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Question

does giving birth really hurt? am am 8 months preg and very scared aswell as excitied by the way i am 32 yrs old. me and my husband had planned this pregnancy, i thought i wasn't going to be scared but i am terrified. please let me know about your experiences.
thanks a lot xxx

Answer 1

am not going to lie, yep its sore, but once you see your baby its a pain soon forgotten! trust me

Answer 2

I've had two natural births. By natural I mean no drugs at all. With my first baby it didn't hurt *that* bad until the very end. Pushing was HARD for me. It wasn't that it was that painful but it's a heck of a lot of work. Once I gave birth I was 100% back to my normal self though. No issues at all. I was up taking a shower within 30 minutes of the birth.

My second baby was facing the wrong way and the contractions hurt pretty darn bad right from the start. I was dilating very slowly so it just dragged on forever. When I hit transition with him I was in unbearable pain. No doubt it hurt like nothing I've ever felt before. I only pushed for 20 mintues with him because I knew the harder I pushed the quicker it would be over. After I gave birth I felt great, took a shower right away, and just enjoyed my baby.

Both my boys were very alert right from birth because they weren't pumped full of drugs. I never had spinal headaches and all this stuff I hear my friends talking about. Labor does hurt, but once it's over, you are just back to normal. It's not as bad as some people make you think. I would recommend reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. It has many inspiring stories and will pump you up and make you feel confident that you can do it. BTW, even though my second birth was so painful, I'd have another baby again in a second. Giving birth is beautiful and I would love to do it several more times. The range of emotions is like nothing else. Good luck!

Answer 3

It certainly has the potential to hurt. I found it more uncomfortable than anything. And that was with my first. The other 2 were a breeze. I was forced into natural childbirth by ignorant medical staff the first time around. They were arrogant and useless, just stood around spectating the entire 8 hours in the labor room with me and my family. Just lining the wall, about 8 of them, despite being asked to leave. They actually shushed me at one point. Nothing spectacular about the birth. That taught me to have a clear plan. On my second I scheduled an induction about a week early. My doctor was working that day, and I ensured there was an anesthesiologist there to perform the epidural. It was a very easy birth, I felt nothing but pressure. I was deliriously happy, not sweaty and crazy. Definitely recommend it. There is no reason to suffer, no one gives you a medal and your baby isn't somehow better - or even all that appreciative. Labor the first time reminded me of a drug trip. You just wanted to get off the ride, but there's no stopping. You don't know what to expect from your own body - but apparently these strangers do. There was an added element of terror, that this wasn't as bad as this was going to get. On my third, I hung about my house until I was 8cm and then went to the hospital. It was the most textbook labor. Defined contractions, that Yoga breathing made tolerable. And a beginning and an end to them. (With my first, it was all like one big worsening contraction, no relief from the discomfort. Just building and building.) This time it was calm and collected. I suddenly could see how triumphing over this could be empowering to some. (If that's the kind of labor you have.) None the less, I ordered an epidural when I got to the hospital and a good choice too. They made me hold at full dilation so they could infuse me with antibiotics due to the presence of group B strep. (Not a sexual transmitted disease but a naturally occurring culture in the vagina, it comes and goes - no, not a yeast infection either.) The baby can develop complications if you do not receive this antibiotics prior to delivery, then they keep him you both for 3 days. It takes about 6 hours to infuse.) I felt no pain during the delivery . Also very peaceful and calm. Wonderful. The common experience for me was that all 3 were born within seconds of the doctor rupturing my membranes.

Answer 4

Okay, I will give you the play by play of what I experienced.

I was induced. They broke my water. I never had a contraction on my own so when they started, HOLY SH&* I thought I was dying. It feels like the worse Poo cramps you could ever have. I was given an epideral pretty quickly. All the HOO HOO HOO HA HA HA breathing didn't do squat. The pain was unbearable when the contractions hit full force. After the Epideral I was very comfortable. 12 hour labor. I had two Epiderals total since the first was wearing off before he came out. My son had the head the size of a watermelon. Who knew....not the dr. apparently so I had a 4th degree epiziotomy. Cut from one end to the other. I was a human hand puppet. Out he came. Few hundred stitches later. It was all over with. Took some pain meds for the stitches and abdominal pain (he was too big for me to have but when she saw his head size she also saw the cord around his neck). So she snipped and yanked him out. Saved his life.

