How painful is childbirth?

[Lucy]

these are such interesting stories! i've wanted to be a mother all my life, the idea of a painful birth doesn't really bother me that much, i just want to have the children!

 

[Aprill]

I also want to add that the pain is the same across the board for mothers in labor. You dont just walk in and get drugs to lessen the pain, You have to wait a while. You all will experience pain. And just like the c-section discussion that we had here a long time ago, let not take credit from one mother to another, whether it was natural, vaginal, medically assisted, or c-section, we all gave life and we are all great for that.

People like me would have loved to have given natural birth every time, but because of my health I was not allowed. I had to be medically induced, and have an epidural to avoid stroking out.

Just wanted to add that in, for reasons I wont disclose

 

[Karren]

OUCH......... If it were ME.... I'd go buy a hampster!! lol

 

[perlanga]

Originally Posted by divadoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are reasons why you can't really truly recall pain and that there is an 'amnesia' after birth where you can't really remember much of the events during only before and after. Its Mother Nature's way of prepetuating because if you really remember, you won't have another. Anyways, everyone is different. Some have really long labour pains and others are fast. It is hereditary so ask your mom how long she was in labour with you

If you want a good labour story, here's mine. (First baby - 9lb 10oz boy) I had light labour pains and contractions from 1pm to 6:30. At 7pm, I insisted we go to the hospital. I was 5cm dialated. They set me up in a room and ask me if I wanted a shower to easy my lower back pain. I said ok. 10 min in the shower - my water broke in the shower. I went from 5 to 10cm dialated and it was time to push

Contractions are like having stomach cramps and the need to do #2. 1.5 hrs of pushing and out come baby boy. He was born at 9:19pm

Baby #2 - doc says since baby #1 was quick, when I started contractions, go directly to the hospital. I was having labour pains at 6am - only slight cramping. 9:45 we left for the hospital. I had gone from slight contractions to full on contractions walking from the parking lot to the entrance. I needed to push when they were trying to register me - 10am. I got a room at 10:05am. 8lb 15oz baby girl born at 10:20am after 5 pushes.

It was really quick and all is forgotten when they hand that baby to you.

OMG Divadoll, your babies are huge! Did you have them naturally or thru C-section. Much credit to you if you had a natural birth because average babies are only 7 lbs 8 oz!

 

[MakeupByMe]

For Me the Labor was WAY worse than the actual birth !!! the labor felt like period cramps but 10 times worse but when it was time to push it wasnt bad anymore!!! Look at it this way people say its a horrible horrible pain But than go & have another so it cant be all that bad I have two kids & after the baby is born you pretty much forget the pain & are just happy its all done & your baby is here!!!

 

[divadoll]

Originally Posted by perlanga /img/forum/go_quote.gif OMG Divadoll, your babies are huge! Did you have them naturally or thru C-section. Much credit to you if you had a natural birth because average babies are only 7 lbs 8 oz! They were both born really quickly so there was not time for anything. They were both born vaginally and without any pain suppression or medication. Apparently I was meant to have big babies

 

[perlanga]

Originally Posted by divadoll /img/forum/go_quote.gif They were both born really quickly so there was not time for anything. They were both born vaginally and without any pain suppression or medication. Apparently I was meant to have big babies

You are really the true meaning of a strong woman. Are your kids big/tall today or are they regular sized kids?

 

[divadoll]

Thank you but I was lucky to have been able to do that. I could have been telling the story of lengthy labour pains and a c-section and epidurals etc just the same. Every mother goes thru this for what is at the end of the tunnel - a wonderful baby, or 2 or 5. We all forget what all that pain and ache once the baby is safe in your arms and all 10 fingers and all 10 toes are counted. That's why its call labour and in the end, there's are reward

 

[sweetnsexy6953]

I have a baby girl whose soon to be 7 months and like everyone says it feels like period cramps. I remember going to bed at about 1am and a lil after 3 I woke up cuz it felt like I had to poo and I tried and nothing and so I went to tell my bf and he said to try and lay back down. A lil after 4 I wake up again with the feeling of having to poo, I try and nothing so I go back out in the living room to tell my bf and he tells me to eat some toast cuz that always seemed to help.

Im standing at the kitchen table eating and crying cuz its startin to hurt and I didnt want him to see me crying and the pain kept comin oh about 10-15 mins and so thats when he thought I was having contractions and we call the dr and he said to keep track and once they become every 6-8 mins then to go to the hospital. At about 7am we go to the hospital and turns out I was in active labor.

At about 9am the dr came and gave me my epidural and at about 1pm my dr came in and broke my water. I went all the way to 9cm the dr checked my cervix and thats when she noticed my cervix wall was swollen and even tho I had the epidural I was in tears bc it hurt so bad so she said we could wait a lil bit longer n see what happens or have a c-section but she said that it pry wouldnt change.

So I went ahead and had a c-section and she was born at 8:25pm that same day. So I guess my real pain was having to have a c-section. The contractions felt like cramps even with having the epidural.

 

[divadoll]

I never had menstrual cramps so I can only associated it with a stomach ache.

It is a miracle what a woman's body can do. Take 2 half-cells and create an entire being who is self-aware. The fact that you can feel the baby growing inside and changing and moving, I'm glad I was born a girl.

After the baby is born, I can't even remember when I didn't have them nor can I think what it would be like without them.

 

[cinderella]

It's painful ofcourse, but it is not something you will die from and it's definitely worth it.

When you first see your baby you will forget the pain.

