So if you're one of those people who can honestly say "labour didn't hurt that badly"...

[Jacksmama]

... REALLY???

Honest?

How is that possible?

I am not taking the piss, I really honestly want to know. I've heard from one RL friend that it felt like "strong period pains" all the way through but that was as bad as it got. And I've read a few more posters on here who say the same thing.

I am utterly jealous gobsmacked. Granted, Jackbaby was stuck crookedly between my pelvic bones, and I had back labour, but nothing, nothing, could have prepared me for how agonizingly, horribly, unbearably painful labour was.

So if you're one of those people, come talk to me because I'm really curious.

gabygirl you poor thing. Did they have to manoeuvre the baby? It must have been awful. But fab that you were smiling 10 minutes after!!

all 4 were inductions.

First 3 were horrendous and I demanded an epidural. By the 4th I was so much more relaxed and after I had delivered her said "was that it?"

I think for uncomplicated labour & delivery being relaxed really is the key. All my other labours I was completely stressed to the eyeballs before they even induced me.

It was boring. Contractions fely like going over speed bumps. I did a HypnoBirth.

I did feel a bit achey the next day though (like when you fall onto the crossbar of your brothers bike when you are a kid).

i do remember thinking to myself during transition with dd2 "this is unbearable why the hell did i decide to do this again"

but then once i was pushing it was so different it was like i was pushing the pain away, and i had pethidine which was wonderful and i was whooping and cheering in between contractions! (very loudly)

i remember a midwife saying that the hormones after the birth do make some women forget how bad the pain was - otherwise no one would have more than one child!

Whaleoilbeefhooked - i know exactely what you mean about the strong urge to push, that was like my second labour - i couldn't have not pushed like you say

i never felt that with my first labour because i was in labour for 24 hours and had an epidural in by the end and just could not push, had no urge to push at all, i think they wrote in my notes that my uterus had become 'incompetant' or something like that

I had a very fast labour. My waters broke at 4.30pm and then experienced some dragging period-type pains that I was able to ignore then at 6.30pm I began experiencing proper contractions that left me unable to speak, these got stronger and more painful but I have to say the most painful bit is the bit when you feel you can't cope anymore and that means the baby is about to be born so in retrospect I'd be ready to do this madness again! I had a home birth and midwife arrived at 7.25 pm to say i was 10cm dilated and baby popped out at 7.55pm. The pain is like nothing else I have ever experienced but not as bad as the horror stories that people will tell you. I made a conscious effort to ignore anyone who wanted to tell me about their 50 hr labour etc etc. You have to keep it in perspective, yes it is the most incredible feeling you'll ever experience but it's not going to last forever! For me the sleepless nights were far worse than labour and lead to hallucinations!

It was bearable. My labour with ds took about 6 hours from start to finish and I remember it being exhausting rather than painful. Towards the end I didn't have much energy for pushing but it was that rather than the pain that was the problem. I wouldn't say it didn't hurt - far from it - but it was definitely manageable.

I think it's probably partly luck. A friend of mine just had her third baby. With both the first and the second, she had no drugs and said it didn't really hurt at all. The third (no complications, normal position) she said was absolute agony. No good reason, just very very painful indeed.

I didn't honestly think my labours were that bad. Sorry .

Ds was 24 hours from waking up with first contractions/show to giving birth. Midwife gave me Pethidine and it sent me and ds to sleep. Was actually sleeping through contractions til they put me on a drip to speed it up. He was back to back and it just felt like I had an upset and unsettled tummy most of the time. Had no desire to push whatsoever and ended up having a local anaestetic in my fanjo and ventouse. Didn't even realise ds was out til I saw them carry him to the resusc trolley.

DD was 23 hrs from strong contractions to being born and only had gas and air. Stayed at home most of the time as ds was off school sick! Cooked him lunch and everything between contractions! When the midwife offered me gas and air, I said, "Oh, alright then"! Gave birth standing up and yes it hurt but it was fine!

It's not the giving birth that puts me off another, it's the next twenty years!!!!!

I can honestly say with DS2 labour right up untill the pushing was a doddle, i didn't feel it untill i was 8cm dilated it was dp that realised i was in labour not me but after my waters broke with the first push it was farking hell!!!!!!!!

You forget about it pretty quickly though then decide to have another!

I didn't think they were that bad - apart from the last one lasting 11 weeks! I was upset that they made me have a CS and GA after going most of the way, twice!

I'm sure others have said about how the hormones work, so I won't.

My 3 labours were all very different but the births were similar. First one was long, drawn out, boring, exhausting & very painful. Second, much shorter - painful, but felt in control. Just as I reached the 'can't stand it anymore' stage, I had the urge to push. Third was back to back and longer. Didn't think pethidine was very effective with first 2, so decided to have only G&A with third (then realised pethidine was quite good!). Luckily all 3 births were quick, after just a few pushes. I have to say that it took me about 6 months to recover from the shock of the first labour, I had no idea it was going to hurt so much! When I became a grandma, the first thing my dd said to me after she'd given birth was 'that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be' . I was absolutely delighted as I'd been so worried that she'd have a similar experience to mine. (I didn't tell her the details as I didn't want to frighten her). Sorry, rambled on a bit there...

Horrendously painful - but luckily v short (ds1 - 2 hrs, ds2 - 15 mins max). I can't begin to imagine having to endure that kind of pain for hour upon hour.

I would say my contractions were like strong period pains - very intense and overwhelming but not what I'd describe as pain like cutting your finger. I asked dp recently did I scream or cry out as I couldnt remember, he says no.

