Is childbirth THAT bad?

[Mummy2B21]

It is severe the pain, and most likely the worst pain you will ever feel physically, but I wouldn't say it's unbarable, as naturally as long as you start your Labour in a calm mind set you can deal with the pain in your own way, you understand that after a contraction in a few minutes there will be another and it is tiring and still scary evan with a calm mind set as the contractions just keep coming and coming and intensifying, you think there's no way the pain can get worse but it does but you manage it because you have to. I can't imagine how distressing it must be for someone to go into Labour truely scared and panicky that is going to make your labour a lot worse in regards with dealing with pain. Prepare yourself as much as you can, understand that the pain isn't to be scared of and it is very natural be calm and your Labour pain won't feel as unbearable as someone who is in the opposite mind set.

 

[Scuba]

Everyone's different but for me it was the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. I went in calm, had done self hypnosis before hand, was relaxed and had my pipe music ready, but oh my days, I could have had my legs chopped off and I wouldn't have cared!
I had an elcs for my next birth and loved every minute - I'd def do c sec recovery 100 times over in place of ever birthing 'naturally' again!

Just to add, I think I'm in the minority, my pain threshold is low and I was induced, it's just me most likely and it is true that the memory of the pain does lessen xx

 

[Tigerlily01]

I'm glad someone asked this, I've been wondering about this as well.

I didn't find the contractions that painful at any point to be honest, like really bad period cramps at their worst, but I have a background in yoga and meditation so found I was able to relax through contractions quite easily.

And this makes me feel better too...I do taijiquan so hopefully some of those concepts will carry over!

 

[wamommy]

Honestly, it's a different experience for every woman. The pain isn't the same for everyone... so for some it's horrible and for some it's easy.

My DH loves to talk about how his ex-wife barely made a sound and her short labor was almost painless. Woo, the frickin' hoo, seriously... I'm not her. I groaned like a dying boar and it DID hurt me. That doesn't make me less "tough," perhaps it just WAS more painful for me.

It's so individual and personal that I wouldn't compare your laboring or birth to others. Just go into it with an open mind, calm, confident, with a belief that whatever happens, you can handle it!

 

[momto3kiddies]

It was 100% pain free from start to end...but I think thats cuz I went in with broken waters at 12 I was 5 cm dilated and got my epidural at 2 and gave birth at 6...no pain at all...i kept asking am I pushing right? is he out? as she lifted him and put him on my chest...I felt nothing at all.

 

[gwenvamp]

I had a really fast labour with my first daughter. I was six hours, she was 8 pounds and I didn't have stitches or anything. I don't really remember the pain to be honest and I'm hoping with this pregnancy that it will be about the same. I think even if it is some bit painful its well worth it, I'm sick for most of the pregnancy so I think I deserve an easy labour for some reason though i seem to be watching loads of One Born Every Minute.

 

[NoodleSnack]

I mean I know its no walk in the park, but everytime I hear about it its described as the most painful experience in the whole world. As an unbearable pain?
Any opinions?

It's definitely not the most painful thing in the world, it's not even the kind of pain that makes you flinch and jump away. If you have a normal birth, each contraction starts gradually so you have time to prepare yourself, then it gets worse and you know that it'll peak and then come down again. It's the kind of pain you just endure. But when the midwife put her hand up my vagina to feel my uterus, that's the kind of pain that makes you jump back from.

I know it's standard advice, but just embrace it and try to breath in and out deeply, you'll find ten hours go by pretty quickly during active labour. Try a repetitive action that aid your breathing. I used my hand, I push my hand out as I breath out and pull it in when I breath in. I just kept looking at my hand and it directed my breathing. Maybe you can think of an action that works for you now and practice it.

When it comes time to push, I found it hard not to grunt, not because it was painful (in fact it took away the back pain and was quite a relief when I learned how to do it properly), there was just an urge to do it to assist the pushing, but my midwife kept saying not to do it, to hold my breath, which was much harder to do.

Having said all that, for my next birth, if I were to do it vaginally, I would seriously consider epidural. I know I can handle the pain again, but I just don't see the point of doing it. This labour, I thought it would reduce my chances of an intervention so I never thought of asking for it but I ended up needing intervention anyway.

 

[ParisJeTadore]

Everyone is going to experience pain differently, and I truly believe that your state of mind heavily influences your experience. If you go into labour with fear and the expectation that labour will be incredibly painful, then you're probably going to experience it that way.

This is definitely true. Attitude is SO important! Go in tense and it will be much more painful. Maybe I was just unlucky but circumstances do/can play a role in how painful labour can be. I did hypnosis for my birth and it allowed me to stay calm, relaxed and focused from start to finish. I did so well that the nurses said I was the talk of the ward and wanted to know what I used. Unfortunately, I had back labour the entire time (not one single cramp in my front) and no amount of relaxation could help the excrutiating pain I felt. Personally, I feel that depending on the size/shape of your pelvis and the manner in which your baby is facing it can make a huge difference.