 

[wannabepoet]

if you are worried about the pain just try to remember what that pain is for, a new life. a part of you that will always be a part of you, a new generation, a carrier of your blood down to more generations. it is amazing. i had natural childbirth and yes it hurts but if you keep your breathing good and your mind on why you are in pain it helps. when my daughter delivered her daughter i was there. she was scared and they did give her something to relax her. not a narcotic but a muscle relaxer(her baby was stuck in the birth canal because she was scared. nothing to be ashamed of. she delivered in minutes after that. she had natural childbirth also. my grandaughter was born with a cone head that reminded me the of the movie coneheads, but she was beautiful and healthy. (her conehead was gone by the next day!!) don't dwell on the pain. just dwell on the result of that pain. a mystery of life. i had 2 girls and now i have 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. i am only 60!! the doctor and nurses are there to help you. relieve your fears and tell you what to do. you will make it thru.

 

[Ingrid]

WOW these are very interesting stories and are definitely touching, keep them coming. I guess the one thing I cannot understand is how can you have the energy to push when you are in so much pain, and I heard that you can't eat once you get to the hospital when you are getting ready for the labour, is that true?

 

[Johnnie]

I didn't eat the entire time I was in. I was in labor over 24 hrs. The first contractions were quite mild and I thought it would be a breeze. Kind of like, "this is it?" Well, it wasn't. They eventually got much worse and it got to that point when you're moaning and groaning and just lying there, holding onto the rail until it passes. By the time it came to push things changed a bit. Now it was my back that was going out. That was theeee worst part about it. I'll admit it was one of the worst pains I've ever had and I did cry like a baby because of it and because I was so drained. It was exhausting and I didn't want to push anymore. I wanted to rest, breathe and then do it again but once those contractions came I couldn't stop, I had to push. It was a mind thing. Like the more I push, the quicker I get this over with the sooner she will be here. The next thing I knew was they said one more big push, and swooosh!! Out she came. Just looking at her lil' face and her lil' body was amazing! My first thoughts were, "aww, that's what she looks like". It's true you don't recall exactly what it feels like but I'd do it all over again, in a heart beat. Just to feel that way again, to see her for the first time. It's the best feeling ever.

 

[Aprill]

Originally Posted by Ingrid /img/forum/go_quote.gif WOW these are very interesting stories and are definitely touching, keep them coming. I guess the one thing I cannot understand is how can you have the energy to push when you are in so much pain, and I heard that you can't eat once you get to the hospital when you are getting ready for the labour, is that true? Women who are placed in the hospital get an IV for a constant stream of fluids. You are NPO (nothing by mouth) once you hit your room, not even a drink of water. They may let you chew on some ice, but no water.
One reason is because if something goes wrong, they may have to give you a c-section and food being in the intestinal track can make matters worse.

Another is if you get an epidural, it will make you want to vomit, if your stomach is empty it will be simple heartburn and they will give you something for that. Vomit means more stress, elevated blood pressure and a change in glucose readings.

Again, you will push and its not bad cause for me my husband had a leg, midwife had a leg, they pushed them into my chest, I pushed out the other way, pushing was only about 2 minutes everytime for me, 3 pushes max, except my first child because he was 8lbs and I again wouldnt have needed any medical pain meds while in labor if not for the doctor giving me an episiotomy with not a drop of anything when I specifically asked to tear naturally. In addition to them paying the great peer pressure game, telling you if you dont push you have to get a c-section which is bullshit. Even if you dont push, they still come out because of that great thing called gravity. Plus for me I had the best midwife and she had me in a position in which gravity pulled the last two all the way down so I had to push only once and I was done.

 

[CurlyFry]

My whole pregnancy/delivery was unexpectedly easy, for the most part. Not one ounce of morning sickness or really REALLY bizarre cravings. Although I did eat a couple pickles one day, but that was because they were the only salty things we had in the house besides salt itself. At about 35 weeks I had to have a stent placed in my left ureter because I was born with ureter issues and the pressure of being pregnant was not allowing my left kidney to drain properly. Later that day I thought I went into labor because I was in such excruciating pain! Turns out that I wasn't, but the pain from that stent (which was actually the 3rd time I'd had a stent placed in 3 years) and from the unbelievable kidney infection I got 2 weeks after getting married in '06 were by far worse than labor! For my daughter's delivery- my water broke at 5am, went to the hospital, threw up a couple of times because my cervix didn't dialate smoothly, it sort of "jumped" instead, thought I was having the worst period cramps of my life, got an epidural, felt REALLY great again, then had to push! But, because of the epidural, I couldn't tell if I was pushing the correct way since I was pretty much numb from my waist down and my oxygen kept dropping when I pushed. So, my daughter was born with a bit of a conehead. lol Elora Rose was joined our family on Sept 4 2008 at 1:48pm.

PS-Karren I really like your new avatar! I just noticed it!

 

[LadyAurora]

I had a fairly easy delivery with both my children. I was induced prematurely with one due to medical reasons and I delivered her within a couple of hours. She was 5lbs 9oz. The contractions just felt like a tightening. I had no pain. I do have a high pain tolerance though. Baby #2 was 11lbs 1oz. Again, no pain meds, no pain. And I delivered her within 4 hours of going into labour.

What it comes down to really is that each woman and each pregnancy is different. My mother certainly didn't tell me that her labour was pain free, so I would assume it wasn't.

 

[4getmeNot]

thanks everybody for sharing their experiences! i'll post mine after i have my lil girl..lol.