Giving Birth..?

Question

* What's the pain like (or equivalent to) before, during and after the process..?
* Why do some women go into labout for like 5 hrs? WHAT DO THEY DO IN 5 HRS?! ;/
* Is it true that some women pee/poo/vomit in the process?
* What are the thoughts running through your head during birth?

Answer 1

I can only speak from my experience, which tends to be very different from many other women's.

1.) My contractions were not painful. I'd call them intense but not painful. Pushing the baby out was hard work and only hurt at the very end because I had a vacuum extraction without anaesthesia! I'd say the recovery was the most painful for me. I had an episiotomy and lost a lot of blood. So not only was I in pain but I was also extremely light-headed and dizzy for 2 days afterwards.

2.) Some women have a very short labor. I could only WISH my labor lasted 5 hours! I labored for 38 hours (24 of them at home). No joke! The time goes by very quickly though. All you can do is focus on the contractions. My husband and I watched a lot of "24" while I was laboring. We had to pause it every 10 minutes when I had a contraction!

3.) Women do pee/poo/vomit during the pushing stage. I don't even know if I did. The doctors/nurses don't make a big deal about it since it's so common.

4.) My thoughts were really focused on my contractions...about relaxing and letting them wash over me. I held my husband's hand and stared into his eyes as I waited for them to subside. It was all very zen. I didn't need any pain relief at all. Toward the end I was sitting cross-legged watching TV, that's how in control I was. If anything, I just wanted my baby to hurry up and show himself! And I was extremely thirsty & hungry.

Answer 2

On a scale of 1-10, the pain is an 11. I have read that the three worst physical pains are childbirth, kidney stones, and gallstones. All involve putting something too big thru something too small. I have had gallstones as well as given birth (twice) and childbirth is definitely more painful--but more rewarding.

You can be in labor for 48 hours and then they'll push a c-section. What do you do? You push and struggle with the pain and hope your cervix is dilating properly.

Yup, bodily fluids are kind of at a free-for-all. But peeing is less likely unless labor has been going on a long time.

Thoughts going through your head: well, I can tell you mine: please, God, let this pain end. Hopes for the baby to be okay. Excitement, fear, and a little anger and jealousy at my husband--why doesn't he have to go through this??

Answer 3

The pain is different with each delivery, I know it was for me. My first was not that bad, but when the baby moves down into the birth canal it feels like they are coming out a different hole. I went natural with my first and had a spinal with my second two. It last different amounts of time, my first was 22 hours, my second was 4 hours and my third was 22 hours. Yes it is true bodily fluids come out. The thoughts running through my head, I want this baby out and healthy.