was all over in 40 mins no pain stuff cos there wasnt time . it all felt very easy ...i loved the feeling start to end