Labor...what is it like

[wubba]

If it was that bad no one would do it again, and you do have to go with the flow - look how different my two experiences were. I expect my third will be different again. With my first I was begging for an epidural, but they were understaffed and could not do one. I'm now glad I didn't have one as I think this would have affected my ability to push ds1 out. I'm also glad I felt what it was like to push him out iykwim? Other women have had epidurals and found that has worked for them. The main thing is that baby arrives safely and that you recover okay!

 

[CelticNiamh]

This is my 5th baby I have had one c section and the rest normal

Yep labour is painful but oh so worth it, I think the best thing you can do is get informed what the best positions to labour in, what pain relief you would like be it natural to epidural check out the effects of those.

I do believe if you have a plan on what you would like or not like it can help prepare you.

then when its all over and baby is in your arms you forget the pain and its the best feeling on earth meeting your new baby

 

[Justagirlxx]

Labor is the worst pain imaginable and I will not be having any more children! It was like hell on earth. I went into it not being scared at all but if I ever had another I know I'd be absolutely terrified. I had a picture perfect delivery though nothing went wrong whatsoever so for that I am extremely greatful.

 

[goddess25]

I think it can depend on how you view the whole situation. First time around like you I was nervous and tbh i never even thought about labour until pretty close to the end my mind was not ready to think about it.

I was scared and terrified after hearing all the horror stories that people relish in telling you.

My experience was awesome.... I wanted to labour at home, then go to the hospital for the pushing stage. Yes its painful, very painful but i kind of embraced it i guess... i viewed every pain as bringing my baby closer and it was quite joyful and exciting at the same time. I had originally wanted a water birth but when it came to it hated being in the water i found it very irritating.

I stayed at home until I was 9.5cm dilated went to the hospital and the ending was a little blip in the plan...but it was truly the most fantastic experience of my life. It amazes me what our bodies can do.

I think it helped me that I am a nurse.. I work with leukemia patients and I have seen people in tremendous amounts of pain that will not end until they pass away. I think because I have dealth with that so much... it helped me that i knew that although my pain was intense it was temporary with and end.

This time around I am going to have a homebirth... as long as its safe to do so at the end.

Try not to worry its a great experience.

 

[cherrybug]

Hi - just popping in from 1st tri - will be with you in 4 days tho as Im, 13w3d today.

Anyway I have a daughter and I actually thought giving birth was amazing. I planned a water birth without pain relief other than gas and air. Ended up having to be induced at 39 weeks, continually monitored and on my back much to my horror! Luckily once they broke my waters it progessed really quickly and I had my little girl with just the help of gas and air (which is great stuff!). I actually found the pushing part a real relief as it relives the pain of the contractions. I did have a tear but even this wasnt as bad as I would have thought (apart from going for a wee in the days afterwards!) and on the whole I loved giving birth. For me it was truly amazing. Plus, if you manage without an epidural or any opiates you get the natural endorphins afterwards which make you feel great!

Only advice I have is be prepared to be flexible and do what you feel you need to do at the time. And of course it is completely worth it, which is why I'm doing it all over again! Good luck.

 

[minibeast]

i can't wait!! this is my first baby but i'm gonna embrace the birth, it wont last long in the grand scheme of things if you thin about it.. i saw a zebra on tele giving birth the other day n she seemed peaceful bless her. it's what we're made to do, just try to prepare yourself with knowing some excersises and positions etc, and try not to worry yourself - there's enough strain on our bodies already! : ]

 

[Emmie M]

Believe me,labour IS NOT the worst pain ever!! I've had gallbladder flare ups,thats the worst pain ever!! lol!

