Is childbirth that bad?

[tmrclvlnd]

Put it this way - I would rather go through labor and delivery than 9 months of pregnancy, LOL. Quite frankly, by the ninth month you are so sick of being pregnant you will go through about anything to get that baby out and be able to shave your legs again!

I had two fairly bad experiences - both pitocin labors, very hard and no meds (except Stadol). It is pain that cannot be described - but, it is joy that cannot be described when they put that little tiny baby in your arms too.

Women always say they forget the pain. I'll never forget the pain - I passed my thresh hold and was screaming with the last one (so much that the nurse told me to be quiet and push!) but I want to do it again. Next time I'm getting an epidural, though .

Hopefully I will be posting more on this forum in about 3 months! DH and I are planning on trying for number 3 in August. (Right now we are just practicing :7)

 

[dani21496]

I didn't scream or cry at ALL when I had my baby. It wasn't that bad at all. Of course I had an epidural so things went fine! (OB nurse told me an epidural would be a good idea) Actually the epidural only worked on 1/2 (the right side) of my body. I felt all the contractions on the left. After an hour or so of this, the anthestesiologist had to take the epidural needle out and put it back in another spot. Even when I felt the contractions, it was just like menstrual cramps. No biggie.

Since I'm only 5 feet tall and have a small pelvis I was scheduled to have a C section. My baby was estimated between 8.5 and 10 lbs! At the last minute he just started coming out. (Right before I was supposed to have the C-section) I had to deliver him vaginally. The passage way was too narrow for him and they had to use forceps and he also broke his collar bone. Poor baby!! Just think the poor baby has it worse than you.

The person who said you are ready to get that baby pulled out of your nose towards the end is absolutely right!!! You're just so happy the baby is finally coming out you really don't think about it.

Just to put it into perspective. I've felt much worse pain than having a baby. I burned my hand once (boiling hot cooking OIL spilled onto it) and I had second degree burns and huge blisters all over my hand. Having a baby was NOTHING compared to that.

When the epidural wore off it was uncomfortable because I had the biggest episiotomy you can get and tons of stitches and not to mention hemorroids with stiches. I didn't even care because I wanted to cry with happiness because my little piece of heaven was there, sleeping in my arms.

 

[treasaigh]

Wow, this thread is so interesting - it perfectly illustrates how different it is for every woman. I personally found the weeks of sleep-deprivation AFTER the birth to be much worse than the birth itself, and I had a 60 hour labor, finally getting the epidural at 8 cm - and I thought the needle hurt like a b!tch. Then there was post-partum bleeding for me...anyway, it was not what I expected - actually, much better. I thought I'd be speaking in tongues with my head spinning. But I did fine, no yelling, no cussing. The last few contractions were heinous, but that may have been because I was lying down to get the IV. You don't have to be in any more pain than you want to be. The medication is available.

Tracy

PS: I delivered in a hospital but with a midwife - and I'll be doing it again in August. I thought it was the best of both worlds.

 

[cmh99]

It's So Worth the Pain

Prior to the birth of my daughter, I read up on Natural Childbirth, used homeopathy and exercise to help turn my breech @ 32wks baby, practiced Bradley coaching with DH, etc. My mom had 3 kids without anesthesia and 2 completely natural so I thought that if she could handle it, so could I.

What I wasn't prepared for was the intensity of the contractions which occurred after the dr broke my water to induce labor. I was a week late & they were concerned about the results of the non-stress test. After the dr broke my water, I immediately started having extremely strong contractions only 2 minutes apart. I tried to do the natural pain-control techniques I'd practiced but the contractions were too intense. After an hour I couldn't take it any longer and decided to get an epidural. Even with the epidural, the contractions still hurt but I was able to manage them with the Bradley relaxation and other techniques. So they're definitely worth learning even if you're not planning to try NCB!

I ended up having an extremely fast labor- a little over 3 hours from when my dr broke my water to delivery. The first hour prior to my epidural was extremely hard but I'm glad I at least tried to do it natural as I now know my limit. I can feel confident as I look at my beautiful, healthy daughter that I made the choices that were right for me under those circumstances.

Good luck to all the mommies-to-be!

Claire