I think the reason it was ok was that I had ds (my first dc) at home so I felt nice and relaxed in my own surroundings. A friend who had her first at home also thought her contractions were like intense period pains. All the other ladies in our NCT group went to hospital and had really painful births with lots of interventions (3 out of 10 had caesareans).

I used TENS for 20 hours (overnight) til 7cm then G&A briefly, popped into the bath for an hour then nothing for the last bit (2.5 hours for second stage) The 2nd stage was physically very hard (labour!) but I felt nothing - endorphins? No tearing either although ds was 8lb 2oz.

I really feel for you eth37 I was terrifed too and thought I wanted an elective caesarean but I did a hypnobirthing course and read lots of books including the fab Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth and ended up having a homebirth

No1 was awful - I think because I was soo unprepared for the pain. No2 was'nt too bad. No3 was very managable - only the very end was verging on unbearable. No3 has made me want to give 'birth' again but i don't want to be pregnant or have another baby really.

I had 3 epis, and 3 wonderful experiences. I'd like dc4 so that I could give birth again - loved it every time.

I don't want another baby really though either, I know what you mean NBM

oh my word, I had my first baby a week ago and certainly was not prepared for the pain, my contractions were 3 minutes apart from start to finish for 26 hours, I was told they were too understaffed for me to have an epidural (my face fell five floors down!) and the pain is still fresh in my mind. I'm very very scared I wont forget it as I want more children but can't imagine going through that again.
I was birthing partner for my sister 8 years ago. She was induced and took 6 hours and a slight whimper to get my niece out

all four were induced, ds1 took 3 days, the pain was bad but what was worse was the pain of my spd, event he epidural didnt stop that.

ds2 7hrs, some gas and air 9lb 3oz was fine, ttho i had to push for an hour and a half.

ds3, 3hrs, 9lb 5oz, again just gas and air, tthree pushes and he was out, was home wwithin 3hrs of having him.

ds4 only took an hour, the last 40 mins were PAINFUL, but i was in the birth pool and had gas and air, oh how i love that stuf he was 10lb 13oz, not even a graze

Labour was as I had imagined i suppose but was gobsmacked when I was still in pain after DS was placed on my chest - all those stories of "as soon as you give birth, you dont feel the pain anymore" complete c*!

I remember shouting at the MW "It still hurts, it still hurts" and her saying "of course it will do"

Was totally unprepared for post-delivery. Just thought apart from having 9 months of periods in one go everything else would be "normal". Didnt know I would be so BIG & sore down there!

For both of my labours, VERY bad period pains would be a good description. DD1 was born in 8 hours, start to finish, and DD2 4 hours. Both only needed three or four pushes to get them out. Both times I had gas and air and gave birth in the water. The pushing stage did hurt a lot.

I reckon I was just really lucky. Short labours make it easier to deal with the pain - I can't imagine managing with only gas and air if the whole thing had gone on for 24+ hours. Also, my body seemed very good at pushing - I couldn't have resisted the urge even if I'd tried.

If anyone says "well done" to me for managing so well, I tell them I don't want congratulations - I was lucky and if things had turned out different, I would have been the first one to ask for the epidural/pethidine etc.

i have 2 children,both were induced births,the first because my waters broke without labour following 3 wks early,this induction was done by an iv drip in the hand,my midwife friend delivered and it was a quick labour ,5hrs start to finish.however my friend did keep upping the hormone dose to speed delivery and i can honestly say i thought i would die with the pain,begged for an epidural,didnt get it though. my second baby went 10 days over so had internaly placed hormone tablets straight onto the cervix,this was probably nearer to a natural labour,didnt feel great deal of pain until i had a massive urge to push,the worst pain lasted seconds and i pushed my baby out in 2 pushes,again 5hour labor

I was absolutely fucking terrified of giving birth. As in, freaking out about how badly it might hurt. I take paracetamol and ibuprofen for leg waxing. I do not like pain, and I'm called the family wimp.

My birthing plan went: start off in MLU as it's posher. Use nice pool and g & a. Progress to drugs as required, when it all gets too much. Which I was pretty sure it would, in my heart of hearts. But it just never did get too much. I remember at one point they tried to stop me inhaling the g&a non-stop, and when I did a wall of pain hit me so I ignored them, but at that stage I was maybe 20 minutes away from birth - they had a change of shift, because I was so chilled they assumed I had hours to go (was in the water, and hadn't had internal exams). I was actually one big contraction, but non-stop g&a provided an almost complete block. It just never did hurt that much. I remember being irritated by the midwives and being certain I knew what to do - weirdly, it was like I'd done it before; the midwives said approvingly "you went to classes, then" after - but I hadn't. I was just lucky.

I had the shittiest pregnancy imaginable. Severe morning sickness which overlapped with awful SPD. So I never expected to get so lucky. Right after DS was born, I said "oh, I can do this again, no problems." I was just hugely relieved. The birth is a really happy memory, now.

I do remember that all pain went when I first got in the pool, and didn't return until 2 hours before delivery. I also remember that people bustling about distracted me, and then it hurt. Everyone sitting down and shutting up and letting me get on with it equalled very little pain. But my experience of serious pain in other contexts is all the positive thinking in the world is an irrelevance, because the pain becomes all you can think about. So yeah; luck.

He was 8.4, too. So not a tiny baby.

Oh- crowning didn't hurt, either. I do remember holding my perineum at the front to avoid a tear, because the pressure was so great - and was amazed to find I had torn a bit at the back, afterwards. It didn't hurt then or later, in fact the stitching itself was far worse than the labour or the tear. The urge to push didn't feel any different from an uncomfortably huge crap - the body eliminating something forcefully and involuntarily, with me trying to slow and control that so as to avoid damage.

I'm very scared of morning sickness, and a bit of SPD. But not birth.