Im dreading child birth and want it out the way asap. Is it as awful as people make out?

Question

Im scared off dying and being really ill afterward. I just want the baby cut out me, but you cannot have an elective c section in scotland, and of course it might not be as been.

Im 26 weeks pregnant and pregnancy been a breeze no sickness or anything, I expected to be ill, Im fine.

But child birth I am so scared I think I would be more comfortable at home I HATE hospitals, but friends advice me to go into hospital. Do they give drugs on demand or do they make you begg for them?

Answer 1

Each person experiences child-birth in a different way, some would pop one out every day if they could, others go through it once and swear never again! However, without going through iteither naturally or with a c-section, you just don'tknow!!

I was really worried too, especially as I have a really low pain threshold, and I tortured myself for months watching all the discovery health programmes on child-birth!!

However, when it came to it, yes it hurt, but when I asked for an epidural, she said "are you sure you don't want pethidine?" - I said "give me the epidural" and she said ok!! They tend to be quite good at giving you them when you ask for them!

Find out a little in advance about pain-relief options available to you, as some are limited to when they can give you them: I think it is pethidine they wont give in the final stages of labour, while entenox (gas and air) can be had throughout and an epidural can be given quite late too.

The problem with having an eletive cesarian, if it were available to you, are the problems afterwards: you can't drive for about 8 weeks, and your recovery time is longer, generally leading to a slightly longer time in hospital etc - maybe talk to friends who have had children and compare how a natural birth compares. Some women who have had C-sections sometimes feel they haven't had the full experience by not giving birth naturally.

Talk to your midwife about having the baby at home: sometimes they prefer a first birth to be in hospital, but if you have had a problem-free pregnancy then they will be more happy to let you stay at home. It can vary mid-wife to mid-wife, and between health authorities.

Answer 2

A. you'll be fine B. you'll be fine C. if anything goes wrong you'll still be fine. D. nowadays if anything goes wrong, they save the mother. so lets say, you start getting scared and you have an already existing heart condition and your heart starts racing... whether the baby is ready to come out or not, they will go on ahead and take it. Essentially, the mother is "most important" to the docs' then the baby. E. I have 3 natural childbirths and made it thru it, it was fine, yes it hurt, but in a weird kind of way, its ok. BUT, my last child I had an Epidural, and it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L !! DO NOT let a health freak talk you out of it! Babies have been fine for years with epidurals! Some say it makes them a little groggy when their born, but my baby didn't seem the slightest bit groggy and not having that pain was glorious. F. The most important thing is to make sure your ready to have a child. Don't worry about the pain. Its really not an issue, and being pregnant is so much fun... watching your little belly grow. Feelling the little baby rolling around was such an emotionally charged fun and unique thing. Just make sure that you are finished with school so that you can give your child a great life... Babes born in poverty usually suffer. They don't get the things in life that other kids get including family support because usually the family is all upset all the time about money and bills etc... yes love is enough but money sure does help.

Answer 3

Okay , you feel exactly how i did with my first and have had two more and would love another. It is not as bad as you are imagining, for the simple fact that the staff t the hospital will not let you suffer unduly. If its the pain, have the epidural, there is no shame in it. If you are told to have a csection ask to be put to sleep. There are way around things but, this is a pain you will be rewarded for. If you have a headache you don't get anything out of it except pain, but labour is such an achievement and you will get a perfect little bundle afterwards. You have a while to go yet, and id be worrying about the sleepless nights if i were you they last alot longer that labour, lol. Good luck and try not to worry, just remember to enjoy that little bundle when it is born. You are very lucky.

Answer 4

I was very scared when i was pregnant with my daughter. I was alone and could only think of the worst. I am happy to say that it was so not horrible that i would do it again. Thats a good thing to think about if it was sooooooooooooooooooo HORRIBLE...no one would have more then 1 child =) It hurts im not gonna lie to you. I was in labor for 16 lonnnng hours. I made it to 14 hours without drugs though, and believe me if i had needed them i would have taken them...i wasn't in it for being all natural. I did get a shot to help at the end and it helped a lot and it was offered many times throughout the labor i never had to beg. I will say this though im sooooo glad i had the baby in the normal way instead of c-section. I got to leave the hospital the next day and i was feeling well and happy to go home. I was sore for obvious reasons but nothing that a little tylenol wouldn't cure. The lady in the room next to me had to stay at least 3 more nights she had a c-section and the drugs made her sick etc...

