How much pain were you in at 1cm dilated?

[whatsthetimemrwolf]

I am currently pregnant with DC3 and am trying to decide whether to go for a VBAC or ELCS.

DC1 was delivered by EMCS as undiagnosed breach. I only ever reached 1cm dilated before they got me in for a EMCS but was in tears with the pain. I always believed that I wasn't dilating properly as DC1 was breach, hence my pain. However, I have had a consultation with an expert VBAC midwife this week who told me that I was in no extra pain because DD was breach, I was just being a first time mother. I would love to go for a VBAC but am scared about the pain and wonder if I just have a really low pain threshold! I would be very interested to hear how ther people felt at 1cm dilated. Thanks.

Very very very little pain, I only began to feel 'pain' at around 4-5cms, by 6cms (that was as far as I got, then section) I was screaming for the epidural

not aware of any pain at 1cm dilated

Same for me, very little. With ds (my second) I was at 3-4 cm for a week before labour even started . Interesting though that for me, both times my waters have broken at about 4 cm, which is when the pain really kicked in as the contractions started for real.

Congrats

I honestly wasn't in any pain - I was more uncomfortable when they were checking my dilation!! DS was back to back during most of my labour too, so I imagine the begining stages would have been that bit more painful like the rest of it. But then again, its all individual, isn't it?

I will say though that I have ME/CFS, so my pain threshold is lower, and I managed with a TENS.

Best of luck to you either way

not a lot - just like mahoosive braxton hicks for ten days.
but then, even after my waters broke they kept telling me i wasn't in established labour as i wasn't making enough noise. eventually i asked if i could go home, and they dsaid yes, then the doc pointed out that i needed an internal to establish how far along i was, before they could let me go. i was 8 cms, so they decided i had to stay.
lots of people don't even know they are dilating until the mw tells them at a check standard check lol.
is it possible they are trying to be reassuring and failing miserably?

None at all, with either of my 3. I was more than 1 when I went in before labour each time. Went fast after that but you never know, each one is different and what one person feels another won't feel the same. Don't worry about anyong else and concentrate on you and how you feel

Thats exactly what I thought, that you shouldn't experience pain at 1cm dilated. Its only 6 years on from DD's birth that I found out I was only 1cm dilated, I was convinced they rushed me in for a CS as she was ready to pop out!

very little, I got to 5cms while asleep with DD1, DD2 I got to 8cms before I was screaming. Ds1 was a CS and Ds2 I was about 5-6cms before I was away with the fairies with the pain

This is very interesting, thank you! I really must have an extremely low pain threshold then

Absolutely none. I was 3 cm at 37 and 38 weeks, 4 at 39 and 5 at my 40 week visit, and was having no contractions or signs of labour.

none, i was out and about and doing my stuff at two cm dilated, no bad pain until induced and about 4cm.

i'd blame it on the breech thing, rather than your pain threshold. i think that's a bit of a myth anyway.

I got all the way to pushing, and would not have called it pain! It was unpleasant, uncomfortable, but not screaming your head off unbearable stuff. I remember being a bit pissed off that they took the g&a off me though.

I was in a lot of pain right from the start, but I found it didn't get progressively much worse than that up until the 7/8cm point.

But then at that point it got horrendous, and I started on the gas and air stuff.

Dilating to 1cm shouldn't be that painful.

With DS I had some cramping pain up to 4cm then dilated to 10cm in an hour. That was painful and extremely helpful midwife told me to relax as I had ages to go, DS was almost crowning as I was turned over onto my side and wiped down with freezing stuff to get an epidural!

With DD I was 3cm dilated and walking about as normal, went to hospital and asked for an internal after cramps at night as worried about really fast delivery like DS. Got sent home as second timers can be dilated by that much usually, was home for 10 minutes and only just made it back in time. 45 minutes after being sent home DD was out!

Whatsthetimemrwolf where abouts was the pain you had? I hate sharp pain but can stand dull achey pain a lot easier. I nearly punched DP as I thought he was poking me as DS was crowning (he wasn't) but that was by far the most painful bit for me.

