How painful is it to get an epidural and to go through contractions?

Question

I have my baby next month and i have always said people shouldnt waste their time being scared of something they have to do regardless BUT i am soooo afraid of needles i hate pain and like my mom tells me i should of thought of that before i got pregnant and shes right i just dont no if i can take a neddle being stuck in my back of ALL places. Also ive been having braxton hicks some are painful some arent and i no their gna be way worse doin labor il go through any amount of pain for my daughter to get here but i need answers TRUE ones some people say the epidural dosent hurt and some say contractions dont either i dont believe that so someone PLEASE TELL ME!

Answer 1

Hire a doula and go all natural. The contractions stop after the baby is born. If you're prepared for them (and a doula helps this process), then your body works with you! A woman's body was created for this purpose and the contractions aren't that bad!

Answer 2

Honestly you said it yourself. Each person is different so the feeling will not be the same for everyone. I felt no pain from the epidural and the contractions were more tiring then painful. What I mean is I was exhausted by the contractions they gave me no room to rest. I had more pain after the baby was born then during. I have a lot of back pain now which I believe is from the epidural. If you are having pre- contractions/braxton hicks You have a pretty good idea of what's to come. Just imagine that with more pressure at a faster and more constant pace. The best thing for you to do is take it as it comes. Don't ask anymore people it will only scare you. No one can tell you how you're going to handle this. Plus if it were really that bad no one would have more than one child. Good luck!

Answer 3

I have 2 children. My first I had an epidural and the second came to fast that I didn't get a chance to get my epidural. By the time you are dilated enough to get your epidural, at least for me, the contractions were painful enough, that I couldn't feel any pain from the epidural. I also hate needles. I do not do good when I am pregnant and they have to take my blood. I had my second without an epidural, and let me tell you, I wished I had one. It was much more painful.The contractions weren't the really painful part. The most painful part was the birth. And my second child was only 6 lbs. 14 oz. where as my first was 8 lbs. 9 oz. I'm not trying to scare you. Just giving you my experience. If it was me, I would have one if I had a choice, but ultimately it is your decision. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck with your upcoming bundle of joy.

Answer 4

I was in labor for 19 hours with my daughter, I had back labor the whole time & it hurt like hell, I ended up getting an epidural & glad that I did. The worst part about the epidural was being bent over while having contractions & trying to be completely still. So in my opinion I would deal with the needles & pain from the epidural than have to deal with the pain of contractions!

Answer 5

It all depends on a person's pain threshold. Sounds like you have a low one and so do I. I didn't use an epidural during my first labour. Had some demerol and nitrous, but they didn't help very much. What helped the most was laying in the tub with the jets at the hospital. Water really does wonders. This time around I will also be trying different positions to move things along instead of laying down most of the time. The more you stay upright, the faster your labour should be because of gravity. Also, try to make sure you breathe through your contractions. It really does help!! The more relaxed you are, the less pain you will feel. Hope this helps!!

Answer 6

I hate, hate, hate people touching the middle of my back. I remember the pain of the contractions but not any pain with getting the epidural. I am not saying there wasn't any it just wasn't bad enough for me to remember it. For me my contractions were a lot different than my braxton hicks but my braxton hicks were very mild. All in all it wasn't bad. The epidural was a God send. It stopped working a little bit and they came in and gave me a booster. It can't be that bad or people wouldn't have more than 1 - in fact #2 is on the way for us!!

Answer 7

Go for the epidural! if you wait too long they will not let you have one! No, labor is not the worst pain possible. Try having a spinal block instead of an epidural, having it wear off just after the doctor makes an inscition for a c section and literally going through surgery with almost no pain killers. I was not given any Demoral or anything. just oxygen and let me tell you it was like getting gutted like fish. my Dr. did nothing but apologize and say he would hurry but let me tell you that the whole staff got an ear full of profanity for almost an hour during the surgery. After 4 kids ( one naturally and two c sections[twins were #1] #2 was the disaster) I would still do it again. only this time i will have the epidural instead of a spinal that yes followed by severe nausea and migranes. You won't even see the needle so don't worry just keep still

Answer 8

Well, I am still having pain from a botched epidural during the labor of my four year old. I made the mistake of letting a dr. intern do it, and he stuck the needle in my back five times, before i insisted on the REAL dr doin it, who got it in the first time. So make sure that whoever is doin it is qualified and it is not his first time. that said, due to this pain, and nerve damage, i had to go naturally with our third child, and contractions are the WORST pain i have ever felt in my life!!! so if at all possible i would get one, just be careful!!! The contractions themsleves are as follows: one to three dailation-not so bad, just feels like a hug, but you will notice them. 4 to 6 dialation-yep these will make you have to stop what you are doing and breath, start getting painful at this point. 7 to 8 dialation- yep pain, they really get goin here, this is when i asked for morphine, lol, which only worked for about 15 min, lol, 15 min of bliss. and 9 to 10 centimeter dialation- all i can say is OMFG OUCH!!! these hurt so bad that i wish someone would have just knocked me out with a baseball bat. i've heard before that it didn't really hurt to push, WTFE!!!! it hurt like hell, but i pushed and pushed hard, cause i knew that as soon as she was out the pain would stop. don't want to scare you, but you asked and that is the truth. good luck with everything and hope you have a successful birth and that you abel to get an epidural and enjoy the birth.

Answer 9

For me and my experience, contractions HURT!!! I have 3 boys. My first son I did without an epidural because I was just like you. Afraid of the needle. The pain was so bad for me that I was literally shaking. with my last two, I got the epidural. The best thing that could have ever happened to me in my life. The pain stopped immediately. It was the best birthing experience I could have ever experienced. The needle stick was as bad as I thought it was because no. 1, I could see it going in. and B, I was in a lot of pain. Take a tour of the birthing facility and have questions prepared, look at equipment and PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS. That helped me out a lot. Take care.

Answer 10

not always doctors or nurses will use the shots to control the pains . they also have the medican for the mother to take so wither you feel the pain coming around the medican will just num you so you wont feel anything after. they might ask you if you wanted the needle shot on youre hand or use for on youre back . yeah they do have that too. but either you dont want see the needle shot then dont look when the nurse put in youre hand . just look some where else if you do feel hurtin then you just relaxs just remind yourself that the pain isnt there by closeing youre eyes .just take a big breath too. i dont know if the hositpal where you going to have youre baby . but some hositpal 's center has a back room where there are a bath tub by having the pregrnated mothers lay down or sit in the tub with water and giving birth there instead riskin their self doing one the bed. my mom did that when she had 5 kids giving birth in the bath tub . dont worrying does help the pain and contraction . and doesnt harm or drown the new born ,cause when youre in labor right way the doctor or nurse will pick up the baby out the tub in safe way . youre baby will be alright when it comes out.

Answer 11

When you actually go into labor you'll feel the braxton hicks intensify more and more.. It's not comfortable. No matter how afraid of needles you are... you will encourage them to stick it in you as soon as they can.. The epidural was the most wonderfull thing EVER! They also give you a small shot in your back first to numb the area before they insert the epidural needle. I barely felt them doing it. I definitely recommend the epidural!