Crazy hallucinations during drug-free birth... anyone?

[Birthdreams]

I've name-changed for this as I've told a few people, so it's quite outing.

10 years ago I gave birth to my first child. It was a water birth and I had no drugs whatsoever during the entire thing - not even gas and air. I did have two paracetamol, but I don't think that can explain what happened.

Although it was 10 years ago, I know this is an accurate memory as I wrote down that day what had happened and I read it again yesterday.

When I was in the pool, in the late stage of my birth, maybe the last half hour, I started falling asleep between contractions. Let's say the contraction lasted a minute or so, then I had 3-4 minutes between each time - I would put my head down and would pass out/fall asleep. Every time that happened I instantly felt I was transported somewhere else around the world. I would be in a dream, a dream in which nothing really happened - I would just be there, observing a perfectly ordinary scene somewhere else in the world. I would be there until my next contraction started, at which point I would be pulled back into wakefulness, and the birthing pool. I would do my contraction, and then the cycle would repeat.

It wasn't a long labour, so I wasn't particularly tired. I had had a good night's sleep, woken up around 5:30 a.m when my waters broke, and this was happening only about four hours later at around 10 a.m. So it can't be drugs and it can't be tiredness that caused this to happen.

I've talked to a lot of people about their birth stories, and I've never heard anyone have one like mine. I'd love to know whether any of you did? (I think a complicating factor is that I don't know that many people who had drug-free births.)

I went on to have two more children, but this never happened again -- only with my first child.

I had two drug free births, but nothing abnormal like that. It sounds like a mild psychosis or very vivid dreams.

Not birth, I haven't got any children. But sex.

I hallucinate if it's really good. I see literature and art but from other worlds, sometimes artifacts almost from ancient cultures and symbology, places I have never been, architecture. Aside from the odd landscape it's usually man made things strangely now I think about it. I'm making it sound very mild with these buts incredibly profound in the moment.

I had a hypnobirth with my first and had a similar experience.
Fast, easy labor (4 hours start to finish) and I was laboring in the bathtub in the hospital room. Between contractions I was seeing vivid colours, and felt like I was flying through space. I completely disconnected with my body but the contractions weren’t that painful.
Then I’d come back into my body with each contraction but every time it was over I’d be back flying through space.
As soon as the baby was born I remember saying I could eat nails, my body was so hyped on endorphins.

Ooh yes - I know exactly what you mean.

I was also in the pool, draped over the side and fading in and out of the most blissful mini naps in between contractions. Probably for seconds but felt like an infinite amount of time. I vaguely remember DP asking the midwife if I should be sleeping.

It was a very chill labour of breathing slow and going with the flow of my body. Bizarre really because I’m not in to that kind of stuff but I leaned in to my body knowing what to do (despite a pretty nasty forceps birth previously, lol)

I don’t remember any dreams etc except at one stage hearing words of reassurance from a family member who had passed a few months earlier. I don’t believe in the afterlife etc but it was a very powerful moment that even now brings me to tears.

Different (long labour and difficult birth with uterine hyper-stimulation), but I distinctly remember looking down on the scene of myself during late stage contractions, as if I was floating somewhere near the corner of the ceiling. I remember watching and hearing this terrible, terrible screaming. Only a bit of gas/air at the start, so doubt it was that – as others have said, definitely think brain trying to protect itself.

Love this, thank you.
I didn't quite understand the bit about the daughter, what was that?

I had my 3rd baby drug free (2 paracetamol) too and at times near to the stage where I started pushing I felt like I was off my head on drugs. I always said my body took me somewhere else, it was really amazing really that your body can do that. I’d assume if you’d had some gas and air or pethidine then you’d automatically assume it was the drugs but maybe it’s part body / part drugs.

It was an amazing experience having a drug free birth and just really listening to my body, how it made me pull back a little on pushing at times, presumably to prevent a tear, which I avoided. I didn’t intend to have a drug free birth but just went with how I felt on the day, I just knew I didn’t want an epidural as I had one with ds1 and ended up with an assisted delivery (failed ventouse and then forceps). The body is an amazing thing.

I think women's bodies are beyond magical quite honestly and wether you experienced something metaphysical or other worldly who knows but your body definitely looked after you ❤️

I like that vision

Yeah this sounds like intense dissociation to me. The mind is a very powerful thing, drugs often just dumb it down I feel.

I read it as they found out the sex in the hallucination before finding it out in real life.

I got given the sex and name as well during my experience, PP just prompted me to remember!

I thought my Dad was trying to reverse a trailer into the delivery room. 31 years ago and I still feel the same emotions I experienced every time I think of it.

There is scientific evidence that the brain produces a chemical called DMT during childbirth. Its the same chemical that is released when we die, some believe that birth and death are so close that only a thin line holds the space between. I just had my second birth. Both were without meds, the first birth was transcendent and I went to another dimension during transition, between contractions like you describe. This one I was far more present but transition was only a few minutes maybe so I didnt have time to relax into it, the labour was also half the time so there was no build up of endorphins like with first.

In my hallucination, I was at a party dancing to really loud music. I was quite upset being pulled back to reality by waters breaking.

I know, I'm clearly either just not very profound or my brain decided what I needed was light relief in that moment 😅 It was weirdly comforting though, and my DH said I was smiling randomly like I was high 😂

Can you remember anything about the scenes you observed around the world OP? Where were they?

I so wish I could remember. I can't. The only one I wrote down on the day, was that I was in an almond processing factory in West Africa.

I don't have any connection whatsoever to almonds, factories, or West Africa