Question about labor pain during my first pregnancy?

Question

I need some honest answers on how painful labor/contractions really are? I mean there are 3 stages of labor and the second and third are most intense and painful, however some women say it's not that intense if i can practice breathing or bend/lay in certain positions that way the pain is controlled some. Others say the labor is most painful for them to go through. Few of my friends say i have been reading too many pregnancy books which try to scare us about how the pain is and each gori detail in there. I just want to ask that with an epidural, is that really a pain reliever if the Dr's do an episiotemy.cesarian, or anything? Can I get the epidural as soon as I am entering 2nd stage of labor? I am just asking? How many of you can honestly tell me what labor pain is like whether its back pain or abdominal? This is my first pregnancy and knowing something from real people/cases may help me. I do want to add that in my case my cervix

is posterior. that's what my Dr. told me when she did my pap smear, and that was anyway uncomfortable for them to touch and clamp all at once since it was in that back position. Knowing this what are my chances for a quick or long delivery time?

Answer 1

Contractions feel like strong period cramps and start feeling really uncomfortable as they get stronger and believe me they get really stronger and soooooo uncomfortable, I was given the option of using gas but that didn't help me that just made me feel like i was sufforcating when i used it they then gave me demerol to help with the contraction pain but they only give it to you up until a certain point, i wanted an epidural but i asked for it to late, when the head goes down more your on your own to bear the pain, Once the babies head drops down that's when the pain really hits, imagine having a ring of fire around your vagina, that's exactly what it will feel like to push through. sometimes they will tell you not to push when you really really feel like you need to, you have to push like you are going number 2, once the baby does come out the pain does go away but you still have to deliver the placenta. It's all worth it in the end, but yes the pain cannot be described all i could say is if you are going natural expect a ring of fire to be there, my sister came to watch and she was pregnant at the time well I guess she got really scared cause i was screaming and everything looked to painful she wanted her doctor to give her a c-section, but then again after my baby was born i had complications i started bleeding internally so i think that is what scared her... It's different for everyone though but everyone does push through that damn ring of fire ouch!!!! Good luck.... the healing after it does hurt to go pee for a few weeks but after a vaginal delivery you are out of the hospital quicker, I had a c-section with my second child because she was going to be to big (born 9 pounds 15 ounces) which I didn't think was that bad but the healing after does take longer and i did start getting back problems after getting a spinal. I'm pregnant with my third and i already know i am having a c-section again because my doctor said she knows this one will be another big baby my first one was 8 pounds 15 ounces and I just don't want to go through vaginal birth again after my experience. I know some women that had an easy birth so every has their stories. Congrats and Good Luck to you!

Answer 2

I am a mother of a 2 year-old. To be perfectly honest with you, all women's pregnancies are different. So, what may hurt or be painful to you, may not be to the next woman. I will say this, I have a high tolerance for pain and my labor and delivery was definitely intense. It is very, very, very, very uncomfortable. Will you cry? Probably not. I didn't. I asked my mother if she cried, she told me that she didn't. She said that it was not a crying kind of pain. She was absolutely right. Like I said, it is very uncomfortable. Like the first person said, you peak and that is when it is most uncomfortable and then you come out of it. The most important thing to do is to KEEP BREATHING! Don't stop. You have to breathe. My mother taught me how to breathe because I had a hard time finding a class. Really, as long as I kept breathing and did what my mother taught me, I came out of each contraction strong enough and ready for the next. When you stop breathing and hold it, you won't really be ready for the next contraction. So, the best thing to do to get through the contractions is to breathe. You breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

**Side thought: Your friends are dead wrong. You are not reading too many books. I read everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy and labor and delivery. The BEST thing you can do is to educate yourself on what it is you are about to go through. And something my mother kept telling me and I kept it in mind especially when I got close to my due date is that women do this EVERY SINGLE DAY. God made our bodies to do this. So, be strong! You got this girl!

Answer 3

i had an unmedicated childbirth and the whole thing lasted less than 3 hours. i've heard epidurals can slow the whole thing down. so i was lucky mine was so fast, but it was super super painful. it's true that the contractions come in waves. all i could do was wait for each contraction to end, and try to breathe during the small breaks. this gets hardest in the last hour when the breaks are only a couple seconds long! it's intense! definitely try to breathe. if you're scared, get an epidural. but, they could increase your complications. good luck!

Answer 4

labor is differant for everyone but ill tell u about mine it started with pains that felt like period cramps then it got worse and felt like i pulled 10 muscles in my stomach then it got so bad i could barely walk it is very painful dont let no 1 tell u differant once i got the epidural i was fine but pushing still hurt expecially when the head is in your vagina it killlllllls!!! now my sister also had bad bad pain and the epidural didnt work for her they gave it to her five times still didnt work! my cousins pains werent that bad. so everyone is differant. i am pregnant again and scared as hell cus i know how it felt the first time! god bless u and your baby good luck!

Answer 5

try to relax. i am pregnant as well with baby number three. labor hurts. to me it came in waves. it helped me to picture the contractions as actual waves. they were the worst at the peak but i knew that they were going to get better if i just rode them out. it worked for me both times.