 

[LegoHouse]

The last 15 minutes of my labours were the bits that hurt. The second time I just thought about my daughter singing whilst I pushed and it was fine. I think it's all about how you handle it. Once you lose control, that's it. Keep focused and trust your body and you will be fine!

 

[justhoping]

my first i was in strong labor for 5 days. I was in pain and tired and yes it hurt more then anything in this world. But sooo worth it. My second I was in labor 4 days, see each labor gets shorter..and it wasnt a build up slow it was ouch your in labor and it hurts like heck!! for four days...:S...my third three days and my last two days....

its agony...i was in a good frame of mind but it didnt help, the one thing that did help is knowing it doesnt go on forever. And the gift is at the end where you hold your precious baby...This for me was after months of preterm labor which hurt and my babies where premies but again.....each baby is a gift and this is why they call it a labor of love, because it really is

xx

 

[katieeandbump]

Urmm in a word ... Yes!

 

[2011Maybebaby]

I was induced and I've heard that this is different to regular labour. For me there was no cramping but an internal burning that started low and travelled up through me. I had to stand when having contractions and was literally on my tippy toes at the peak of each one. Then I got the epidural and the pain vanished. You don't forget the pain after but its so worth it. That's why I'm on baby no 2!

 

[kimberleyrobx]

Its the most pain i have every been in although i have never broke a bone in my body or anything like that so i cant compare. it started off for me as period like pains along with back pain, every two minutes lasting 30 seconds from start to finish and it just got more intense and harder with every contraction. it hurt so bad but i managed a whole 16 hours before begging for the epidural where it got really intense and i had no more energy to deal with them. its hard, but i think i could last longer second time round knowing what the pain is like xx

 

[lucy_lu10]

I've had 2 boys and yes it hurts but it's also manageable depending on how you look at it. (Obviously some women have complications, low pain tolerance, etc that can make it worse but there are so many factors to take into consideration.) I birthed both my boys without drugs and they were both posterior but I'm still looking forward to doing it again one day!! haha I did have a few moments of panic with #2 as soon as contractions started because it brought back the memory of the pain from #1 but I'm blessed with short labours (7 hours and 3 hours) and knew it would be over soon.

I found the contractions to be to worst part but if you visualize your body making progress and getting your baby into position/moving him/her down, it really helps. The pressure is pretty intense when baby is in the birth canal but again, you know the end is near (hopefully) so you kind of just get on with it. The ring of fire hurts but you also have the chance to touch/see your baby's head and that can really help!! Just make sure you have a supportive birthing partner and a midwife or doctor that you feel comfortable with and that guides you during the pushing. Having help/direction during pushing can make all the difference between tearing and not tearing. Kind nurses help too but that's luck of the draw. My nurses kept talking about horses in between contractions and I just wanted to yell at them to shut up because I don't care for horses! lol

Anyway, yes it hurts; your body is working harder than it ever has before but once baby is out, the relief and amazement take over and it makes all the pain and hardwork very worth it!

 

[TheEternal]

It was the worst pain.

I'm left pretty traumatized from it and at this point in time (and I'm doubtful it would change in the future) I don't want to go through that experience again

 

[GreyGirl]

I think it's going to totally depend on the person, baby and unique experience as to whether it lives up to how bad you think it will be. Mine was worse in some ways, better in others, but it wasn't 'that' bad because nothing major happened to make it more traumatic that was expected. Let's put it this way, within 24 hours I couldn't remember how bad the pain way, I knew it had hurt, a LOT, but it disappeared from memory quickly. I would also do it again.

 

[xsadiex]

I really enjoyed my birth experience, there was a part where I thought I couldn't do it any more but it didn't last that long. I found pushing quite easy too which helped. X

 

[juicyjay797]

It was painful for me. My daughter was head up and the epideral did nothing for me. It was so dry and it just hurt. But I know quite a few ladies who gave birth without a problem. Wish it was me. Never the less having your baby in your arms makes it not such a bad experience at the time. ITS SO WORTH IT!

 

[MrsKTB]

Every labour is different, every woman is different. For me, yes, it was THE MOST PAINFUL THING ive ever experienced, but the pain was completley forgotten by the time I got to hold my boy. Im quite exited about doing it again....an imense feeling of pride knwoing that you've brought a person into the world. My son was breech too, which made matters worse.

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Mine was not. I had an easy going attitude about it and I think your attitude does help. The more scared you are the worse it will probably be. You have to understand women do this every day and most of the world doesn't make such fuss about it than westerners.

I had a quick 3.5 hour labour. It was painful but I managed it naturally. It was also the best experience of my life. I feel a much more strong woman having birthed my daughter. I forgot the pain as soon as they put her on my chest.