ooooh first time 'OBEM' watch!!

[oggybags]

I'm slightly worried I felt impatient for them to have their babies in the hours episode, how will I manage for actual labour....?!!

If the girl that had the epidural would have stopped screaming I woulnd't have felt soo impatient. I wanted her to have it purely so she would be quiet!!

I hope she was making it sound a bit harder than it actually is .. someone who has experience ls reassure ...

that should be pls reassure ... my bad spelling due to the

I just wanted to give them all a doula!
S x

You get the labour you get, you react in the way in which you react. If you can accept that and go with it then you're halfway there.

Programmes like OBEM show only extremes really. Yes some women have very painful, traumatic, intervention heavy labours. Some have calm homebirths in water. Most people fall somewhere in the middle.

It does end, people often go back and do it again and the baby is always worth it.

Oh and there are drugs.

I can't stand pain! And yet I managed, so you can too.

I was sent home when I was at 4cm (still not sure why) and had to deal with the worst part at home, only got G&A when I was 7cm.

I personally didn't think the pushing part was that painful, just hard work. That might be because I still had my waters for a long time and actually kind of gave birth to the waters still in the sack. I would never let them break my waters next time!

If it is too much go for the epidural, I'm sure it stops the pain despite what it seemed like with that screamer!

I agree with sairse86 - my second stage was much more uncomfortable than it was painful. And I also got to 7cm with no pain relief and only G&A from then, as I only got to hospital at 7cms (DS was born 2 hours later!)

:)

The screamer scared me witless too! Until I realised she was still bawling post-epidural. Mmmm...
Presumably this isn't normal and was selected for the purposes of making good telly. At least I hope so! (Shudder).

BeedeBee, the girl Steph on the programme was just one end of the spectrum (she was terrified). The same end of the spectrum I was on. I had a 2 day labour, 8hr second stage, ventouse, episiotomy and emcs with a baby in a terrible position and all with no waters. I was in a similar level of discomfort tbh.

But had a spinal block for the emcs. That bit was good.

The pain was almost manageable. It's feeling out of control that is the worst bit. If you accept that you don't know if you'll be on the bed screaming or calmly pacing the room, you won't be so shocked. And you can deal with it instead of fighting it.