What does labour feel like?

[Stacey451]

I'm 10 weeks what does it feel? will my privates be the same again.

This is my first pregnancy am petrified how painful is it after labour got so many questions to ask

[Fairybella]

Like pushing a bus out your arse... but totally worth it

[Fairybella]

My first flew out and I remember thinking it wasn't so bad and second had an epidural! Don't rule out anything pain relief go with the flow... classes help... it will be ok!

[Sittinginthesun]

Don't worry. It varies so much, but it usually starts like bad period pains. By the time you get to the pushing a bus out bit, you are usually past caring.

Your bits should be fine afterwards (I had a bad tear etc, but they look perfectly normal now).

[Stacey451]

Thanks just doesn't help when people give me there horror stories

[Stacey451]

I was told the first wee will be painful dreading that haha

[yellowpoppy17]

I try not think about it too much. Mostly screaming and delirium I think. Everyone is different though.

[Fairybella]

First wee is actually ok pee in shower to take off the edge

[Stacey451]

I think my sister puts these things into my head to make me nervous

[Jooni]

Don't worry, you've got ages to go yet and there are plenty of pain relief options you can plan for or even just choose on the day. You can have everything going if you like, and it will all be worth it!

I can't really properly remember the pain of labour because you tend to forget it instantly, but it does hurt! I remember it mainly being a sort of strong squeezing pain in the abdomen, like someone was wringing out my uterus really hard. I found the pushing/crowning stage no more painful, I didn't really feel any more pain over the contractions at that point, although I did tear and needed a few stitches. Nothing major though. The worst part for me was that I had a long pre-labour so had been having contractions for several days when DD finally arrived so I was exhausted! I'd do it again in a heartbeat though

All the best with the rest of your pregnancy. I'm 24 weeks now with #2 and weirdly looking forward to doing it all again!

[Jooni]

Also I was dreading the first wee too having been warned about it, but it was actually fine. And your bits absolutely will go back! It's amazing how fast everything heals. It's obviously a bit tender at first when you sit down or whatever, but 2 weeks later I was fine.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

Worst pain I've been felt in my entire life bar none. However if someone said that tomorrow I have a choice to go through it again or to have toothache I would happily choose to go through it again.

[MichaelJacksonsGlove]

Drink lots and lots of water and your pee will not hurt at all.

Have a few mantras to keep yourself focussed. I repeated the following to myself throughout pregnancy and labour:

My body is supposed to do this, it is designed to do this. It knows what is it doing.

Millions of women before me have birthed babies, this is a run of the mill experience and nothing to be afraid of.

Every contraction is a step closer to meeting my baby.

It also helped to visualise me with my new baby and to remember that baby is just a matter of inches away from the outside world!

[bloodymaria]

I found it was manageable as long as I just focued on my body and breathing through the contractions (also gas & air plus diamorphine). Felt overwhelming if I looked for OH or the midwives.

First pee honestly not that bad, much easier than pushing out a baby

You'll be fine OP, I'm pretty sure your body gets flooded with calming hormones or something as soon as labour starts!

[Stacey451]

Can't wait to become a mother though seems like a dream was trying for a year :)

[Stacey451]

Thanks everybody you have reassured me phew won't listen to my sister next time

[Pitchforktotheface]

I was dreading my first pee but it was actually completely pain free which was weird and I couldn't stop it coming out. Turned out I had nerve damage down there and my pelvic floor muscles were badly damaged. I had lots of physio but I'm still damaged.

I wish people would have been more honest about how awful it was. Instead of reassuring me and telling me it would be fine, my body knows what to do and I'd forget about the pain. I didn't forget, my body didn't know what to do and I m not fine.

[annandale]

It's different for everyone so neither the horror stories nor the positive stories necessarily help.

You can do some things that potentially help (exercise, classes etc) but ultimately you have to accept that birth is the unknown.

[FartnissEverbeans]

First pee was fine, first poo hurt a bit but not too bad. Ask for stool softeners.

For me labour pains were awful but not everyone experiences it that way.

You know when you have an upset stomach and get a sudden desperate need to go to the toilet? It's that pain but times a million. Contractions are unstoppable and intense. They start small, rise and then fall in intensity. In the breaks in between there is no pain.

It's indescribable to be honest. Worth it of course but it doesn't necessarily feel that way at the time!

[beargrass]

You've got ages to go, you could look into hypnobirthing. We did it and it was very very helpful. An NCT course / reading a book will do nothing to prepare and be more likely to leave you worried / with loads of questions and going down the intervention route. Hypnobirthing gives you the tools to fend off unnecessary interventions and ignore all the irritating comments you'll get about giving birth that will frighten you. You don't need to be! Some of it is painful but it's not such that you can't cope if you've been able to prepare and get your head in the right space. Good luck xx

[smellsofelderberries]

I gave birth 4 months ago and I don't remember how bad it was, but I had horrible back pain. And crowning was very painful.

My bits haven't really gone back to normal either, though my obgyn says it's my 'new normal'. The front wall of my vagina has dropped a bit, doing 1 billion pelvic floor exercises every day and hoping it might move back up eventually. Apparently this is really common and no one mentioned it and my birthclasses also didn't mention it but the PFEs are making sex pretty good again, so there's that. Everything is perfectly functional!

[Scrumptiouscrumpets]

pitchfork hope you start feeling better soon

I think it isn't true that all women forget the pain of labour, I definitely remember what it was like, though it is really hard to describe. Desperately needing the loo times a million is a very close description! Your body completely takes over with a lot of unpleasant sensations and you can't do anything about it. Labour and breastfeeding go fine for many women, but do bear in mind that many women have a really hard time so keep an open mind and don't focus only on the type of birth you want. I find hypnobirthing gives a far too rosy picture. Juju Sundin's books are worth a read of you want a very down-to-earth approach.