Giving birth

[jessm44]

Does childbirth hurt? I kinda already know the answer lol but can people share their experience, pain level, anything. I'm newly pregnant and I'm terrified

It does hurt initially as that's usually how you know you are going into labour. But at the hospital the midwives make ever effort to reduce the pain eg with the epidural etc. Talk to your midwife. Having a very good idea of what's happening helps you not to panic and to go along with the process. At that stage you will be glad to be getting this baby out. Look around you. A lot weaker than you has had a baby, survived and voluntarily gone back to have another. It's not a cakewalk but the midwives have done this on many , many occasions so they are your support.
Remember also you may end up having a cesarean birth and all your worry will not have helped. Be honest with your team so they can advise you. Also if possible walk every day...not too much and keep yourself active but for me that was not possible as l was sick every minute so had to lie down mostly as felt miserable. So l was so relieved it was over..three times!! I hope all goes well and try not to listencto or read horror stories as all births are different. My dm had 8 babies with no painkillers and fair play she was never anything but positive which did help me.

Hi,

I was nervous too but when I got to the maternity hospital I discovered that it is bascially a whole big building full of people who specialise in making the process pain-free. They really know their stuff too.

My delivery room had a whole cupboard hidden in the wall that just contained lots of pain killers. I had read a ton about natural childbirth, and thought it was all on me to manage the pain, but it turned out that was not true, and the midwife had it totally covered.

First I had pethidine, which caused me to go suddenly into transition (you will read about that in pregnanacy books). It's basically the point when the door in the uterus has opened up and the baby is coming down the chute.

After that I just had gas and air which stopped the pain absolutely and completely. The whole shebang was over in 90 minutes from start to finish.

If you are reading about childbirth, then try to read about pain killers too. They are the absolute bees knees.

Good luck!

(I only did it once)

The 18 years after that are the bit you want to worry about btw. Childbirth is the part that works. Handling the inlaws is the really fiddly part. LOL.

I was so scared as I'm a wimp for pain but I didn't have any pain relief, only gas and air and tbh though it's hurting in the moment it kind of gets wiped out when you get given your baby. Honestly, you won't even care how much it hurt weirdly😂

I hate pain. I avoided pregnancy for ever!

Getting through it made me feel genuinely powerful.

You'll be fine!

Yes it hurts but it’s manageable.

With dc1 I had to have an induction and then things went very slowly. That first 24.hours the pain was not bad. It was really just the length of time and the exhaustion as I couldnt sleep through the pain of the contractions so that led me to have an epidural - I was so tired my midwife said an epidural would let me get a few hours sleep so I could have my energy back for pushing. She was right and I was grateful for the epidural.

With dc2 I also had to have an epidural but I used breathing and relaxation techniques that worked a little bit too well! I had two paracetamol but managed things so well that it was too late to have an epidural again so I did the labour on gas and air. I wasn’t even scared by this point as you are in a very active state of labour and the midwives coach you through it.

The stitches at the end stung more than I expected but at that point it hardly matters because wow, there’s a baby at long last.

you will manage, be confident and do some prenatal classes and pick your painkillers.

The initial contractions hurt but are manageable. at the hospital you can take pain relief, but pethidine can slow your contractions, as it did with me. Dont go into it thinking 'it can't be that bad', be prepared for it to hurt, a lot! but hospital teams are amazing at what they do and put your trust into them. goodluck!

I had two very easy, quick and straightforward deliveries.

Dc1 born 3 hours after my show with 1 1/2 hours of contractions and gas and air. I did tear as I pushed when they said pant, in my defence I hadn't covered breathing, that was in my birthing classes due that week, but wee one had other ideas 😂

Dc2 born 1 1/2 hours after my show and 40 minutes of contractions. Didn't even get to the delivery room for that one.

Was only in hospital an hour on both before delivering.

It hurts but it’s a different kind of pain than you’ll be used to or expecting. It’s painful but in a productive way, not like a broken bone. It’s hard to explain!
But do make sure you research the different types of pain relief you can have so you can make an informed decision before and during labour of that you may like.
I used to be so scared of labour, but once you’ve read a lot about it and understand it then it becomes less scary. Plus, you’re so ready for the baby to come that it makes you excited for labour to start.

All I can remember is it felt like hard work. I mean I had an epidural eventually with the first and gas and air with the second so it was obviously uncomfortable enough for me to ask for those things but I don't remember pain just feeling worn out from breathing / pushing. When labour gets going t's out of your control to some extent and your body just does it's thing...and if it doesn't the midwives will step in and support you through it. Please don't be scared op, it's really the most amazing experience meeting your baby that has been inside you for 9 months.

Yes it hurts, there is no getting away from it. My rationale is people wouldn't do it more than once if it was unbearable and you didn't forget the pain as soon as you hold your teeny tiny baby.

The next 18 years are more painful in numerous different ways..............

It does hurt. How much depends on the position of baby and how long labour goes on for but there are pain options and if you’re struggling you should use them.

