Describing the pain during childbirth

[aussiebebe]

I've never had babies and definitely want to be a mother. I always ask women if they can describe the pain of childbirth by using language that someone who has never gone through it can understand. For example, my mum always says that the pain we feel under our stomach when on period is intensified during childbirth. That's the sort of language I can relate to because I've felt period pain before.
Thanks ladies 💕

The contraction is when all your muscles in your abdomen are so tight it hurts - like a cramp but without the burn of a cramp - but it releases and then comes back. The contraction lasts for only for a few seconds so you can bear it.

When you are ready to deliver you push downwards when your abdomen in contraction. The two together make it less painful if that makes sense, like there's a purpose to them. You get hot and sweaty because you're exerting yourself.

The baby coming down the birth canal didn't hurt me (lucky eh) I think some people feel a burn too. The annoying thing is feeling the baby move, then feeling it slipping back a little once the contraction and push are over.

My first delivery took hours, my second was over in 20mins, felt like seconds tbh.

Once baby was out, I felt complete relief even though the afterbirth has to also be delivered, but they give you a jab to release it, which the medics then pull out. My mum told me she felt refreshed once she'd given birth, like she was new again. But I didn't feel like that.

The stitches were something else...

Its not black and white so asking on here will deliver a range of pain which may or may not be like your own experience.

personally I think intense period pains is incredibly insulting and I’m very jealous of anyone whose had such a pleasant birth experience. I too thought I might die from the pain, I’ve broken several bones falling from horses in my life and nothing so far compares to the pain of childbirth, it was intense hell.

Mix between bad period pains and bad trapped wind, combined with a feeling that you're not 100% there - like you're watching things from a 3rd person point of view, which from my experience sort of lessened the pain.

I remember thinking 'oh that's the ring of fire everyone talks about', but I really don't remember feeling the pain itself!

I was prepared for the worst but it really wasn't so bad (though mine was straight forward). Being pregnant with HG was way way worse.

Everyone is different hence why some feel it is 'just like period pain'
Whoever described it as being hit by a truck repeatedly is closer to my truth in fact at times that would have been preferable.
Oldest was emergency forceps due to not breathing with no pain relief at all which was the most horrific thing I've ever been through.
Youngest was back to back, stuck and literally dragged out via forceps following three failed vontousse efforts and an emergency trip to theatre with no pain relief until this point.
On the opposite end of the scale a cousin popped hers out like she was doing a little poop in 20 minutes.
Nobody can tell you how your experience will be.

I don't really recall pain, more exhaustion and a feeling of being overwhelmed by it with every contraction. Its hard to explain but when you are running up a and your muscles really start burning you can stop....you can'tstop a contraction it's just happened and beyond your control so you sort of breath through it but it kind of stops you in your tracks for a minute or two, then it passes. The bit with the crowning, again I can't recall pain as such just an uncontrollable urge to push and get it over and done with. There must've been pain because I was using the gas and air.

Pain is non existent after an epidural 😁

Period cramps front and back that get worse. Also stomach feels tight. They come and go but by the end it's fairly constant.

Giving birth, there's a burning sensation as the head comes through (ring of fire) and any tearing pain.

Early stages paracetamol, warm water, movement can help

Later - Gas and air or tens machine takes the edge off

Pethidine or similar can ease pain but also make you woozy/nauseous

Epidural numbs the area so no pain but harder to push.

Yes like intense period pain! I never felt the crowning pain etc as had an epidural then spinal block for episiotomy/get me ready for C section in case forceps didn't work. I found the pain for weeks after worse than the first half of labour, but that was the recovery from being cut/blood loss/bruised tailbone etc

My first son was awful as I had an epidural that only worked one side so I felt like I was being ripped apart, didn’t ever have another epidural -, was recommend for medical reasons I declined after that experience for the next baby. No2 was sore but not overly painful except for crowning which does sting like mad. No3 was born in triage so no pain relief I was standing up too, no 4 in the bed in ante natal ward with Lady in next bed also not that sore, period pain was it for me.

