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Original poster

How painful is childbirth on a scale of 1-10?

457 replies

Blackitty · 28/12/2020 01:33

1 being a breeze
and ...
10 being the absolute worst pain imaginable?

I am due in March. First baby and would like to know what I’m in for...

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beautifulmonument · 28/12/2020 06:35

OP read Birth Skills by Juju Sundin. She provides lots of different techniques you can use during childbirth that help you to cope with the pain and they work.

MountDoom · 28/12/2020 06:37

Definitely 10. Worth it though

sproutsnbacon · 28/12/2020 06:37

Normal labour about an 8, mine was fairly long and they gave me lots of local before crowning as they thought id need an episiotomy and I did. They gave me more before the stitches
The first labour was very very long and augmented with the drip had an epidural. Still about an 8.
Toothache can be as bad if not worse. I do labour again. Would rather not have toothache ever again.
Unless you have the drip it increase gradually and basically when you get to about 38 weeks you just want the baby out because it’s so uncomfortable, painful in my case with constant heartburn, hips and bladder pain.

movingonup20 · 28/12/2020 06:37

3 or 4 for me. Getting my teeth done is far worse

Snapcat · 28/12/2020 06:40

EMCS: 0
Recovery: 1/2 - not pain really just couldn’t physically move properly

Kingkong66 · 28/12/2020 06:40

Reading with interest. Planning a VBAC. After my last labour I swore I’d have an ELCS again due to a terribly slow and painful early labour but part of me is desperate to experience it fully. I never got the rush of love with my other DC and I always put it down to the EMCS. That power, relief and love that I hear others speak about is what I’m chasing.

Slightly worried about dealing with the aftermath though. I found recovery from the CS fairly easy and had sex 4 weeks after. Stories of 10months of pain after do make me doubt my choice

DemolitionBarbie · 28/12/2020 06:42

OP you're not doing yourself any favours by dwelling on the prospect of pain like this! You'll just spend the run up worrying more.

Roselilly36 · 28/12/2020 06:45

For my first DS I would say 7, 10 hour labour, so I was tired. I didn’t need pain relief. I was pleasantly surprised, I was expect labour to be worse.

Second DS I would say 8, 2hr labour so much quicker & more intense, I didn’t need pain relief with him either.

Good luck OP, try not to worry, labour is different for everyone, it’s soon forgotten once you have your baby in your arms. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

FTEngineerM · 28/12/2020 06:46

As pp said it’s odd because I’m between contractions there is absolutely nothing at all. Laughing joking and having a chat, then a wave of excruciating pain takes over your entire body making you wail like a cow.. then a minute later nothing again.

It was a 10/10 for me head was coming out sideways so got epidural and he turned overnight. Ended up with forceps but recovery was a breeze.

inquietant · 28/12/2020 06:47

@DemolitionBarbie

OP you're not doing yourself any favours by dwelling on the prospect of pain like this! You'll just spend the run up worrying more.
Plus fear and tension makes painuch worse.
BuffaloCauliflower · 28/12/2020 06:50

It’s so subjective, but I also echo others saying hypnobirthing. Really recommend The Positive Birth Company online course. Feeling prepared really helped for me. My baby is not quite 7 weeks so this is really recent for me and I’d say the pain was about a 6 maybe 7, and that includes crowning and pushing which I didn’t find harder than anything else. I really didn’t find it THAT bad.

Even in the midst of labour I though it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected and I’d have no concerns about doing it again. It was more the intensity and endurance aspect that was hard going than outright pain. And I don’t consider myself to have a high pain threshold. His birth was 30 hours long, my contractions were a minute and a half each (average is 45 seconds) and I went from zero to waters breaking to 3 contractions in 10 mins within 2 hours. It was full on. Baby was also back to back for the first half of my labour - always cited as more painful - and we had to turn him with positioning in contractions. I also twice had to have a drip to increase my contractions as they kept slowly due to his position.

Even with all that in mind I still say 6-7. I had a TENS machine and breathing for most of it, a bit of time in a birthing pool and then just a pethidine injection and gas and air for the last leg. I didn’t want an epidural and I never felt I needed one - but it’s fine to have one if you find you do! Just make sure you do your research and don’t just rely on that, I know several women they didn’t work for m. You will be ok, but preparing yourself will definite help. I also had a second degree tear and stitches and that was fine too, just a bit sore for a couple of days. It was all round a very positive experience despite not being a text book ‘easy labour’.

bumpyrider · 28/12/2020 06:51

I found reading this book really helped me before the big faux

jprgs · 28/12/2020 06:53

I will rate it as 10, science proves that it is the second most painful a human can experience. However, there are videos about coping with painful birthing. You can check this out . You can download this using this tool videopower.me/tips/category-videopower-red/the-fastest-youtube-downloader/

14ScottsRoad · 28/12/2020 06:53

It is honestly different for everyone.