Prenatal classes will tell you a bit more but pain relief is a ladder. So you start at the bottom with a warm bath, back massages, gentle walking. You move up to paracetamol, then a TENS machine and breathing techniques (which really worked for me). Then you move to gas and air, then an epidural which can be turned up so you can start at the low level and turn it up as you need it, then there is also pethedine. Where you end up on the ladder doesn’t matter, if you end at higher rung than someone else it doesn’t mean you birthed wrong it means your baby was in a more problematic position.

I had an induction and was on pre natal ward for most of my induction and pain relief was limited. They gave me some paracetamol and a low dose of codeine, I had a TENS machine on and I did breathing techniques. I managed to not exactly sleep but rest on my bed and doze in between contractions until I was 8cm and was able to get on delivery. My breathing techniques didn’t work when I got to pushing, the technique changes, but by that point you’re at the point where your body takes over.

Yes it hurts a lot and those people saying the hospital manage pain obviously didn't give birth in the hospital I did 🤣 I worried about it so much but honestly once it's over you forget and you do feel amazing that you have done it, your body just knows what it's doing it's quite amazing really. Would recommend a water birth it definitely helps with the pain

Absolutely manageable. You know it will end and that you will have a baby. I had two with no drug relief at all.

I found it very manageable with breathing.
If you're scared I'd recommend hypnobirthing, I didn't love the hippy affirmations side of it but it was so useful in understanding what happens with your body in labour at each stage, hormones etc and it was very informative from a science perspective.
It completely changed my mindset of birth and I had 2 very positive births.

I had pre eclampsia so was induced by having my waters broken. Because of the pre eclampsia, my labour was super fast. I started having 4:10 contractions within 20 minutes of having my waters broken, however managed well on the gas and air and being in the pool for a bit.

I think I then had a bit of an abruption and started contracting 8:10 so for the last 2 hours I screamed my head off because it was too late for further pain relief and I couldn't get my head straight or breathe through because they were just one on top of the other. I'm pretty sure that if I had carried on having 3-4:10 contractions and could have used the gas more effectively I would've been okay and able to manage better.

So yes it hurts but there is pain relief to help.

Yes it does..but I did it without any drugs at all...not a brag just a fact! By the time I got to hospital I was 8cm and in the zone so they got the gas and air out but I didn't use it at all!

I remember a work colleague said 'it's so painful but you soon forget about!'

Yep, it hurts. A lot. No one gets a medal for not having pain relief. I would've had ALL the drugs if I hadn't progressed so quickly at a crucial point. Didn't even have gas and air during labour, not for the want of trying! However, as soon as baby is out, the pain is gone - totally gone. Probably a load of adrenaline, mixed with a tiny bit of exhaustion and euphoria. Worth it though mostly 😂

Pretty much echoing everyone else. Yes it hurts.

As a PP said, how much depends on your own pain tolerance, baby's position, length of labour, stage of labour, and so on.

As another said, it's a productive pain. I have broken a leg, and that was 10/10 on the pain scale. Labour didn't come close. 7-8 at worst.

I had a vaginal birth with my first, then an emergency C-section with my second. Both modes of delivery were positive experiences. Not ideal, but that's birth for you.

A few of my colleagues (we work in Obstetrics) asked me was I scared/worried about having a baby. My answer was always no. 99.99% of what we see are happy endings with mum and baby healthy. There's a building full of very knowledgeable people who know: how to help you through labour, how to extract a baby, how to administer very strong painkillers into a very specific spot in your spine, and (should things not go to plan) how to keep you and/or baby alive.

I had an epidural early on woth my first birth and I'd say it never really got to the stage of being in pain - I had early contractions but it was just uncomfortable at that point, just cramping really. I didnt work up to it and try other pain relief - just knew I wanted to not feel any pain and that's what I got. No pain afterwards as I had no stitches or other interventions.

Subsequent births were elcs so no labour pains at all. Afterwards there was a different kind of pain post surgery but with regular paracetamol I didn't really feel it.

I recommend a tens machine, from the minute you think your in labour (mine started very slowly after a sweep when it was my only option I got to over 41 weeks then was induced with the pessary). I think it definitely made a difference in the early stages and was manageable then the active part of my labour was rapid, it was recorded as under 2 hours I think, I describe it as someone chiselling up my arse through my spine almost like a throbbing/vibration almost feeling, hard to describe! Enough to make you hold onto the walls and stand still and not move anyway, felt no pain in my front what so ever. Weirdly, the pushing part for me was comparable to an orgasm, not pleasurable obviously but an uncontrollable urge and something you can’t stop and it grows in intensity, I wouldn’t say painful but an unbearable pressure. I had gas and air and begged for an epidural but it was too late and managed on half a dose of diamorphine! You do forget about it though once it’s over and I found the stitches to be worse 😂! You just do it, don’t have a plan, go with it and just take whatever you need to get through!

Every birth experience is unique and pain levels can vary greatly. Some women describe labor as very painful, while others experience much less pain. Much depends on physiology, individual sensitivity to pain and other factors. Some moms find relief in relaxation techniques or pain management techniques such as an epidural. Professional support and preparation can make the process more bearable.

Both of my labours have been without doubt the most pain I've ever been in, around the time of transition in particular.