When I was preg with DS,he was 5 days late and I hadnt felt him move in the afternoon and was worried,went to maternity and they put me on a monitor,that was at 5pm,said he wa fine and i wasnt in labour,went to see my mum,went to the loo,bit of pink discharge on the paper,was still fine,left there at about 6-7pm,got a chinese takaway,still fine,9pm,fast contractions,hospital,3cms dilated,had him at 4:29am,I think,working it all out my labour from first contraction to last stitch was 8 and a half hours,not even gas and air! He tore me inside on his way out and I also had an episiotomy. Yes it hurt and was uncomfortable but your body just does it and gets on with it. I actually thought it wasnt that bad!! I never even went to any of the classes your supposed to go to either,I thought I'll let my body do what it wants and if I cant cope then I'll have something. Going to jinx myself now and I bet I have the most horrendous labour ever with this one!!

 

[lottie77]

This will be my 3rd labour and the other two where very painful at times but I loved every minute of both labours (even my 1st labour that needed forcepts) because I knew I was getting to see my baby at the end , and it made me and hubby closer also as a lot of people say it is all forgotten about straight afterwards no pain no gain

 

[momofmister]

i can't wait!! this is my first baby but i'm gonna embrace the birth, it wont last long in the grand scheme of things if you thin about it.. i saw a zebra on tele giving birth the other day n she seemed peaceful bless her. it's what we're made to do, just try to prepare yourself with knowing some excersises and positions etc, and try not to worry yourself - there's enough strain on our bodies already! : ]

Don't mean to scare you but my first labour lasted 38 hours and trust me if I could have got my hands on a peaceful Zebra I would have strangled it...lol

I had an awful experience with my first, 38 hours with an epidural....and yet here I am again. You do tend to block out the pain..you NEVER forget it but just seem to set it aside.

As I explained to my husband the other day....labour and delivery is like sawing off your own arm with a dull plastic knife will someone else hacks off your leg with a rusty saw. But I wouldn't change it for the world. Once that little head comes out its pure heaven and they could pretty much do what ever they want to you and you won't have a care in the world!

 

[Marysr]

For me, it was a lot calmer than anything I'd expected. I was in labor w/o really knowing for a while. It just happened that I went in for my 38 week OB appointment and when she measured me, I was 4 cm. So we went to the hospital and there I labored and it was... pretty uneventful. No pain or pressure. At 6 cm, she broke my waters and then it moved a bit faster. At 6 cm, I felt my first real contraction and it totally caught me off guard. It sure did hurt. I labored w/o any drugs until it was time to push and it hurt, but I had my ipod and I just kind of lived through it. It was pretty fast so I didn't have to go for hours and hours. I pushed for three solid hours and that was exhausting! After three hours, it was determined that my son was sideways positioned and I would not be able to safely push him out and I ended up going for a cesarean. So, in a way, I got to experience both a vaginal (w/no meds) and a cesarean with an epidural.

The entire time I pushed, it was just my husband and I in the room and the nurse came in every 10 minutes or so to check on us. It was quiet and calm, just exhausting.

I think the movies make labor more dramatic. Granted, everyone is different, but the three times I have been in the room during labor - including my own - it was just a lot calmer.

 

[blue_kat]

I wasnt worried about it until the last week or so when everytime I switch on the telly and see someone screaming the hospital down! That made me feel quite sick!

Apart from that, I am hoping to work until as late as possible as I walk alot with my job so that should keep me fit. In an ideal world I would then like a waterbirth with just me and my OH keeping as calm as possible so I can let my body do what it needs to do - I dont mind really if it doesnt go accordingto plan as thats the nature of things like this - but I just know that I will feel so much happier without people being all dramatic around me and just give me space!

I am planning on making it clear to all family that they will get a call from OH when its all done but to leave us to it during labour as I dont want him disappearing to answer calls every 5 mins - and if he takes any work calls I will kill him! ( we have our own business)

 

[MiuMiow]

I'm 22 weeks and 2 days now and thankfully not more scared than I was ten or twenty years ago. I want all the pain relief, the moms in my immediate circle all did and a birth 'au naturelle' never even entered my mind (barring things suddenly going really really fast). I had some stomach trouble a few weeks ago and the pain of that was so awful *shudder* I cannot face up to hours and hours of it. I'm really curious about the whole experience though.

