what did your labour and birth feel like?

Question

i ended up having an epidural as i found it all so intense and tired(i had been awake 48 hrs before labour started ended up a forceps delivery and i was very sore for a few weeks afterwords

Answer 1

my last baby was 5.6 kg what do u think

Answer 2

No1 - waters broke and the labour was going good then stopped so I was started again 24 hours later. Having the contractions forced on you was very painful!I was sick with the diamorphine and the labour was long and hard but an epidural was never an option for me. I actually wanted to feel the labour having waited the last 9 months for that moment! Delivery (about 36 hours later) was normal (he didn't waste time once he was under way)though I had to be cut and had 6 stitches.
No2 - another long labour and the back pain was incredible. Like a burning knife with every contraction, but then the baby got stuck so I was put in for an emergency section but while I was down in the theatre waiting for the epidural I felt a huge shift and then the midwife asked if I wanted to push and I said Yes actually I did! So I delivered naturally in the theatre.
No3 - textbook labour - contractions as expected, waters broke on their own, no back pain, surviving nicely on gas and air, 1cm every hour until 6 cm when it all stopped and so it continued for several hours till the midwife called the doctor who said the baby was well and truely stuck so I was sent for an emergency c section. I was exhauseted by then and glad to know the baby was going to get delivered quickly and safely. This time I got as far as having an epidural and I will not deny that the pain relief was incredible, but afterwards I was left feeling so out of control and unable to look after my child in the same way that I had done the others. Maybe having the section was something to do with that too. I don't know, but being paralysed was not the best for me!
I think the pain of labour is all part of child birth and having had the experience of both I would choose the epidural-free way any time.

Answer 3

I walked in to the hospital at 10:00 a.m. for an induction. They put me on a monitor before giving me the meds and found out I was having contractions that I wasn't even feeling. A couple hours later (whle they were trying to figure out what to do, whether to still use the induction stuff and while I still wasn't feeling anything) my water broke.

Nurses suggested I go take a walk around the halls. Hubby went home to get my stuff and came back an hour later to me screaming in agony.

I had extreme back labour and God Bless my Husband, he eventually asked if there was anything else we could do while we waited for the epidural guy. They brought me gas and while it doesn't work for everyone, it sure worked GREAT for me!!! Once I was using that I probably could've waited a couple more hours for the epidural, but I wasn't about to turn the guy away when he got there a half-hour later!!!

From 4:00 pm on I was having a great time until about 9:45 when they decided that I needed an emergency c-section because I had a fever, dialation stalled at 5 cm and pitocin made my daughter's heart race at over 200 bpm.

"It's a girl." The exact words I wanted to hear.
"7lbs 7 1/2 oz" More perfect words after all the threats of a huge baby during my last few months with gestational diabetes.

Under 13 hours start to finish. I could've done without the back labour and the 'emergency' part of the c-section, but somehow I had a gut feeling that I'd end up a c-section all along and so I actually got pretty much the exact L&D that I wanted.

Answer 4

I had an epidural Cesarean. It felt as though the doc was rummaging around looking for his lost sock. I'd been in hospital for about a week and had a Cesarean planned for the following morning. One of my boys had his foot in my pelvis, with the others head jamming it there, so no-one was going anywhere naturally! I had no labour pains, my waters broke (I just thought I'd wet myself it happened so suddenly) and I went into shock. They dragged all the theatre staff out + 2 paediatric nurses, 2 surgeons and 2 anaesthetists. I wasn't the most popular person on the ward at that time in the morning! But your question will answer something I've been wondering since my boys were born. What does a natural labour and birth feel like. I guess I'll never know! The end result turns out the same though doesn't it!

Answer 5

Oh dear! I was in labour for 33hours. I ended up having an epidural too because i had no sleep, wasnt allowed to have food so i was too tired to deliver. I got my waters broke at 8:30am and was begging for an epidural by 9am...i was sooo tired and couldnt stand it anymore. Once it kicked in i fell asleep and woke up at 1:50pm with the nurses telling me i was ready 2 deliver! The epidural had been topped up but had slightly wore off on my left side which i liked as i knew when to push rather than been told or looking at the monitor. At 2:33 i had a beautiful healthy baby boy Jack.
I didnt need forcepts or stiches but know ppl who have needed either or both and found it very very sore and unpleasent afterwards.

