Sever period cramps vs labour

[eternalflame2020]

I'm interested to hear if there's any link between your pain during af and how easy or difficult labour was!

I have had severe cramps for years with af to the point where I am doubled over cramping constantly for hours without let up and I often faint and am sick on the first day or two.

Now in the 2nd trimester with first baby and wondering what this means for my labour!

Ha @eternalflame2020 - that's exactly what'll happen for you 😉

I practiced hypnobirthing and told myself I'd see how it went and if I needed pain relief I'd ask for my epidural. Just turned out the labor contractions were manageable as they came in regular waves which I could breath through.

Also helped that baby came in about 4 hours and was in the right position for an easy labor.

Second labor was with an epidural as DS2 needed close monitoring in case they needed to get him out fast.

So from both sides of the same labor coin, if you can't breath through them, demand an epidural. If you can breath through them then crack on 😆👍🏼

For me, early labor felt just like mild period pains - aching in my lower back, etc. I'll be honest I'd been on birth control so long I hadn't had a natural period with normal cramps in over a decade, but as a teen I'd very occasionally get the doubled over pain you describe. Overall i would say I was quite lucky with them though. Never had to have time off school, etc.

Later labour was quite unlike anything I've ever experienced before, though. But my labour was very fast, just over 4 hours, which can make it more intense.

I think perhaps your pain threshold and stamina might be the link. I'd run a marathon the year before, training in snow and rain then running in record breaking heat. Sometimes I think labour was easier - it was certainly shorter!

Thanks all for responses. I am practising hypnobirthing techniques and keep telling my OH I'm just going to breathe the baby out....maybe if I say it enough it will happen that way 🤣

Really appreciate you all sharing your experiences - there's obviously so much more to it than just a direct link between the period cramps and the Labour!

I've had years of horrid periods and they bore no correlation to my labour. My early labour was as easy as it gets, I got breaks in between contractions where they wore off for a period giving me a break.

Established labour happened quickly - bloody painful, as you'd expect evicting a small human to be. It was intense - more like it was happening to me rather than something I was doing!!

@eternalflame2020 how did it go for you?? I have terrible, writhing on the floor periods sometimes, I'm 28 weeks pregnant and v curious as to whether the awful periods might make my labour better or harder?! X