suddenly scared of labour

[Llouh]

Hello :)

Throughout my whole pregnancy I've been fine with the idea of labour, maybe even looking forward to the process.

Now I'm 37+4 and every twinge or pain and I'm freaking out. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it! Is this normal and does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

I was the opposite with my first DC. By 37 weeks, I was ready for labour because I was done with being pregnant. At 39+6 I had a bleed and was told to come in. I was then told I was going to be induced because the amount of blood may be due to the placenta shutting down. About 30-odd hours later I had dilated 3 cm and was hooked up to the drip to speed things up. Unfortunately, each time I contracted DD's heart rate dropped so they were worried she was becoming hypoxic and I ended up with an emergency c-section. Honestly, it was completely fine.

I'm now 27 weeks tomorrow with twins and I am looking forward to my ELCS in December.

Stay calm, say yes to pain relief and good luck!

I'm quietly terrified but willing it on at the same time and friends tell me that's normal ... Good luck!

I had the best advice ever and I used it. I was 13 weeks (with my ds) and my bosses boss told me not to read anything about labour just remember it's just one day. One day of oain then you will fall in love. Because she is such a nice woman I thought about it and decided to give it ago. It was such a good way to think for me. I never listen to my friends birth stories either. Sometimes I think when you are pregnant people want to scare you x

Labour is such an odd one, you've been building up to it for 9 months minimum. You have no idea what it's going to be like and (I think) there is this unspoken rule that as women we say everything is fine and great so you have really high expectations of yourself and the experience.
I think it's perfectly normal to be worrying... I worried until I actually got to hospital and then a strange calm came over me, labour was completely bonkers and not what I had expected. But I got my son out of it, and I'm about to put myself through it again.

Also you will be with a team of utter professionals who do it every single day.

Not long until your little one arrives!
Kxx

I took the view that no one passed out from the pain so I'd manage somehow.
I guess it depends what sort of person you are as to how best to cope. I like to read lots so I can be prepared for any eventuality.

With my 2nd pregnancy I was so much in denial I had a meeting with the peri natal mental wellness team. We put an action plan together and it gave me a boost to mentally approach what was about to happen. Have a look for the Positive Birth Movement. I found reading positive stories about all kinds of births really helped. I even watched a few videos to remind me that my body knew what it was doing. In the end I had a fantastic home birth in a pool with minimum midwife involvement.
It's normal to be apprehensive but take heart, you can do it and you'll be cuddling your baby before you know it. Yes labour is a bit nuts but it can be a life affirming process too.

I think it's normal to be scared. I found the fear of the unknown the worst. Everyone likes to tell their stories and usually like to scare the life out of other women!

I've had four dcs vaginally and I've experienced back to back labour (3), a labour with just g and a, epidurals, inductions and I've given birth to a 10lb 8 baby and they've been painful but it's absolutely fine. I'm not having anymore children and I'm gutted I will never get to give birth again it really is amazing

I was the same with my second. I had a straight forward birth with dd1 and so was feeling positive about dd2's labour until it got close and then I started worrying again.

I've had two on just gas and air but dd1 was back to back and it wasn't pleasant but I managed and dd2 in the house with no pain relief until gas and air at pushing stage. I was very lucky but I view both my births as very positive experiences.

I did a lot of hypnobirthing techniques to relax me about labour while pregnant and then to keep me calm during labour. I also read Ina May Gaskin's book about natural child birth which gave me more faith in my body, while accepting that if I was struggling then there was a lot of support and pain relief I could opt for.

Good luck x