help.... getting close to the end of my first pregnancy?

Question

im getting close to the end of my first pregnacy and im starting to freak out...about going into labour...... i have asked my friends who have had children what they thought about it and of course they all tried to scare me... so i just wanted to know what other womens views on labour were

Answer 1

First, take a moment and go to babycenter.com. Find the birth club for last month, or better yet a few months ago. Look at the pictures people post of HAPPY babies. Because you're soon to have one! (my boyfriend gave me that advice a week before our baby was due ... best advice he ever gave me, even if I didn't recognize that at the time).

Tell your friends to stop scaring you.

It'll be hard, I won't try to tell you it won't. It hurts - and I never even made it to pushing the baby out, I had an emergency C section.

Labour is different for every woman. Many describe it as no big deal, others as excruciating. But do you really think the human species would continue if it was that bad? Look at all the families with multiple children - it can't be that bad.

Ride the waves of contractions. They start, they intensify (and hurt for me in a period crampy achey sick kind of way, but not screaming out pain, and I did get to the oh-my-god-I-have-to-push stage). I recall moaning. Vaguely. It's all in a panicy haze, but I don't remember anything overly horrendous. I went from no contractions to the pushing stage in under two hours - as far as I understand it, the faster you dilate, the harder it is. If a wimp like me can survive and not have bad memories of it, you can :)

Relax. I know it's intimidating. But it's so worth it!

A book to recommend: Birthing from within. It's meant to be started earlier in your pregnancy, and because I knew I was going to need a C section a lot of it I skipped reading, but I know it's the book my midwives recommend.

Try drawing what you're afraid of. Nobody ever has to see it, but get it out.

Talk to your partner.

Establish a plan.

Talk with your midwife if you have one. Have you hired a doula? Highly recommended. Talk with your doctor. All of them need to know how you're feeling.

Congrats in advance, and best of luck! You'll do just fine.

Answer 2

Honestly? I was soooo terrified as well. But in the end, I must say, it wasn't as bad as I thought. 12 hours, reguar vag. birth. I had Demerol and couldn't have an epidural like I wanted. The pain was intense, and really hard at the end. But it wasn't like that the entire time. The time seems to go by quicker than you'd think. My advice is do what you want during labor. If you don't feel like walking, don't let anyone talk you into it. It's your body, do what feels right. And don't forget, your body knows what to do. When I was tired from pushing, my body took over at times and did it automatically. It's going to be ok, really! :)

Answer 3

Some women love the experience (not the pain, but the experience) of giving birth, bringing a new life into the world.

It's not easy, it's not fun, but you can do it. It will probably be the hardest and most amazing thing you will ever do, and it might even be sureal that it's possible. It will sometimes be scary, it will sometimes be gross, you may find yourself joking with people in the room.

My boss once related it to having a toothache (stay with me here) in the aspect that it is unbearable while it's happening, but as time goes on after it's over, you begin to forget the bad parts of it and you hold on to the parts of it that are wonderful, and special, and uniquely your experience.

Answer 4

Labor was a piece of cake for me and I pushed for five hours straight! It wasn't bad at all. I had an epidural and that helped tons.

When I was newly pregnant, the thought of going through labor freaked me out and like you, lots of people were only too willing to tell me their horror stories. Then I figured that if labor was really so agonizingly painful, why would so many women go on to have more children? That's when I relaxed about the whole thing.

Answer 5

This is all very normal. Most first time moms have some issues w/anxiety the last month or so. Painful, yes it's painful. And you'll have heavy bleeding for up to 6wks after delivery. Not to mention nobody warns you that the vicodin they give you post-partum usually causes constipation. Did I mention hemorrhoids and breast infections? What about lack of sex drive and vaginal dryness with breastfeeding. The truth is the more you stress on what might happen, the worse things will be. You friends are just trying to make you aware of the things THEY were not aware of. Truth is they are just looking out for you.

Answer 6

You should find a Doula at your local hospital or from your Dr.s office. Everyones experience with labor is different, as is every birth even for the same mother.
Labor is what you make of it, if you go in being scared and upset it will be hard to concentrate and a misserable experience.
If you go in knowing you are going to be in pain and knowing that this may not be fast you will be more relaxed.
Have you already filled out your birth plan? If not you should start thinking about what you want in it and talk to your dr about it at your next appointment.
I am a Doula and have assisted bringing 58 babies into this world, every one of the births was a different experience.
If you have any questions or want to chat my email is: [e-mail].
Good luck & Congratulations...

Answer 7

Personally Mine was great. It really wasn't painful at all, Hard to do yes, painful no.

They say it depends on where your contractions are from (if they are from the back it is supposed to be more painful.) But really I experienced almost no actual pain, just a strong urge to push (kind of like you have to go poop really bad)
And I had no medication during my labor at all for a 9 lb 11 oz baby.

Don't worry about it though, you will do fine, women have been giving birth successfully for centuries and your body is designed to do just what its about to do. :)

Answer 8

I'm 36 weeks going to be 37 on Monday & I feel the same way. It started happening last week. I believe it's just our body getting ready for the big day! Congrats and good luck!

Answer 9

Honestly, it wasn't the most painful thing I have ever experienced. It does hurt, but after the baby is out, you won't even remember the pain and that's the truth!

Answer 10

I'm ready for labour..i'm just not scared but my moms told me that she remembers that it hurts when your in labour but that you can't remember the pain after it's over...and my brother jonathan was a very large baby 2 ft tall at birth(not trying to scare you) she told me that all she remembers is holding us in her arms and thinking how it's all worth it