How painful is labour?

[MayimBialik]

I'm sure the answer will be very/extremely/agonisingly! But what is the most painful part? Is it the contractions? What do they feel like? Bad period pains but they go on for so long it gets exhausting? Or worse? Or is the most painful part the pushing? How long does that last for?

Just starting to wonder more and more about the whole thing. I'm hopefully having a waterbirth and am really looking forward to it. Im being a bit naive at the moment thinking I have a high pain threshold and always suffered from horrendous period pains so it can't be that bad....feel free to bring me back to reality!

Much more painful that the worst period pains IME. Pushing gives you something to focus on so I didn't notice the pain as much. Crowning is apparently the worst but luckily I missed that due to forceps

Oh they generally don't let you push for more than about two hours maybe a bit more if baby is happy, I know people who pushed for two and a half. I found it went really quickly though. You probably won't get two people saying the same though!

I've had period pains where I've been curled up in a ball unable to move and had to breath through them - worse than that?? Eeeek!

Ime the contraction pains are different from period pains- more intense. Plus- you'll have the gas and air if you want it! It is extremely painful but also wonderful as each pain comes and goes and brings you nearer to the birth of your baby. For me the pushing wasn't painful but overwhelming and completely amazing!

My MIL told me that contractions feel a "bit like butterflies in your stomach"

Possibly, if the butterflies were wearing hob nailed boots and carrying pickaxes.

For me contractions were nothing like period pain, they were like the most unbearable chronic trapped wind only 100 times worse, but mine were all in my lower back/bum. The first stage of labour until I got to 5cms was like intense period pain though.
I was induced though so mine may have been more intense due to that.
I had an epidural so I don't know what the pushing stage felt like thank god!

You have a good positive attitude and that's always a good way to start, everyone's experience is different, I planned a waterbirth but pre-eclampsia put an end to that for me .

Stage 2 contractions were far and away the worst pain I'd ever had - because they went all round my body to my back, and I didn't know that would/could happen. I think I only had about 10 of them and then felt DS "move down" so sent DH to find a MW - when she came back, she yelled "there's the head" and hit the panic button (yes really!) and another MW came flying in, one more push and DS was out, so I'm assuming the "moving down" I felt was DS crowning, and that didn't hurt as much as the contractions for me (no tear, just a slight graze).

The contractions were full-on "kill me now, I can't bear it" pain - but when DS was born, they stopped immediately (ok, one more for the placenta) and the relief was fantastic - as well as having DS of course!

Yes, sorry, it can be worse than that. I've had horrendous, can't-stand-up period pain and labour was just in a different league altogether. I feel a bit mean saying that but I always wished someone had been honest with me beforehand! I had a difficult delivery though, with baby corkscrewing round in my pelvis over the course of 72 hours. The epidural was magical... I was so grateful i actually kissed the anaesthetist!

More intense than period pains towards the end, but labour pains come and go, so the painful bit lasts a minute max, then you get a couple of minutes to recover before it starts again. So in that sense it's easier than the awful period pains you get sometimes that stretch down your legs making you feel a bit faint so you have to curl up with a hot water bottle for a few hours.

You'll find the hormones kick in and you kind of go into a zone. Don't worry, you'll cope and it's well worth it.

Oh, and the pain stops completely the second that baby is out!

How long is a piece of string op??

All depends on your pain threshold IME - all 3 of my labours were different painwise and intensity wise too.

Keep these coming please. I'm 38+6 today and trying to get focused on what is to come. Thank you for sharing your experiences...

Labour is painful but it actually wasn't as bad as I had been expecting. I think the fact that the pain of contractions is intermittent made a huge difference to me - I was laughing in between mine (probably hysteria!!). I was at home till I was 8cm dilated which was brilliant, although I remember the fear on the way to hospital that I might only be 1 or 2cm dilated and thinking how I would manage things getting worse. TENS was very good for me, partly as a distraction I think. Try to think of the pain as productive. You'll be amazed by how much your body does naturally! Good luck!

Its different for everyone isn't it.

women handle pain in different ways don't they.

The pain wasn't the worse bit for me. It was the being sick and the super fast car journey.

