Did you scream during labour?

[PSL1990]

I'm wondering how often women scream in labour - did you scream during labour?

Moo’ed with all 5. Three of whom were OP but definitely screamed when getting stitched on the last one, it was horrific 😭

I shouted with DC1 I think - I was blasé about it and therefore so unprepared for what labour would be like. I was much better prepared for DC2; the pushing phase only lasted for about 6-8 minutes before DC2 was born so I was honking like a labouring brontosaurus - it was a bizarre sound but I couldn't help it and it got the job done!

No screaming but my god I farted SO MUCH 😂

Whale communicator here. Burst into tears a couple of times, but MWs were lovely and only interested in what my body was suggesting rather than how loud I was.

Except for when one of them said 'I think you're a couple of hours away yet - you're not noisy enough!' She was right!

It's interesting that a woman that is crying or screaming in pain is told to shut up by the very people who should be providing empathy and care. When I was told to shut up moaning by a MW, I remember wishing she would die a miserable and painful death. I still think about her sometimes. My feelings are unchanged.

No. I moaned.

No was too busy non-stop vomiting🤮🤮 both labours. Hideous.

Was quiet (well off my face on pethidine, gas and air) for the first.

Second I only screamed a few mins before crowning and for the birth. Midwife said it’s good as it helps with the pain and good for her to know when baby is v v near.

Was in the birthing unit for DC2 and heard several women screaming too. Totally normal

Lots of quiet repeated "it hurts, it hurts" with tears ruining down my face but no screaming.

I was silent through all my labour's. Except when they crowned. I screamed then.

With my first, not a single noise.
Second, my midwife basically told me to shut up.. it was quite bad, sorry to the other expectant mothers I freaked out

When I was told to be quiet they said it was so I didn't scare the other ladies 😬 I'm sorry but you've got to do what you've got to do. Child birth is horrific. My 5th was born 24 minutes after arriving at the hospital and they kept saying "oh you should be used to this by now" I'm sorry but when your contractions are back to back with no break in between them and no pain relief then I'm going to scream!

Tbf I don't remember a lot of that birth because I kept having out of body experiences and I was petrified that I was going to die. The last thing I was thinking of was the other women on delivery suit 🙄

I moo’ed during early labour and then had a lovely conversation with my dead mum on the gas and air. She sat on the end of the bed for most of the birth. Was actually quite nice.

I think I shouted more than screamed. Like a few others I really resent the way my pain was treated by staff. They just rolled their eyes and kept saying that I was nowhere near giving birth so I should be quiet. And then I gave birth. No pain relief or anything. They did at least have the courtesy to apologise afterwards for assuming I was lying about how much it hurt and how close the contractions were 🙄

No,not at all. I was told I was very calm and quiet although I was in agony.

No screaming from me either. I swore loads. But no screaming. Screaming would've meant dropping the gas and air and that would only have happened over my dead body.

I was induced though and (after 50 hours in labour) had an epidural by the time it came to push.

I don't know if it counts as a scream, but while having DD1, I was pushing and apparently puce with the effort and the midwife said, 'you need to push' or something along those lines. I yelled at her, in my best stage voice, 'I am fucking pushing!' XH says it was very, very loud. I have no recollection of any of this part personally, but I believe him because a few days later (back in the days when you were in for a week), I was moved into a different ward and the other mum there asked me, after she heard me speak, 'did you give birth on Wednesday?' She'd heard me through the paper thin wall of the delivery room .

I had even less time for screaming while having DD2, and XH was only present for the actual birth, as he had buggered off home a couple of hours earlier and took his bloody time coming back.

I had no pain relief with a 40 hour 10lb breech. The offered gas and air just made me want to vomit. I wasn't allowed anything else as the birth was 'imminent' for 35 of the 40 hours! I didn't scream but I cursed, groaned and moaned/mooed. The 20 odd stitches made me shout a bit though 🥴
This was 40 years ago!

Yes. Back to back and she was stuck!

Nope, lots of focus on my breathing with both of them. Some quiet groaning during DC1, it was over too quickly to even think about with DC2. With my first birth the midwife actually asked me afterwards if my normal response to pain was to go into myself like that (it’s not, I’m usually very sweary!) she said she was surprised at how quiet I’d been, the other midwife said she wasn’t surprised at all once she’d realised if been practicing hypnobirthing as she’d seen it be very effective before. They were doing 15 minutely obs and were clearly quite surprised at how rapidly things had progressed after I’d got in the pool.
With DC2 I arrived in quite advanced labour but insisted on walking down the corridor and fretting to the midwife that I might just be making a fuss. In complete contrast to some of the awful experiences here she recognised immediately that I was further along than I possibly realised despite me making very little noise and was very calm, reassured me that she was quite sure I wasn’t making a fuss, got me to take my underwear off, kneel on the bed and caught the baby!
I want to reassure the OP that screaming isn’t necessarily involved and a good midwife won’t need you to be screaming to recognise how far along you are.

I feel physically sick thinking about dc3 8months birth. Induced with drip no pain relief. Moo noises with the contractions and loud almost screaming owws with the ring of fire.

Nope. Would have taken too much energy, no need.

I definitely screamed abit but also yelled and mooed. I tried not to scream as it made me feel out of control but I couldn't help it when DS was crowning.

I made a lot of groaning and mooing noises. Also shouted quite a bit with my youngest.

No. I wasn't very verbal at all.