I’m not sure how how my experience of childbirth is insulting to others, I did feel lucky to not have a horrendous time and I feel bad for those who do, I’ve had kidney stones multiple times and that was bloody horrendous. My sister was very similar with her babies, she even had one at home he came so fast.

Honestly it just depends on the birth and your pain tolerance. Mine was like bad period cramping but once they put me on the induction drip it was honestly unbearable and my epidural only worked on one side. I've known people breeze through it with only gas and air so it just all depends you won't know until you go through it.

I get bad period pain but wouldn't describe childbirth as anything like it. I've had kidney stones. That's the only other pain I could really say is comparable

Mine wasn't really like period pain with ds1. It was in my back, which the midwife said was because he was back to back, and it didn't really let up between contractions. If it had just been the pain of the contractions in waves without the back pain I might have been able to deal with it without the pain relief (I had gas and air then diamoprhine)

The ring of fire pain when crowning was something else. Literally felt like I was being torn in two.

I have had worse pains tbh- gallstone pain, migraine pain and broken arm were all pretty bad and probably worse than childbirth.

I’d agree it’s like intense waves of period pain. I’m another that didn’t find it too bad and I had no pain relief and back to back babies.

The crowning bit was temporarily excruciating though.

It felt like I needed to do a really big poo but it wasn't that, I was birthing a baby! Didn't realise baby was crowning until the midwife got me off the toilet. (Was all a bit quick).

Contractions felt like someone was squeezing my stomach so hard I thought I might burst. It was more an intense pressure for me not really pain as such! It was extremely uncomfortable though

Nothing like period pain for me, back to back babies so all the pain in my back. Agonising, crushing pain that felt like my spine was about to snap. Thank god for epidurals.

Mine were all in my bum too but my baby wasn't back to back!

I remember describing it afterwards like someone shoving a huge dildo up my arse as hard and deep as possible and then it expanding sharply and deeply out to the sides also.

I ended up having an epidural (around 3.5 hours after requesting one) and had an elective section for my second.

Very interesting responses! Absolutely nothing like period pain for me. More like the knives and vice feelings described. Mostly in my back and bum - like I couldn't sit down because there was a huge pole covered in knives shoved up my arse. No clear breaks in between after the first few hours, just all rolled into one long pain - sometimes just about bearable, sometimes like I was going to die. Vomiting throughout. Someone I knew described the pain as obscene which I think covers it! This lasted around 30 hours before I thought I was going to die from both pain and lack of sleep so I got an epidural which was such a relief.

The worst period pain ever with diarrhoea pain but the pushing bit didn’t hurt, it was more of a relief to push! The crowing killed put didn’t last very long!

Oh yes I just read this after I posted! Very similar feeling for me.

I bet the @aussiebebe is really glad she asked 😂

The contractions are waves of intense pain, for hours. Crowning was the worst bit - burning pain and you can imagine exactly what’s happening, I could basically feel myself tear open. The stitches after were extremely sore, with second baby I wasn’t sure I’d cope - it felt like someone was sewing through my clitoris and I remember sobbing. It wasn’t a bad tear but I’d only had two paracetamol four hours earlier. I got high on the G&A.

i recommend an epidural .

I was put on a drip for induction and DD was back to back, every time she moved down, she was grinding against my pelvis.

I was on all fours begging DH to let me die, snot and tears pouring (2 failed epidurals) and was screaming at the midwife to take me for a c-section.

Honestly, I feel like being run over slowly by a bus would be less painful 😂

It’s different for everyone. I was told it was like really intense period pain which was useless as I’d never had period pain in my life.

a friend was terrified as she had really bad period pains but then said labour wasn’t significantly worse.

it starts slowly and not very intense painfully and builds up so you “get used to it”

like someone further up the thread, I woke up one morning with cramping and thought I needed the loo, walked ds1 to school and came back home for a lie down. When the cramping didn’t go away I thought it might be early Labour so got dressed and went to coffee morning 🙄. Only left coffee morning when I realised I was breathing through contractions. DS3 was born only about 90 minutes after dh got home from work!