I've had two births, got to about 3cm each time before it started getting really uncomfortable. Before then it was just paracetamol and moving around a bit really...

Very little, almost no pain at 1 cm dilated. No idea how dilated I was when I started actually feeling the pain, but I was 8 cm dilated when I reached hospital . I really shocked myself as I always believed I had a very low pain threashold. Live and learn

With ds1, a lot (I was being induced) .With ds2, I didn't even notice.

I was about 3 or 4 cms dilated before I needed the gas and air and although I was screaming for an epidural byt the time I was 6 cms, I dilated very fast after that and the head had crowned by the time the epidural was ready.

If you feel you don't wish to deal with the pain, opt out of the pain. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, this is not tribal britain and it is not a competition!

Rather a lot of pain at 1cm actually. My waters had broken 36 hours previously and I had been having regular painful contractions ever 3-5 minutes for 24 hours. I was VERY disheartened to find I was only 1cm. Several hours later (cx every 2-3 minutes) I was in the birth pool, gulping G&A, mooing like a cow with my doula telling me I must be in transition. I was 2-3cm.

So if you have a low pain threshold, so do I. I don't think there really is a "shouldn't hurt at 1cm". Some lucky women dilate with less or no pain early on. It's inconceivable that I could have slept, talked or been unaware of those contractions. They were intense. My baby was OP, and it's acknowledged that the baby's head not applying correct pressure on the cervix can make labour more painful and also less effective. I'd have assumed that breech was similar, though I've never looked into it.

I'm hoping things will be easier this time!

couldn't agree more about pain relief btw, you're giving birth in a country with medical resources, use them if you want them.

I don't think there's a 'really shouldn't hurt at 1cm'. I was in a fair amount at 1-2cm (not so much I needed anything for it) but I'd been having 5 min contractions for 3 days by then. (Might have felt different if I'd got there quicker.)

I was induced and was in a lot of pain when I demanded to be taken up to labour ward. By then I couldn't walk or even stand, it was like the worst ever period pains - I was going to the loo every 20mins as some kind of relief - and when I got to labour ward observation suite, they checked and said I was only 1cm dilated. I had been 2cm before, so must have gone backwards a bit. I was begging for something to stop the pain at that point, so had a shot of pethidine - I'm not convinced it did anything apart from stop it getting much worse until Stage 2 started.

Anyway, they said they would leave me for 4hrs and if I hadn't progressed by then, I would be put on syntocin. 2 1/2 hours later DS was born!

My short answer to your question: sadly, a f*ck of a lot of pain. God, it hurt!!! Couldn't sit, lie, stand, walk, or float in bath tub without howling in agony. When I found out I was only 1-2 cms I wanted someone to shoot me. Or at least knock me out for a while.

To be fair, I later found out it was because my labour was a clusterf*ck from the word go. DS's head was only 3/5ths engaged at my last appointment, which was on a Friday evening and I went into labour the next Monday night. First thing that happened was my waters went and when that happened, his head "thudded" (OB's words) into my pelvis at a crooked angle, putting pressure on my sacral nerves, and causing him to hang up between my ischial spines. Where he stayed for the next 24 hours as I dilated slower than a comatose turtle going backwards, despite massive doses of pitocin. They finally dragged him out with forceps.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

i was 1cm dilated when i went for consultant appt who told me i was dilated. Did not feel a thing. Gave birth several days later after a relatively quick (11hours of painful labour?) birth. I was dilated, but not in labour, so it seems.

Well I went to see the consultant and he said I was 2cms dilated a few days before the birth. He did a sweep. I wasn't in any pain.

My waters broke and I had to be induced. I went back to 0cms dilated and being 0.5cms dilated was horrific, I was screaming for an epidural. Apparently these are 'prostin pains'. It chucked me in at 10cms pain and it was the worst part of the whole labour. Were you induced?

Trust your body, you can do it. If worst comes to very worst surely they can just do an emergency c section? But you're baby has to come out, that's what they do, so you'll just cope with it as you go along. If you were in severe pain at 1cm there was probably a reason and these things are very individual.