For me I had slipped a disc then went into labour. Not fun. Epidurals were the best thing ever.Highly recommend (and ask early if you think you might want one because anaesthetists have a habit of clocking off shift every now and then).

movingonup20 · 28/12/2020 06:54

Ps had no pain relief, really is manageable

PointyDragonPokingThing · 28/12/2020 06:58

Most of labour a 7, last hour or so ramped up to a 10.

Happymum12345 · 28/12/2020 07:01

Contractions 10. I found the pushing part a doddle compared to contractions. Babies are worth the pain.

ForeverBubblegum · 28/12/2020 07:02

I ended up with a EMCS, I'd say about 5 for early labour (before EMSC was needed), the 0 for the actual birth (spiral), then 3/4 on and off for a few weeks while heeling.

Dopeyduck · 28/12/2020 07:05

Just a different perspective. Had an emergency C section due to placenta rupture at 38 weeks but I was due to have a planned section due to baby being breach.

I had a spinal anaesthetic - the was lots of pulling and pushing and the surgery was uncomfortable but not painful. I lost a lot of blood due to the complications and I felt very queasy after the birth. I had to have a lot of surgery after to check everything was ok which was horrendous. Being stitched up was comfortable. Afterwards I really struggled with not being able to move / feel much and breastfeeding but was comfortable.
I was up and walking 3 hours post surgery and comfortable on just paracetamol. My scar is near and tidy and my recovery was quick and relatively painless. I breastfed successfully despite having a baby in NICU, emergency section etc. I was never in significant pain afterwards and I never took any morphine I was offered.

Try not to have a fixed idea about how things will go, of course have preferences but be open minded and see how it goes and respond to the way that your body deals with the process.

A close friend had a planned section with no complications and couldn’t get out of bed for 3 weeks, meanwhile I was walking to costa after a shower after 6 hours.

Every birth is unique.

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 28/12/2020 07:06

10, but was induced. I remember the world actually being grey, i couldn’t see colours the pain was so bad. It took 4 hours between me requesting an epidural and actually receiving it, and during that time i couldn’t converse, could hardly see, couldn’t think about anything but the pain. God bless anaesthetists.
Dd2 was an elCS - bloody brilliant Grin

Trufflepuffpuff · 28/12/2020 07:15

The contractions are the worst bit, the pushing itself is hard rather than painful. I would say though that they're more overwhelming than extremely painful, but that's not to say they're pleasant. They're incredibly uncomfortable and towards the end you just don't get a break between them and it's really hard. But then suddenly it's over. I gave birth just six weeks ago with gas and air and I actually can't remember the feeling now.

OddSox123 · 28/12/2020 07:26

20 for my first: 2 weeks late so induced. Literally thought I was going to explode and all my insides would fall out Grin. Had all the pain relief i could bar an epidural.
5 for the second: she happened 3 days early and all natural. No pain relief, just in the pool, not even gas and air. I remember zoning out a lot with breathing and thinking 'my body is designed to do this, millions of woman have done this before and so can I'.
Every labour is different and you'll hear horror stories but just listen to your own body when it comes and it will know what to do. Good luck, and you'll have a beautiful baby as the prize!

weddingplanning15 · 28/12/2020 07:28

For me 8/10. It is painful but manageable. I had to pain relief but there are options available.

louisejxxx · 28/12/2020 07:30

Actual labour: 6 (with pethidine)
Stitches afterwards: 11 Confused

peanacat · 28/12/2020 07:33

I’ll be honest, I’ve literally had worse period pain. The thing with contractions for me, is they peak and then go, so there are breaks where you have no pain at all. Period pain for me is constant, and has had me crawling around the house, being sick, passing out and having diarrhoea. I had no other symptoms with labour. I was really pleasantly surprised with how labour was, and didn’t have an epidural. The crowning bit is not nice but a baby is coming out, it proper does burn but it’s such a short part of it. Go into it with an open mind, I was convinced I would want an epidural, but a water birth was enough pain relief for me. Hard to put a number on it, it is painful but wasn’t unmanageable for me.