On a scale of 1-10, how painful is giving birth?

[rogantano]

I want to give birth to a baby naturally but my pain threshold is non-existent… my mum is worried about the day I give birth because she said all I’ll be doing is screaming

I think it’s difficult to say. I had my first with no pain relief but she was in the right position and it was quick so didn’t get time to be tired etc. I’d say it was intense and painful but not that you’d want to scream or feel frightened. Others will have a different experience though

1.. yes really. I had it built up in my head but there was no yelling, screaming or digging my fingers into my husbands hand. I’ve had two inductions without pain relief, second was over in 13 mins. I’d recommend moving around and I stood up to deliver my second (both 9lb babies so a good size!) don’t overthink it or let people scare you. I’m sure for many it is painful but you might just get lucky so take it as it comes and keep
your options open.

First two -( without epidural) definite 10, 3rd one- maybe 7 ( with epidural)

I’ve got a ridiculously low pain threshold too and I delivered four babies with just gas and air

I won’t sugar coat it, it is painful but as soon as the baby is out, that stops and you brain will make you forget what it was like very soon after.

Best to take it as it comes and see what is offered and what works for you :) You will do great

20

100/10 for my first.

I would advise taking all the drugs available as soon as you can. Take someone with you to be your advocate. They can help you when the midwives inevitably try to talk to you out of an epidural or want to force you on your back for examinations. (It’s for their convenience and not your comfort).

The breast abscess I developed from mastitis 6 weeks postpartum was far more painful. That made me cry. And that’s bearing in mind I had only gas and air for my birth. I get migraines (well, used to, pre-pregnancy), and I can solidly say I’d rather have contractions and the pushing stage again vs. a migraine that lasted just as long without pain meds.

I used to think it was a 10 as I didn't always get the drugs (3 DCs) - but then I had thoracic surgery and two chest drains - so childbirth is now a measly 8 and thoracic surgery is a 10 - it was so painful that screaming would've made it worse so I just lay mute and still until they got morphine levels right. It hurt even to hear people speak to me.

You can't predict labours or how you'll respond. Be open to pain relief.

Contractions are just bog standard pain, can tough it out with gas and air. When it gets to the final pushing stage, baby descending and emerging, it is utterly excruciating and a very deep discomfort. But it's too late to do anything by that point and it's generally relatively quick! Then boom, it's over. (Then you may need stitches which are awful but you don't really care at that point)

Honestly, I found birth manageable up until the last 15 minutes/ transition phase.

I had a reaction to the induction drug which meant I had contractions every 10 seconds for about 13 hours. It was the pain + exhaustion that got to me in the end.

But actually it was lack of communication from the midwives that made it unbearable. I was left in a shared induction ward for the first few hours and no one checked on me so they had no idea what was happening.

They had a drip placed in my arm half way through. That pulled out, blood pouring all over the floor. No one came. And when they did turn up they told me off for making the floor covered in blood.

But the hospital at the time was one of the maternity scandal ones and I can see why.

It’s painful enough that nothing will ever, ever compel me to go through it again. Even with a walking epidural. Just never.

If anything I think it’s far understated how traumatic it is to the body.

About a 5!
No where near as painful as burst appendix or kidney infection.

79

DS 1 - 10/10 (induced, forceps delivery, big ol' episiotomy - many drugs but still, ouch)

DS 2- maybe 4-5/10, water birth (at home), small tear, no meds.

Basically, it can be totally circumstantial and the experience can differ massively, it was the most pain I'd been in previously but it has an "end" and a reason, which for me helped. I didn't scream or make much noise with either of mine but honestly, even if you screamed the whole time (apart from maybe tiring yourself out a bit!), who cares? Some women make noise, some are silent - there is no wrong way to do it.

I thought it was fucking horrendous, absolutely off the scale (that was with gas and air). I did scream. BUT that was only the last hour or so. Most of it was much more bearable than that.

ETA it was a straightforward delivery with no interventions etc, but a big baby.

I always find everyone's experiences so fascinating as we are all so different.

For me, the contractions were by far the worst part, the pushing was painful but was over so quickly in comparison to the hours of contractions. I've given birth 3 times and my water birth was the least painful in regards to contractions and pushing

Have you ever had your wisdom teeth out? Less painful than that. (My MIL told me that before I had my first and I was sceptical, but she was right!)

Or have you ever had gallstones? A lot, lot less painful than that!

If gallstones was a 10, and getting wisdom teeth out was an 8 then giving birth would be maybe a 6

(I had gas and air with my first which made me throw up and didn't have anything with the others. Was fine!)

@rogantano my last birth at home, absolutely zero pain and experienced the fetal ejection reflex which was amazing!

My third birth, also at home, for the last three hours, was the worst pain imaginable, with no breaks between contractions to recover!

My first and second births were somewhere in between.

Well it's a hard 10 from me! Worst pain i have ever experienced. And I am now 62.

It’s painful, the worst feeling that you will experience.

it’s worth it and you will forget how painful it was when you hold your baby

I had 12 teeth out in one go and id rather go through that again than give birth.

I agree with what someone earlier posted about period pains. I used to suffer horrendous period pains, had to come home from school and then work as I got older. I thought if the pain is worse giving birth then I will ask for pain relief. I had a mobile epidural with both my children.

I think it can vary by birth…!

My first I was induced, in labour for a few days in hospital (on a ward.. stressful environment), ARM, drip, my contractions were just constant, a wall of unbearable pain, a 10/10z. I had to get an epidural - I was not coping at all. The epidural kept failing and then it was back to the unbearable constant pain - lying on a bed unable to move, wires and so on all over me and the baby. Forceps, episiotomy - the recovery was horrendous too.

My second, I had no pain relief and honestly… it wasn’t that bad? The contractions hurt but manageable and gaps between. The actual pushing stage was only a minute or two and I don’t remember it hurting (adrenaline? Oxytocin?). It was quite a surprise after the first - which had put me off ever having a baby again. Had a relaxed day at home, laboured there until shortly before the baby arrived - at hospital straight into a dimly lit birthing room… it was all just so much less stressful.

I would definitely have put myself in the ‘traumatic birth / PTSD’ camp from the first - and am even more annoyed about having been pushed into an induction first time round as I wonder what could have been if I hadn’t…!