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Childbirth

What did you think about during contractions?!

106 replies

DimpleHands · 22/08/2015 22:11

I am aiming to have a completely drug-free birth this time and was wondering what you thought about during contractions to deal with the pain. Did you count, focus on breathing, imagine yourself somewhere else, etc? Just curious!

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MingZillas · 22/08/2015 22:15

Counted 1-2-3-4 over and over while stamping feet. Also bashed juggling balls together. Have you read Birth Skills by Juju Sundin?

Tens machine for distraction as well.

How far along are you?

GoooRooo · 22/08/2015 22:15

Mostly I was thinking 'hurry up and be born please!'

QuiteLikely5 · 22/08/2015 22:16

I was thinking 'oh no why did I get pregnant' then 'oh no why did I want my labour to start' !!!

BoffinMum · 22/08/2015 22:18

Did the packed lunches, folded some washing, watched TV as long as I could as I was in the middle of a good programme, eventually went into birthing pool and did self-hypnosis.

MishMooshAndMogwai · 22/08/2015 22:19

I dug my face into a cushion and counted mostly, definitely took them one at a time rather than focusing on the bigger picture!

That was with no drugs, at home waiting for the paramedic (who came too late!)

trying29 · 22/08/2015 22:19

I tried to breathe as deeply as I could and kept counting. I tried screaming but that only seemed to make it worse, if that makes sense

ginmakesitallok · 22/08/2015 22:19

Concentrated on breathing, and imagined myself walking up stairs, getting to the top and then coming down again.

elephantoverthehill · 22/08/2015 22:19

Think?

OriKumi · 22/08/2015 22:22

think?

I just wanted to pass out and wake up when it's over...

scrivette · 22/08/2015 22:22

Didn't really have time to think, just concentrated on breathing out as much as I could or pushing down.

PermetsTu · 22/08/2015 22:22

With DC1 (long and traumatic due to a malpositioned baby), I planned to use hypnobirthing techniques. I actually just mentally screamed and prayed for it all to end.

With DC2 I thought about haribo and custard (nil by mouth as it was an attempted vbac and I was in labour for 38 ruddy hours). I was SO hungry, the thought of crumble and custard sustained me for at least half of the labour.

spanky2 · 22/08/2015 22:22

Jack Bauer from 24 coming to rescue me from giving birth and a really cold large glass of Chardonnay with beads of condensation running down the outside. To slow and calm my breathing was in breathing char and slow out donnay.
I had a tens machine but arrived at hospital at 10 cm!
Handsome hero and booze definitely the way to go!!

ImperialBlether · 22/08/2015 22:23

Don't make any decisions about pain relief. You have no idea what will happen.

I had gas and air and just counted my way through contractions - I found it hypnotic.

brabantia · 22/08/2015 22:24

The epidural

Flingmoo · 22/08/2015 22:24

At the beginning I was thinking "Ooh, this is rather painful. Oh well, just keep rocking on the gym ball and doing deep breaths and we'll be fine."

After a few hours they ramped up a bit I don't think I was really thinking about anything other than "FUCK FUCK FUCK, I literally feel like I'm dying, this pain is unbearable, please someone cut this baby out of me if you have to, why is it taking so long for the anaesthetist to arrive and do my epidural, I take back everything I ever said about natural birth.!"

I wouldn't say any of that to a first-timer as its quite scary. Your experience of birth must have been quite different to mine or you wouldn't be considering the drug-free route... I guess I have no pain tolerance

Good luck though, I hope you get the natural birth you're hoping for.

Northernlurker · 22/08/2015 22:25

I found counting helpful, also thinking positively that every contraction was one done and bought me closer to meeting the baby. Also all the usual 'my bottom is going to explode WHY did I think this was a good idea'

Gunpowder · 22/08/2015 22:25

I thought 'healthy pain' (I read juju too!) and visualised my cervix getting thinner and softer and stretching open. Everything was soft and jelly like and even the bones of my pelvis were soft like play dough (did lots of hypnosis tapes). Barely hurt until the last 15 mins.

That was DD2. DD1 I mostly thought 'fuck, fuck, fuck' and 'I want to die'.

WendyTorrance · 22/08/2015 22:26

I stayed at home for ad long as possible and hoovered, mopped, brushed floors etc. I was determined to stay upright and rock that baby into a decent birthing position! During contractions I leaned over the worktop/back of couch doing breathing exercises. In hospital in the transition stage I boosted my TENS machine and sucked on the gas and air like mad. Don't remember what I was thinking unless you count the bit when DH helpfully turned my TENS up so high I thought I was being electrocuted and I thought about murdering the bastard

LibrariesGaveUsP0wer · 22/08/2015 22:26

DD2 was totally without medical pain relief (had pool). DS had gas and air and pool.

I practised natal hypnotherapy with DD2 but when came to it I could no more imagine a beach, white light or count than I could fly to the moon. I just had to surrender to it and moo-roar through each one.

BoffinMum · 22/08/2015 22:26

It's mostly down to baby positioning, I think. And calm environment.

Sansoora · 22/08/2015 22:28

I hated every minute of every one of my 5 labours and I was as afraid during the first one as I was during the last. Thats what I thought of during my contractions.

On the other hand my daughter kind of goes into herself during her labours, its not self hypnosis, she's just very calm and together.

Daughter in law number one did self hypnosis and had a totally silent birth and Ive never seen anything like it - I was her birth partner.

And daughter in law number 2 was very much like me and I still think about some of the things she did with the greatest affection - lying flat on her back with one leg stuck right up in the air was especially loveable. I was her birthing partner as well.

OH I forgot - a few times I would count backwards from one hundred when the contraction started then back up to one hundred when it was wearing off.

chairmeoh · 22/08/2015 22:29

A friend advised to count each contraction as a contraction I'd never have again. It was done. History.

Once I got into the swing of it, I focussed on breathing.

Well actually, I managed to focus on one breath.

Then I just yelled, begged for epidural, cursed the lack of anaesthetist, and generally lost all control of anything and everything.

Not my most dignified performance.

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Flingmoo · 22/08/2015 22:29

It's funny how you mostly forget what the sensation of contractions really felt like despite remembering being in pain.

Every so often I'll get really bad trapped wind or terrible period pains and I'll remember "oh, it was exactly like this, but times a million!"

bittapitta · 22/08/2015 22:29

The pain was so much that I couldn't "think" anything but my partner helped me count to ten, trying to keep 5 as the peak.

LibrariesGaveUsP0wer · 22/08/2015 22:30

Mamushka- the stuff about pain tolerance is guilt tripping bullshit. If you are in more pain, you are in more pain. I got told I had a low threshold with DD1 (witch of a mw) because I was only in early labour. The pain was just as bad then as at any point in my later labours. Pain isn't like how fast you can run 100m. We can't really measure its strength or.effect on you. It is what you feel.

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