pregnancy question ? not trying to be disgusting?

Question

Pls explain to me how much the cervix dialates etc during childbirth, what is actually painful when in labour? the cramps/contractions ? Or the actual birth giving..

Answer 1

the cervix can dialate before your ready to give birth. mine dialated 1 cm like 2 or 3 weeks before my due date and 2 cm 1 week before. it dialates to 10 cm and thats when you have to start pushing. you can get an epidural at 3 or 4 cm which blocks the pain and then you just feel some pressure if you have pain before the 3 or 4 cm mark you can get another pain reliever called statol (not sure how its spelled) your cervix also has to soften before giving birth. the contractions are what is painful. the pushing part is like when you have to go to the bathroom really bad and feel the need to push. theres pressure. sorry about the description but thats what it feels like. if you have any other questions, you can email me. I have a 3 month old, so its still pretty fresh on my mind. dont worry too much about it

Answer 2

Hello,
I am a trained Doula (labor assistant) and childbirth educator,
the cervix needs to dilate to 10 centimeters, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, usually longer for 1st time moms but about 8-12 hours on average. The contractions are the most painful part, they start out light and become progressively more painful. The actual pushing and birthing is not as painful as it is INTENSE, some women do experience a burning sensation in the perineum, that is the area around the vaginal opening and some women do tear some, or receive an episiotomy, which is a small cut the doctor or midwife makes. If this your 1st pregnancy you should really think about taking childbirth classes, they usually have them through the hospital, or check with your doctor or midwife. Hope this helps. There are also a lot of great books on the subject, try reading some by midwives they tend to be more open and honest about the natural birth process, Ina May Gaskin is a great midwife and author.

Answer 3

The cervix dilates to 10 cm. It is usually gradual although sometimes it can happen quickly.

The contractions are usually what give women the most pain although there are a lot of choices that you can make to deal with this. Water is the best way that I know of. Being in a bath or shower during labor is very soothing. Being able to move around, walk, lean over a counter, rock in a rocking chair.

The actual birth of the baby involves a stretching sensation that sometimes can be painful...it wasn't too bad for me.

The best thing you can do is EDUCATE yourself so that you can dispel the fear of the unknown. Read lots and stay away from horror stories. If you expect to suffer, you most likely will. Some cannot help being in terrible pain because of baby's position, fear, or other medical problems. But I'm here to tell you, it doesn't have to be the horrible thing that people describe. Get a labor coach (a doula) some hospitals offer them and many are available in your community. I don't know if you're in the UK or where but do a search for midwives and doulas and you will get some good info.

Not to worry, sweetie. Women have been doing this for thousands of years. Your body knows how to do it...you just have to train yourself to let it do its thing.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Your cervix has to dialate to 10 cm (9 in some cases) before the doctors ask you to start pushing. The contractions are the painful part, their are just like REALLY bad period cramps, your muscles (in this case your uterus) is having spasms a.k.a contractions. The actual birth is painful too, you pushing something the size of a lemon through something the size of a straw....so yeah it hurts. But once you see your baby for the first time you completely forget about all the pain! And if you dont do well with pain (as many of us dont) there are always options, such as DRUGS, DRUGS and more DRUGS! LOL they help and they dont harm your baby so go for it hun! Hope this helps you out some!

Answer 5

I have 2 children, and I have given birth under anesthesia and had natural child birth.

Of course, I felt no pain with the anesthesia. The natural was rough, but once you see that beautiful little baby, you begin to let go of the memory of the pain. If I had remembered it all, I would never have wanted to have children again, I am sure.

My labor was not all that painful. It was no worse than having some really bad cramps around the menstrual cycle. At least it wasn't to me, and I was in labor a very long time.

Every experience is different. Some women have the water break and deliver almost immediately. Others are in labor for hours. There is no way to know. I will say that exercise really helped me.

Answer 6

The cervix dialate 10 cm, and umm cramps are way painful before I had my daughter I use to get really bad cramps that I had to go 2 see my doctor they where really really bad and when I was in labor I got the epidural because people told me that contractions are worst and like I had really bad cramps I was scare, but when I was 5 cm dialated they where bad but not as bad as my cramps but then I got the epidural.

Answer 7

11 hours natural labor no drugs nothin... back labor at that , no sitting or laying for me. It was no sweat though, all said and done, Id rather go through labor 9 times than EVER be pregnant again. I gave birth with midwives and not doctors though, so I wasnt treated like a farm animal...or an assembly line procedure like they treat you in hospitals. Natural births are soo much better for you and the baby... unless there are complications preventing it, and although you get no medal, you get the self satisfaction of knowing you can do ANYTHING if you can give birth the way it was intended :) Its no sweat, bad cramps, you feel like crap but then its over and you feel great! If you arent forced to push the actual birth itself isnt very painful... just weird feeling... its the contractions before that kinda suck, but its definitly bearable.

Answer 8

I have been thru 31hrs of hard labor but never given birth vaginally, so here's what I'll tell you as far as the pain of labor goes--and I'm not going to sugarcoat this, so be prepared! ;-)

What causes the pain during labor is a combination of things: your cervix dilating to 10cm, your uterus contracting, trying to push out a fairly large "object" out of a relatively small "hole." Also, once your water breaks, your contractions will almost immediately intensify both in frequency and in pain.

I don't know what it feels like to deliver a baby vaginally; I've heard some horror stories and I've heard stories from women who said it was a breeze. Everyone is different.

When I was in labor, I was in so much pain I literally thought I was going to die. They wouldn't give me an epidural because they thought it'd slow down my already non-progressing long, hard labor, though they did give me Stadol which only took the edge off, but it still hurt more than anything I ever experienced.

Answer 9

10 centimeters. I agree, get the epidural, you don't get a prize or medal for not getting one. It doesn't really hurt until you are about 6 centimeters, but after that it just gets worse and worse and worse until you are actually giving birth and then you have "the ring of fire" which is the worst pain you will ever experience combined with the contractions. And no, you do not forget it.

Answer 10

Its not a pretty picture,but its a beautiful act of nature.....I SALUTE every women that has given birth naturally,what a job and show of strenght. Be prepared for pain,we dialate 10 cm.