How did your first vaginal birth turn out?

[littlemisssunshine247]

If you aimed for a vaginal birth for your first baby, how did it all turn out, particularly if you have a low pain threshold?

Did you have pain relief? Did you find hypnobirthing/deep breathing helped if you did that? Did you need forceps or a c section in the end?

I'm just trying to decide on the type of birth to go for, from real experiences. Worth adding in an absolute wuss with pain!

I had my first DD during early COVID and was advised to stay at home as long as possible. Managed with Tens machine, hypnobirthing, moving and having a bath until 8cms. I'm not going to lie though by that point I was in horrendous pain.

Had a water birth with gas and air which really took the edge off. 2nd degree tear which I didn't feel at the time. Baby was 6lbs 1oz. Pushing part was very quick.

Second time I followed the advice of the naked doula (Instagram) and had no stitches and much quicker recovery x

Mine was really positive. My pain threshold is cry at a papercut, freak out at a splinter, beg for death at a stubbed toe, im a wuss. That said this was physical endurance but I managed on gas and air and waterbirth and it was a long labour. Only time I wanted something more was during transition and this is very common and passes quickly. Baby was 8lb8 no tears or interventions.

I assume its like a running a marathon (Ive never done it as it sounds awful) but for people who have done it they admit pains, friction burns, fatigue, blisters, exhaustion but they say it passes and the rush and endorphins you get mean they do it again and again.

I would rather give birth that run a marathon (even a 5k at this point)

First baby, planned VB in birthing centre. I've always been a huge wimp and didn't want epidural as I was scared the needle/catheter would hurt.😂

Baby born quickly in Less then 1hr, no time for pain relief but honestly it was the typical it's hurts like you can't do any more, then you have a baby.

Baby No2 very similar

I did alllll the hypnobirthing/deep breathing/meditation courses and thought I had a high pain threshold and would breeze through with little pain relief and intervention.
I ended up in latent labour for 4 days and was EXHAUSTED when the time came to push. I had all the pain relief I could after one midwife said "there's no prizes for being in pain" and can safely say pecodin was my favourite part of labour 😆
Ended up with a spinal block, episiotomy and forceps delivery.

My first (of four ) vaginal births was the most medicated. I had gas & air, pethidine and an epidural in the end. I was induced and felt totally out of control because I had no real idea what to expect. The rest were all with varying degrees of assistance but much more manageable.

I “just” had gas and air for the fourth and found it less stressful being more in control of my body.

i think be prepared for anything but there is a lot of truth in being relaxed and mobile to help you

Also to add next time I will be demanding an epidural from the start

I was induced, demanded an epidural, the delivery etc was fine. Found the tens machine and gas & air great too.

It was only with DC4 that I didn't ever ask for an epidural. I was far far far more relaxed that time and the tens machine and gas & air was plenty.

I have a very low pain threshold I'm very tense generally.

Following with interest as until antenatal I'd been trying to put to the back of my mind baby needs to come out in some way!

I have a very low pain threshold and am a bit of a wimp and the whole thing looks, to be blunt, absolutely awful!

To the point I'm considering an elective cesarean, however have a horrible feeling ill regret it due to the recovery being very debilitating e.g. struggling to get out of bed, lift things, can't drive etc

I was the same as you I was adamant I wanted c section but decided just to try it, not going to lie it really hurts but I'm glad I did it, I wish they had of given me an epidural but I made it through so can you

Honestly it's all about babies position.

My body dilated really well, 2 to 9cm in 2 hours. But then got stuck there because he was in wrong position. They tried to rotate with forceps but didn't work and got really stressed out. So they did an EMCS.

Consultants said if he'd been right position he'd have flown out within 2/3 hours of labour starting.

Pain relief I had epidural and I was glad I did. It was intense and in my back. Again babies position affects how much pain you're in. I wasn't a fan of idea going into it but once it was in I could have kissed the anaesthetist 🤣.

It was long. Irregular contractions so after 36 hours at home i was still only 5cm. Then broke my waters, (didn't do much), drip (got things going), then long pushing phase not helped by the fact they didn't realise that DS1 was quite a big baby - 91st centile for length and weight, 98th for head circumference. Pain relief - gas and air, tens machine, one dose of pethidine about 6 hours before he arrived because I was completely exhausted and they needed to sleep a bit.

Episiotomy, more pushing then he was here. And everything was forgotten. Did it hurt? Yes. It's like a huge period pain from your ribs to your lower back that lasts about no more than a minute and then goes away and you feel completely normal again.

Did I do it again? Also yes. And that baby was undiagnosed breech, 3 pushes and out, with no pain relief at all. As far as parenting goes, it's one of easier bits.

My first OB said my pelvis was too narrow and she scheduled me for a C section. I wasn't happy with that and switched to another one. I was induced day before he was due with a cervical dilator
Laboured for 13 hours and struggled a little to push him the final way out so needed an episiotomy. I got an epidural at 8cm, I could handle the pain until then but thought if the help is available why not take it.

I planned a water birth, with lots of calm breathing and minimal pain relief, convinced that, though I don't have a great pain threshold, nature would help me through. Hated the birthing pool - the water was too warm, I couldn't find a comfy position, and wanted a cuddle. Ended up with a very long labour, with a larger than expected baby who was not in a hurry. Had an epidural/venteuse delivery and was very grateful.

Baby no 2 was the complete opposite by the way. Went in expecting to ask for an epidural but felt great, walked through contractions and delivered on gas and air (though apparently I mooed a lot! 🤗I think your body tells you what it needs and I was v grateful for supportive midwives who listened and helped me through.