Few weeks of what appears to be a heavy period. Some cramping here and there. Your stomach firms back up and flattens up. You are soon on your way to back to normal.

This was 12 hours. The entire time no matter how bad it hurt I knew it was going to be over with soon. That is what you need to remember. No one gets a medal for being a hero during child birth so take the drugs when offered.

You will surprise yourself at what you can tolerate. It is all worth it when you see your little angel for the first time.

Don't freak now. Just eat, sleep, go to a movie, the things you won't do for a while afterwards. :)

Wish you all the best.

Answer 5

Hi! I had my little girl 2 years ago (I was 21). I was scared to death too!!! But it went so much better than what I expected. I was in labor for 14 1/2 hours. Honestly out of the whole experience, the thing that hurt the worst was when they put the iv in my hand. I had an epidural. It was AWESOME!!!!!! I highly recommend it. It's safe AND it lets you actually concentrate on enjoying the the experience of birthing your baby! It's great. Do Not Worry at All !!!

Oh, the contractions did hurt, but it was just like bad menstral cramps. My friend went into labor and her contractions didn't hurt her at all until the very end right before her epidural. I had the cramps for about 4 hours before I got the epidural. But they didn't really start hurting bad until about the last 15 minutes before I got the epidural. Wow... the epidural was so nice.... anyways!

Now after I had my baby, and the epidural was removed, I was very sore for about a month. (I had an episiotomy.) But that's about it!

I hope this helps. Do not stress. I stressed too for apparently no reason! :-)

Answer 6

I've had 2 children the all Natural way with NO pain blockers or anything... It does hurt... It's a pain that is very hard to explain.. you have severe cramping while you are having contractions and it hurts like hell when the baby starts coming out... But once the baby is out the pain stopped for me... I didn't even feel anything while The placenta was delivered... If you're that worried about pain I would suggest that you try it naturally and then have pre-planned *Before you go to the hospital* pain management in mind for when you are in labor... Good Luck...

Answer 7

It all depends on you......

How do you handle pain? Do you like needles? That is something to think about..

The worst part of labor is the last few contractions and the baby coming out. It is pain full I won't lie.. I think that is the best feeling in the world. with drugs you don't feel a thing from what I am told... Try to hold off as much as you can..... I also think that the afterbirth hurts more than the baby does.. Good Luck

Answer 8

If you have exercised and kept in shape while you are pregnant it wont be so bad and its difficult to say whether you will have an easy labour or a tough one my girlfiend was only on labor l hour and had only two strong contractions whereas I was in labor 32 hours and hard labor or 11 of those hours but once you see the baby you will know that it was all worth it. Don't let yourself be worried or tense about it you will make it just fine, the labor room nurses are really skilled and knowing and are a great help and support.

Answer 9

It does hurt, but it's not the most painful thing I've ever experienced. I've had both medicated hospital births and at home unmedicated, natural births. Pushing was always more difficult for me than the contractions. The contractions felt like menstral cramps (towards the end like *bad* cramps) but pushing hurt for me.
I labored in water for the home births and it helped just as much as the epidural did for the hospital births.
Don't believe all the horror stories you're going to hear. Yes, it's painful at times but it's not *that* bad. If it was, no one would ever have a 2nd or 3rd child.
And if you enter into labor tense with fear, it will be worse. Just imagine the pain of birth as a healthy pain with a purpose as opposed to an unhealthy pain, like braking your leg. You'll do fine!
Good luck to you!

Answer 10

It all comes down to your pain tolerance. With my first child, I had bad labor pains, so I took the epidural, which sucked in the end because it took longer for me to recooperate. But with my second child, I had the labor pains, and I chose to go drug-free, and the delivery wasn't a drawn-out ordeal, and the recovery was faster. If I have another, I will choose to have it all natural. I will not lie and tell you it does not hurt, but as soon as you lay eyes on that beautiful child, you will forget all about it, and not feel anything else. Good luck! :)

Answer 11

yes BIG OWIES I have 3 children and all 3 births were without meds. I know I should have learnt after the first one. I looked at the pain as a positive thing. In my mind, the pain meant the end of pregnancy and the beginning of life.