Answer 5

First of all, child birth is a natural act... otherwise where did all those people come from? C- sections are not to be asked for. They are expensive, can be dangerous and are much harder to recover from. Plus they can subject the baby to more drugs. The first thing you need is education -the hospital is the safest place to give birth and many have cheap prenatal classes. Find one.
Educate yourself about your body and what will happen. Find a natural childbirth association ( does not mean you have to do it without drugs) - they can help you with techniques for early labor. And yes, there are drugs - epidurals mostly that help. BTW- most women always want to tell a pregnant woman their own "horror" story of labor and delivery. They usually exaggerate. Most forget about their ordeal as soon as they see the baby.
I strongly urge you not to give birth at home unless you have a competent midwife. You have many more options for pain control and if there are complications at a hospital. They do not make you beg for drugs. Most hospitals nowdays do not keep you long after birth - so you can go home and relax.
Talk to your medical provider - be upfront with your fears. Go to the library or internet and read what childbirth is like from medical sites. Find a prenatal class. Relax - this has been going on since man has been on the planet. YOU will be OK and so will your baby.
Good luck and congrats!!! I wish you all the best!

Answer 6

I'm in Scotland and I was given pethidine, gas and air and had a tens machine during my first birth as due course. Yes it hurts and of COURSE its scary - anything new always is but millions of women before you have done this and they've been fine. I've done it twice so it can't have been that bad (and my pregnancies were both awful). If you are set on a home birth then you should have talked this over with your midwife but for a first birth the hospital is obviously the best place as everything is on hand. The staff are great and you have nothing to worry about. The hardest part is the following 16+ years.

Answer 7

Child birth is as horrible or as wonderful as you want it to be. My advise....Do not stress over something that you "have no control over". What I mean by that is, you don't know what, where, or how it is going to happen.

In the US, they typically will not give you a C-Section if you beg for it. As with any major surgery, there can be complications. Also, they will continuously ask if you want pain medicine.
I normally dislike hospitals as well but I toured my hospital before giving birth so it wasn't such a shock to me when I got there. I felt very comfortable knowing that if there were complications, I had the people and equipment right there to help.

I labored for....I won't go into scary details but lets just say a very long time. I ended up with a c-section because my kids have FAT HEADS. LOL. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I healed VERY quickly. But everyone is different.

Good luck to you and congrats on your soon to be bundle of joy. Remember, the most important thing is having a healthy baby.

Answer 8

Are you a Hypochondriac all the time or just when you are pregnant!

I am not being sarcastic here, its a very real problem and I am just curious whether you are always so anxious about your health or if it is just pregnancy.
I don't know what the official statistics are for dying in child birth but I imagine it must be really low, i have three friends here in the room with me and none of them have ever heard of anybody dying, so therefore it must be pretty low.

In all of our opinions getting drugs has been no problem at all, but try to chill out a little because if you are working yourself up already you will be a nervous wreck by the time the big day comes.

Yes it does hurt like mad but just remember every pain is bringing you closer to your little bundle of joy.

I just looked the percentage rates up and it 17 per 100,000 in the developed world and most of these already have pregnancy problems.

Answer 9

One word...Epidural.
Unfortunately it does hurt and it hurts like hell. I have four boys ,two were natural and two came fast so there was no time for drugs. The first two was a breeze. I had bad contractions and I never felt a thing! If it is your first then by all means get an epidural. Talk to your Dr. asap and tell him this is what you want. Do not get any other kind of drugs that go into iv's, that's very bad for the baby. To make it "easier" on you you must stay fit and active. your body will thank you in the long run!!
Good luck, congrats, and god bless.

Answer 10

I won't sugar coat it, it really does hurt like nothing else you will ever experience...BUT it's true, you really do forget the pain the minute the baby is born and put into your arms. Vaginal birth is much better for you and your baby, but if you have to have a c-section then expect to feel quite badly for quite awhile while you recover. If you can go natural (no drugs) it is best for you and your baby, but if you can't then you should be able to get an epidural (don't know if they give those there?) which will make you numb from the waist down. The drawback to that is that it can cause complications to you and slow down your labor, which you don't want. In some cases it has also hindered the bonding process with your baby. I would urge you to relax and don't worry so much about it.