Waters broke 24 hours before. Back to back labour. An episiotomy and a second degree year. Not pleasant but all well.

The other thing that truly terrifies me is the thought of forceps or that thing that suctions onto their head. Obviously if they're needed baby is in trouble and needs to be got out but the thought of getting into a situation which you can't control and they may be needed is horrifying

I don't think I'm going to be able to have a water bath thing either as had a swab a month or so ago for checking re amniotic fluid, and they picked up strep b positive. I know this can come and go, but at antenatal they suspected this probably puts me in the "high risk" category, need to speak to my midwife about it i have an appointment Friday

The thought of a planned c section is a flickering candle that refuses to be put out, but so worried I'd regret it after if I'm beached in bed/can't properly tend to baby etc. It's bad enough atm I have to haul on tne pregnancy pillow to get out of bed as my core already feels, to punt it bluntly, completely fucked!

I do know if I go for a natural birth I want an epidural!

On paper: fucking awful. 37 weeks, pre eclampsia induction, 4 day induction including drip, artificial rupture of membranes, no epidural, DD was facing sideways/up when born (I remember them saying some kind of awkward position), lots of back labour, 3rd degree tear, local anaesthetic didn't work for being stitched up.

In reality: I loved it and would have done every second of it all over again. Gas and air was the best. I moved around a lot (the monitor things weren't working so we gave up on them and they just let me move - I did lots of walking, dancing, singing 😅). I remember that it hurt, but at no point did I think "I can't do this" - just "this bloody hurts so I'm getting it done" 🤣

I always thought of myself as someone with a low pain threshold, I aimed for a vaginal birth but also kept my options open, also wanted the birthing centre, and luckily I managed both, didn't like the gas and air and used hypnobirthing breathing. My labour was shortish though, five hours from start to finish, so I do think had it been longer I would have possible been asking for pain relief, I felt I stayed calm though.

Second was induction, and the syntocin drip, I struggled with that and my hypnobirthing breathing went flying out of the window, was 5 hours from when my waters were broken and when I did ask for an epidural I went from 3cm to 10cm in five mins so couldn't have one. I narrowly avoided an emergency c section

Surprisingly fine.

A spanner had already been thrown into the works by me developing pre-eclampsia, so I was having an early induction. I just went with the flow, and at no point did I believe it wasn't going to be successful.

I wanted to use as little pain relief as possible, but was open to upping it if needed. Which I did. I had gas + air throughout (except for pushing when it was taken away from me) and an injection of diamorphine (pure bliss).

I didn't do hypnobirthing, but I'm pretty good at managing breathing which definitely helps.

No assistance needed at birth. I was fully at 4pm, started pushing at 4.20pm (no urge to push, and contractions died away, so needed a bit of drip again), and baby was born 4.41pm. Second degree tear. Placenta took its time coming, but it did eventually come.

Second wasn't quite as good unfortunately. Induction and pre-eclampsia again. Baby was in a poor position for birth. After poor dilatation and a long labour, I had an epidural. After further poor dilatation, and some distress in baby, I had a C-section. Baby position is absolutely vital, and affects the duration of labour, and the pain of labour

My first I had to be induced due to pre eclampsia, had my waters broken and labour came full force quite quickly. I opted for the epidural and ended up needing a forceps delivery as he got stuck in the birth canal. Ended up needing stitches too. Couldn't sit down for weeks.
Luckily didn't need stitches with my second!

Most pain I've ever been in as he was back to back to back. Ended up as an emcs as failed forceps when he never got below mid pelvis.

Csection didnt hurt compared to labour pains.

Fine. Slight pains started about 7pm. Nothing major i thought. Waters broke at midnight he was born at 0039. Quick as anything. Just time for some gas and air. Did have a small tear and that being sewed was worse than the birth! Same quickness, but no tears, with the next 2. I've been very lucky I do realise, especially as my pain threshold is high but like most people I cannot tolerate long term pain. If it had of been a 12 hour labour I think he may have been an only child 😂😂

Hurt like hell naturally, but the baby was healthy. Didn’t take any medications and no gas and air. Chose a natural third stage. No tears or stitches thankfully. Also chose not to have any examinations as I find them too intrusive so no internals or checks. Not entirely straightforward with meconium in the waters and a bit of a shocked baby at birth, and peeing felt like sitting on nails after. But I managed to keep it nice and private which was wha I wanted and was up and about straight after. Was nice enough!

Induced at 40+11 due to reduced movements. Laboured for 12 hours with back contractions alone overnight before being declared ‘in labour’. I dilated really well by myself but was exhausted so got the epidural and pushed baby boy out 7 hours later in 20 minutes. I definitely felt pressure and the urge to push even with the epidural and the induction pains were something else BUT I’d do it all again tonight to meet my little boy.

best of luck OP

I had 2 vaginal births, both unmedicated and I am a huge wimp. Can't even have a blood test without being pinned down.

Both children born within 30 mins of contractions being felt; no gas & air, no tears .... minimal blood loss and discharged from hospital 12 hours later: they only made me stay as I had both of them between 1am - 6am and they don't discharge at our hospital until daytime

I went in with the whole thing of I'm taking every single pain relief going because I don't want to feel anything - but didn't have time for anything and actually it wasn't as horrific or traumatising as one born every minute makes it seem

Fine. Early contractions from 1am and quite painful from maybe 10am. Bath helped. Went to birthing centre at 4pm and had baby before 8pm in water. He had a big head and it was tiring trying to push it out. Just used water as pain relief.