Honestly - tell me how painful childbirth is!

debnlee_2

everyones different just remember that!!!
my first it was over and done with start to finish in 20 mins she was only a small baby though i had no pain relief not that i had time !!! she was born at 3.33pm and i was home at 9.45pm the same night, i remember hearing a woman in a room near me and she really did sound like she was giveing birth to a hippo and i remember thinking oh my god i dont want to sound like that and pushed her out without a mermur.
my daughter number 2 was born at 2.50am i think i must have slept through most of my labour as when i woke up to go to the loo i was in full labour just made it to the hospital and 30 mins later she was out. she was a slightly bigger baby and i did scream but just the once, and i did have a puff on the gas and air but i dont think it made any difference.
my 3rd baby boy was born just 10 days ago so the thoughts are still fresh in my head, i had a slightly longer labour with him but still only 1hr 40 mins and he was a BIG baby i managed to give birth with no pain relief but believe me when i say it hurt , it was completley different then i remembered it to be with my girls, you cant explain what it feels like its one of them things youve got to experience yourself, this time it was hot it burnt and it felt like he was to big to come out but its like in the last few mins your body takes over and does the delivering for you ,its amazing .
as everybody would agree when your holding your new baby in your arms you know it was worth every minute and lets face it woman cant think it was that bad or they easlily forget or they wouldnt go on to have more babys would they?
my sister in law was in labour for 36hrs she has loads of different pain relief everything poss, she had to be restarted of twice she had a real ruff time and shes expecting her 2nd child!!!

moo2moo

Go to your library and read the first page of the Kathy Lette book Foetal Attraction. Its acurate and it'll have you rolling round the floor. From the top of my head it starts "Someone once told me giving birth was like sh*ting a watermelon. Its not....."

elastigirl

My experiance did put me off trying again for nearly 4 years but it is just one day in our lives and just something we all have to go through to get our lovely little one so i am ttc at the mo.

Here goes i will try and make it as short as i can.

started labouring on the tue kept begging hospital to let me in but would'nt as booked in to be induced on the fri i was 2 weeks over due
Fri had sweep can only be described as ramming i actually moved up the bed and hit my head she was so forceful. I cried as so painful midwife said if you think that's bad your in for a shock. Nice lady!
confined to a bed for 14 hrs as baby being monitored still only 4cm so they gave me a drip to get me started and said i would have to have an epidural as drip would work so quick i would be in too much pain too quick to cope with. It worked for 30mins but wore off had sharp stabbing pains to one side of stomach and baby in distress, topped up epidural failed took it out resited it and hit bone all in all had 3 failed epidurals and a huge bruise after to show for it.
I was being sick and babies heart rate went so low i has to have an emergancy section and be knocked out i was still being sick in theatre while they were trying to put me under. The worst part was i didn't come around from the op for 6 hours and dh had to look after baby all on his own and they refused to feed baby as they wanted me too breast feed.


As for being embarrased after all that i didn't care. The midwives had to give me bed baths and change my pads every day for the week i was in hospital.

TurnaroundSue

Haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if I am repeating what somebody has already written, but I found when I was in labour that with each contraction I imagined it was a wave crashing against the shore and then receding back into the sea. I found this very therapeutic and to be honest giving birth wasn't that painful. My midwive on my first birth gave me some sound advice - do not use your energy on screaming and shouting as this made the pain 10 times worse - listen to what the midwives are saying, pant when they say and just imagine the world going by.

I can even remember thinking things like: People are out there shopping at the moment, eating their tea/dinner, going to the park etc etc. I found that it took away from my own 'pain' and made me concentrate on other things. I also couldn't believe that I had to go through labour to get this child born, which over the 9 month period led me to believe that I wasn't going to HAVE to do it ...... result, 2 easy labours and births.

Good luck and in my honest opinion, no it wasn't that bad.

blackcoffee

my husband says it was the worst experience of his entire life, all 3 times, he is Mr Caveman, our provider and he said seeing me in pain and not being able to do anything about it was horrible !

katskorner

I am about to have my third baby and I am really disappointed that I have to have a caesarean this time. DS1 and DS2 were both natural deliveries and the second hurt loads more than the first but he was a bit bigger and the waters came with him still in the sac so he felt like he was going to burst through my back. Both labours started with 7 min apart contractions and went from there. About 3 of the 11 hours were major pain but I really wanted to repeat it again this time as it was such a positive experience. My hubby was there for both and my best mate the first time and it really was something I wouldn't have missed for the world. I wouldn't want to do it without my TENS machine though - those things really work! Apart from that I only used gas and air as I wanted to cope (OK some will think I am mad but it worked for me and that is what counts).

This time the c-section is unavoidable as the risk is too high and I am gutted as this will be my last baby. I really wanted to go natural again and am trying not to think too much about it. The pain is important as it is really a positive pain - not like normal pain at all. Still, in just over two weeks I will get to experience the other side.

MartialArtMan

I found it pretty pain free apart from the headlock from the missus!

misspenny

it didnt realise i was in labour for 2 days kept complaneing of backaches which turned out to be contractions even afte waters broke kept telling midwives i wasnt have any contractions untill they put me on a monitor and told me you are having contractions, though i do have quite a high pain threshhold i once walked about 2 miles home after breaking 3 bones in my foot

Butterfliesarepretty

fattyc wrote: »

We are about to start trying for a sprog of our own. Please tell me honestly how painful and humiliating childbirth is. Mum and sisters say "oh, you forget all about the pain when you see their little face", but am sure they are lying. It must be horrifically painful???? That is the only thing putting me off, I'm terrible with pain, and the whole experience is freaking me out. Am I over reacting, am I abnormal???

Its humiliating when doctors see everything you don't. I was in labour for 12 hours and had two epidurals. I must recommend the epidural as you can feel the muscles move inside you but no pain down below. You are not in control of anything and you may like me have done a no 2, they only told me afterwards. I had ten stitches afterwards. Your relatives are not lying because when you concentrate on your baby and you go home, you do forget about it all. I have only got one daughter and I can't remember the pain at all. Do not fear it, just go along with it and you will be ok.:D

pollyanna24

I can only go on my own experience (obviously), so not sure if I'll be any help.

I had a C-Section after 13 hours of labour as I wasn't dilating, so not sure I was in the proper throgs of labour as my contractions were only 5 minutes apart and apparently "they don't count" according to my midwife!

The pains hurt, but I don't remember them being unbearable because I had time to get over one before the next one came.

Went to hospital when I had one particularly bad one and decided to sod the midwives who told me to stay at home.

Straightaway in hospital went on gas and air which helped me out a lot, then when the midwives told me I wasn't as dilated as they first thought, my head flipped and I went on pethidine - which is amazing I might add.

When that was wearing off, I asked for an epidural, and something went wrong as I had the world's most almight contraction which went on for like 5 minutes and I was rushed for a C-section as baby's heartbeat was going down.

Because I was so drugged up, I don't remember it being that bad as in being completely unbearable, but I never got to the stage of really long contractions every minute.

However, it is true what they say. You forget the pain. And the pain was exactly as I imagined it for some strange reason. Like really bad period pain in a big wave, but not unbearable, but again, I can't account for what the end of labour is like. Sorry. x