Do you feel positive about your birth - however it happened?

[tittybangbang]

Just cleaning out my files and came across an article about a Mother and Baby Magazine survey from 2005 about women's birth experiences.

According to this 80% said they were 'frightened' during labour and birth and 75% said that their labour was 'more painful than they ever imagined'.

Well, looking back on my first birth I can honestly say that I was frightened, overwhelmed and was in far more pain than I ever thought possible,

and yet....... came away from the experience feeling thrilled by the whole thing - despite the fact that as births go it was fairly complicated and wasn't managed in the way I had wanted (9lbs 6oz baby, forceps birth after long labour, lots of drugs, lots of vomiting, lots of intervention).

Is this a paradox? Wondering how other people feel looking back on their births.

DD - prem labour, more painfull than i could have ever imagined, was constantly monitored, held her for a few minutes before she was wisked away to scbu

Ds - placental abruption, very prem emergency section after a nightmare pregnancy( IC, Emergency stitch, Pprom @ 22 weeks, infections, GBS), absolutly terrifying, blood pressure problems, reaction to the drugs, didnt get to see my baby, didnt hear him cry etc etc.

I am positive about them both really even though they are not how i would have chosen to do it, i got 2 children out of 2 awful pregnancies i cant complain.

dd1 - emergency c-section absolutely fine even though it was rather a shock and everything I did not want ie c-section.

dd2 - elective at almost 42 weeks

dd3 elective at 39 weeks.

Feel positive about every one of them.