How painful is giving birth?

Question

Be honest!
I need to know.

Answer 1

Very painful but so rewarding, I felt like Wonderwoman after.
I hate hospitals, I hate the smell of it, I am afraid of needles.. but seconds after, I wanted to have another baby!
There is a saying in French 'c'est un mal sans coeur' - you forget the pain as soon as you see your baby. That is so true.

Answer 2

It hurts, how could it not! I have two kids both with no pain medication or epidural by choice. My second child was 9 pounds. The pain is so worth it. I highly recommend taking child birth classes even if you plan to get an epidural. The breathing they teach you helps and you never know you could go in and be past the point of being able to get an epidural. Also if you do it natural you have to keep in your head that the pain will pass and keep yourself calm. Child birth is a miracle and having the baby put in your arms makes it worth any pain.

Answer 3

It is different for every women. It all depends on what your pain tolerance is. If the slightes bump hurts you then expect to have some pain. I had both of my kids naturally without any type of medication or injections for pain except for a local anethesia with my second son so they could make a cut down there to avoid tearing any tissue My first son I only felt like I had a slight tummy ache and my second son hurt like hell towards the end. He was 10lbs 4ozs. and 25 " long and 2 weeks late which I am sure had alot to do with it. If you walk alot it helps and also if the father is patient enough to help you relax while in labor. If you tighten up when you are having pains it is going to hurt all that much more since obviously you are working against the purpose by tightening up. Learn self hyponosis or learn to concentrate and relax and you will have cut the pain by more than 50% . Labor pains feel like cramps and are not all that bad for most women at first what makes the whole thing so unbearable is towards the end when the pains keep comming and lasting for longer lengths of time and by then you are also tired and very thirsty . You can suck on ice but must spit the water out. This is so you dont end up peeing while you are having the baby. If the doctors see that you are in to much pain they will give you something and remember that the moment that your baby is born the pain stops completely. It is even hard to remember what the pain felt like. Kinda like when you have been constipated and are having a horrible time going to the bathroom and your tummy hurts and you feel like you are going to die and then before you know it you go and the pain stops and you are back in action and dont even remember how bad your tummy felt. Just relax and learn to breathe and consentrate on your breathing and not on the pain. If you dont believe me just for practice next time you are going to the bathroom and you have a slight tummy ache relax and blow out slowly from your mouth like you are blowing out a candle and lightly rub your tummy and you will find that your tummy no longer hurts and it makes it much more easier to go to the bathroom. Good luck and remember to relax and blow.

Answer 4

It hurts, there's not much getting around that. However, there are ways to deal with that pain, even before drugs enter the picture. I had back labor, b/c my son was facing the wrong way (he was head down but his back was to my back). This caused all of my contractions to be felt in my back instead of my belly where they belonged. As long as they let me be up walking, I was fine. I could stand, bend down my knees a little and get through it no big deal. It was like a very bad cramp. A better description would be like this...you know that feeling you get when you hear thunder really close? It felt like something thundered and cracked inside my back.

As soon as they laid me down b/c they wanted to monitor me and baby since my water had broken several hours earlier, the pain was a lot worse, but still, I've honestly had worse. I did cry. And I actually called my mom 'mommy' (she was my coach). But there's positions to try, walking, sitting on a yoga ball, if your water hasn't broken yet, you can try the birthing pool. All of that can really help get through the pain of the contractions. As for the pain of the pushing, I had a mild epidural (I still wanted to be able to feel) so that wasn't that bad at all. I could feel pressure, could feel stretching, but it wasn't awful. It hurt afterwards for about 2 weeks it felt like someone had kicked me in the crotch. Hard.

I haven't exactly forgotten now, but there is a short time there when you first hold your baby when you kind of forget what just happened. It's...surreal.

Please PLEASE don't let all those ladies telling horror stories scare you. It's like they think there's some club and that to be a part of it you have to say it was the most awful pain you've ever had and scare all expectant mothers. I had cancer when I was a kid, and can say...that was worse. Guess I don't get to be part of the club.

Answer 5

It hurts, for sure. Don't forget, now or in the midst of it, there is a point to the pain, and the more you relax, the sooner it is over. I found it helped to practise meditating, think about all of muscles in your pelvis relaxing. There are many things you can do to prepare your body for labor, perineal massage, massage oil into the flesh that seperates your vagina and your rectum. Practise kegel exercises, and focus on the baby. The more you focus on the pain, the more tense you will be, the more it hurts. Your body is designed to give birth, you have to strength to do it, and you will make it through.

Answer 6

I've been lucky with my 2 children because I always got epidurals right away and felt nothing the whole time. It's when the epidrual wears off that I get the most pain! There's nothing to be scared of.

Answer 7

Very very very painful in my case lower back pain and belly pain together but the back pain was worse.But once you deliver your baby the pain stops straitaway.And the plus is that human body can't remember the pain which you went through because if you did no one would go through the labor and pain again(discovery chanel).For me breathing was very useful

Answer 8

It doesn't. When my breast becamse engorged/milk coming in (i didn't breastfeed) is what hurt the most. That is the only thing I remember hurting and makes me cringe thinking of the pain....hopefully with my next I will be able to breastfeed and skip out on most of that pain.

Answer 9

drugs lots of drugs lol seriously tho it depends on the person my mom had 5 kids and had no pain at all with my daughter i had her natural it wasn't like death painful but it did hurt with my boy i was in pain lots of it but then they gave me a upaderal how ever it is spelled when they numb you waist down but i had to have a c-section with him due to the cord being wraped around him but it just depends some ppl it hurts like hell and its the worst pain ever some only a little some not at all


or as my doct said it will feel like a bee sting like i know what that feels like down there and it dont feel like a bee sting lol

Answer 10

It's horrible!!!! I felt like someone was ripping out my guts, beating them with a hammer and doing it all over again every few minutes!!!! I finally got an epidural and it was such a relief!! Felt like heaven compared to the hell I was going through.