It is worse that period pains, even though it is in the same place so its kind of easier to explain them in relation to period pains. I found the 'peaking' aspect of them hardest - mine lasted 2-3 mins each time, and as they start you know they are going to get worse, which I found difficult (though my TENS helped a lot). Not sure if I ever hit transition though as I had an emcs and no one told me how dilated I was during the faff to do that, so I couldn't tell you whether the earlier pains were worse.

The bit I found hardest to cope with was the sheer length of time I was in pain - 36 hrs of proper contractions. Each one seemed to be getting slightly worse. So as they got closer and more painful, my tolerance for them got lower, and that was very difficult. BUT there is gas & air, and an epidural if you need one, and as some other posters have said you do just go into a zone and not realise how much time is passing, so you cope remarkably better than you imagine you will. And from what I have heard it is actually easier to cope once you are pushing.

Oh dear - well: it rather depends who you ask. I've never done it myself, but my sister (2 DCs) has said "Oh, no worse than doing a big poo when you've got period pains,", and my Mum (5 DCs) has said "Bit uncomfortable I suppose but it's not like a broken leg or anything, and you do get a baby out of it."

Not that painful for me and my only pain relief was a tens machine which was amazing. In fact, I shut my finger in the car door about three months after I gave birth, and the pain from that was infinitely worse.

I really don't think that asking how painful giving birth is just before your due date is particularly useful. If you're scared the pain will be worse because you tense up and work against your body. Just try and go with the flow.

Thanks for sharing all your experiences, it's really interesting and good to know what sort of feelings I should expect.

I'm well aware everyone has different experiences and I can't predict what mine will be but as I have literally no experience at the moment I'm interested to hear what it was like for other people.

Yep, every labour is different. I've had 3 kids, each one was wildly different.

The thing to hang on to is that a contraction only lasts a minute.

So, the pain level doesn't really matter - you can do lots to put up with it for a minute, right?

Oh, and swearing like a squaddie at my stupid husband who's idea this all was - that's helpful too.

Oh, oh, oh - put bendy straws and soft loo roll or wet wipe loo roll thingies in your bag. - if you are comfy and thirsty you don't want to move, and NHS loo roll is a tad scratchy on the undercarriage.

Good luck. You'll be fine.

Labour is painful, but it's a purposeful pain, I could feel it doing something, not like when you injure yourself and it hurts just for the sake of hurting. Crowning was the worst part, like the worst chinese burn ever in your most delicate area.

Of course I can only say what it was like for me, you might find it completely different.

Labour pains were hideous, but the worst bit for me was I wasn't allowed to drink anything as they were worried I would need an emergency section. So I was absolutely dying of thirst. That went on for thirteen hours before they gave me an emergency section with general anaesthetic. Actually waking up from that more painful, although the morphine button helped.

But hopefully you will be luckier!

Didn't feel the baby crowing...I never felt the contractions in my bump during the last 6 hours (14 hours all together), it was all focused in my legs and pelvis. I thought my pelvis was actually going to snap in half and my thigh bones were going to shatter. I think I had what is known as 'back labour'.

Also, my contractions ran into each other, so for the last 2 hours maybe, I didn't get a break from contractions.

Saying that, my mum has had 6 natural (no gas and air or water) births. So it can't be that bad for some people.

I had a water birth first time round. Best pain relief ever! I found early labour uncomfortable. I ended up lying down on the bed and using breathing exercises. Felt quite relaxed though. Knew I should go to hospital when I couldn't get comfortable. DS born 2 1/2 hours later. For me the worst bits were transition and crowning. I also had back pain as he was back to back. I INSISTED my DH pour water on my back and this helped hugely!
2nd baby whole labour 59 mins so yes that bloody hurt!
I agree with purposeful! A lot of my first labour was strong sensation rather than pain. Hope you have the same and good luck.

My mum explained contractions to me as climbing hills. Each contraction is a hill that you climb up and then go down.
You start off on the south downs, and they get higher and higher until you are climbing everest.

My pain was very much round the front, but I couldn't bear dh doing the back rubby thing the first time, but made him do it very hard, with lots of pressure on my coccyx the second time.
I found the crowning bit the worst the second time as I didn't experience it the first due to an epidural.
You know Jonny Cash's song 'Ring of Fire'? His wife wrote that about crowning...