Answer 6

What a good question. My labour is as follows. Two days prior was getting period cramps, nothing serious, was just going for a walk and felt a sharp stabbing pain in my crotch that was very unusual..then the minor cramping started. The day prior to being admitted to hospital I was still having period like cramps that would come and go all day but nothing serious, I lay in bed that night and actually felt the cramps coming every five minutes for about two hours, but just went to sleep. The next day I went to my moms for a barbeque but still having sporatic cramps, had thought mabye braxton hicks and everyone told me to go to the hospital to check it out though it wasnt painful really. Went to hospital from my moms and did not suspect labour at all so did not bring anything to the hospital with us. Got to the hospital and they said "your four cm dialeted your going to have your baby sometime soon" and admitted me. I went through six hours more of labour pains and only dialeted 1cm and wasnt in pain. The nurses were saying mabye i am a rare exception and dont feel pain. They wanted to break my water, I heard bad stories about the pain that comes when they do that so I asked them to give me an epidural first. They did. Twelve hours later I had my baby. NO forceps or vacume thankfully but it was the thing I was the most scared of..so when it came time to push that baby out i was crying as hard as I could and stressed and starving and vomiting. I had a nasty nurse i wrote a complaint about, and was not pleased with the service at all. Next time ill try withough the epidural because it made me feel very sick for weeks after and my back stil lhurts where the needle went in. But all in all it was more frusterating not being able to move and not feel contractions then anything. I had two stitches put in after, and was sore as well...but nothing as bad as I have heard in the past.

Answer 7

First one sucked. I was induced because I was 10 days past my due date. I pushed for 5 1/2 hours and he never came out. Thankfully his heart rate never fluctuated. I ended up with a c-section.
Second one- Wonderful- I had a scheduled c-section and gave birth one week before my due date.

I really don't remember the pain of my first pregnancy. I remember being in pain and telling my husband that he had better love this child with all of his heart because that was the only one he was going to get.
Another thing I remember about labor was that I was playing cards with my husband while I was 7 cm dialated. The doctor just assumed I had already had my epidural when I didn't. Don't get me wrong, the pain was intense but I was able to breathe through it.

Answer 8

With my first I didn't want an epidural but ended up getting one after 16 hours. 23 hours total labor but after the epidural I was all good!
With my second I wanted an epidural but couldn't have one because I was already dilated to 8cm when I got to the hospital. 4 hours total labor.
Although the 2nd time was much more intense and painful I would take quick and painful over long and tiring anytime!

Answer 9

I have had four births. All were normal and drug free. They all were desperately painful and I can honestly say each one was equally painful. No stitches though. All the labours were about 8-10 hours long! UGh!! No shelling peas for me. All Babies from 8-8 +1/2 lbs. The first time I couldn't believe that I would come out of the experience alive and never thought I would go through it again. But the pain is soon forgotten when you have your baby in your arms!

Answer 10

labour was a cross between period pains and needing the loo! had an epidural which partially worked, daughters birth was amazing loved every second (and the gas and air) sons birth 55 mins later was a bit more difficult, episiotomy x 2, forceps and ventouse - had a pain in my leg?! but it was soon over.
loved every second of it, was also sore for a few weeks after, but not as bad as i expected, stitches came out 2 days after birth and had to be cut back and resown 2 weeks post birth, yippee ?!?!

Answer 11

erm was induced at 10am started labour at 11am with gas and air, pethidine at 13.00 which wore off by 16.00 and was in agony screaming for help and was given epidural, babe's heart stopped,i had to have internal to take a scraping of babes head to be sent off the next thing i knew i was having an emergency c section at 18.53. All in the same day, but i gave birth to a gorgeous 5lb Courtney Cally Parker. My stitches were in for a week in total i think but was sore for a lil while. Don't worry hun, you will be OK your body goes through a lot of stress during labour and its an exhausting time physically and mentally. if you have any worried have a chat with your health visitor. And CONGRATS on the birth of your baby