 

[danni1979]

Oh i rememeber the days when i was preg with dd,going to the mat unit and hearing the screams and bricking it!! lol
BUT
For me it wasnt like that at all!! The best bit of advice was from my mum,which is,dont fight the contractions,go with them,sounds nuts but it really did work for me!! I breathed slowly in and out with each contraction..
Early labour was like period pains,fairly light to begin with,starting getting tougher to handle at 3 mins apart,i had a deep front down bath and that really really helped me and i swayed in the water like a beached whale with every contraction LOL
For me it got very painful after my waters got manualy broken,it was like my whole bump was in a vice and it took my breath away,my labour was very slow though,was hard going after that.
I had constipation the other day and found THAT more painful then actually giving birth to my daughter lol,it was like a no2 and really intense pressure,but honestly as soon as i saw her and then held her in my arms i looked at dh and said to him"i would do all this again in a heartbeat"
For me it was the most amazing experiance EVER,i am nervous and excited about this time round as no 2 labours are the same,and although my labour with dd was long and drawn out i really feel i had a good labour.
You'll be fine
xx xx

 

[Angel_dust]

I cant remember much of my first labour as i had pethidine and was off my head. Lost control and ended up having forceps and lots of stitches.

The labour with my second was like bad period pains that just got more and more intense. It was weird becasue you could be grimacing i the worst pain then in the gap between contractions I was busy chatting away lol. But I had an oxytocin drip because when my waters broke, DD had pood herself so they wanted to speed things up. As a result it got really intense really fast until there was no gap between pains and the urge to push was just manic, i sooooo wanted to push and your body takes over and is trying to push without your permission and they are telling you to pant.

Was a relief when i was allowed to push and i just remember the pushing being a really deep push and it was accompanied by me making a loud cow noise....then after a few pushes she seemed to shoot out quite fast. The placenta bit took a while, it wouldnt come out and they were pulling on the cord which was grossing me out and when i did eventually push it out i was surprised how large it was! I was peed off at the time because I had just pushed out a baby so was thinking why should i bother to push out anything else lol.

Its all a bit of a blur now and im not sure on how many pushes and all the minor details. I do know i went on the drip at 11am and she was born at 2.20pm. Pains didnt get unbearable till after the drip....oh and i defo didnt poo myself which as a bonus

I almost hope i get the drip again as im sure it sped things up a hell of a lot! I was feeling quite confident this time until i watched a woman give birth on tv last night and now im not so sure...

Thats about all i remember, but surely this time things cant be worse, i survived before so im sure i'll survive again.

 

[mummymadness]

It was like pushing a melon out of a pea sized hole the worst pain i have ever felt in my life and the most stressfull experience as i felt i wasnt in control but the happiest and most fulfilling days of my life each time and i am here on bubs number 4 so it carnt be as bad as i make out really or am i just a gluten for punishment lol lol xx

 

[3011busyyear]

i'm guessing when you have really bad toothache and you promise yourself you're never going to eat anything sweet every again and why didn't i go to the dentist for regular check ups......once you've had your filling your back on the chocolate again in no time!!

this is how i imagine labour will be, although probably more painful than a toothache

 

[secretbaby]

I Love 3011busyyear's discription.

It is VERY individual - I have had two very different labours. I have had two very different rare complications (I am a pregnancy medical nightmare!) To be honest I know what happened last time but I can't remember the pain - I remember making a big fuss (unlike me) but I can't remember pain or that (I remember thinking gas and air was fab).

My neighbour had her 2 sons really quickly - few puffs of gas and air and that was it! You tend to hear more horror stories as normal quick births don't make interesting stories.

Please don't worry. Many of us are here after having one or several kids so can't be that bad!

 

[withpeapod]

Thanks ladies! I am now 100% certain it is going to hurt A LOT hehe but i knew that already. Im still nervous but hey he's got to come out, and im sure by the time I am laid up like a beach whale I will be begging him to get a move on!

Wishing you all happy and healthy babies xxx