Ladies who have given birth without pain medication.......?

Question

is there a lot of pain during the pushing phase? I mean pain "down below"
thanks

Answer 1

I've given birth both with pain medication and without and it wasn't any different. I think I have a high threshhold of pain meds (meaning I need more than average to be effective), so maybe I just didn't get enough pain meds. I've never had an epidural.

Baby #3 came so fast the nurses didn't have time to give me any meds. It was a liberating experience knowing that I could do it without the pain meds.

But to answer your question, yes, of course it hurts. It's childbirth. ;o)

Answer 2

I was one of the lucky ones, and didn't have a huge amount of pain at all.

In my case, once my water did break, I went from 3cm to 9 very quickly. (With how fast it progressed, I didn't have time for any medication, and I hadn't received any in the preceeding 20 hours of back labour because I hadn't dilated enough to actually stay at the hospital.). It took 15 minutes or so for my mom and brother to get us to the hospital, and I was admitted into the delivery room right away. I think because I was anxious to get it over with, and finally see and hold my son, it made the labour much easier. My pushing lasted 24 minutes, and only on the last push did I feel a teeny, quick bit of pain like a small paper cut because I'd torn. Thankfully it was just small and didn't require any stitches. Afterwards, the only pain I had was when I had to use the bathroom, kind of like doing dishes with a papercut on your finger. It only lasted for about 2 days after labour, getting less and less painful before it healed all on it's own.

I found that in the last few weeks of my pregnancy, positive thinking about my forthcoming delivery and having a ton of support in my family and OB/GYN was a great help. It prepared me for the big event, and I found I was able to crack a few jokes and still smile here and there throughout the entire 21 hours I was in labour. I can't say I wasn't a bit nervous or scared, cause I can assure you there were times where I was (and I'd have liked to have had Demerol at the very least, but things happen for a reason I guess LOL)! But basically I found that the more relaxed I was, the more easily and smoothly things went :)

Answer 3

I had 3 out of 4 natural births. My second child I had an epidural and vowed to never do so again! It was horrible, but I understand that I'm in the minority and most women swear by them.

My births are quick so for me pain meds were out of the question for a few reasons. One from first contraction to baby showing up is no more than an hour and a half. No time for meds. I bounced back so quickly from a natural birth so that's my method of choice. I think it totally depends on how quickly you give birth. No one wants to be in labor for hours and hours with no pain management (though some women choose to do so).

It is like no pain you've ever experienced. The most pain of course comes when your pushing it out but that only last a few minutes and then it's over. The quick recovery and more alert baby afterwards was worth the pain.

Answer 4

Absolutely YES!!! Its really the worst bit, sorry to say, but usually the quickest part.
Someone described it to me as pulling your bottom lip over your head!
But the only way I could actually describe it when the baby is crowning, feels like a really intense, hot, searing, "branding" sensation. You know like how cows get branded with a hot iron?
BUT the good thing is when you feel that, the head is nearly out and then its all over red-rover!! DaDa baby is born!
Ive done it twice, first time to a 9pd'er and 2nd time to an 8.2pd'er and it still bloody hurt!

Unless you have an epidural, no pain medication can relieve that feeling but its so worth it! Its only for a relatively short time compared to the whole labour. Crowning only last a few minutes usually, before that its just extra intense contractions.

Good luck, you'll forget all about it when baby is out!

Answer 5

Well Honey, I'll be honest. there is pain. as the baby's head is coming through, your vaginal opening is stretched to pretty much it's limit. it's kind of a burning or stinging feeling. your Doctor might even choose to give you an episiotomy just a small cut to make the opening bigger to prevent ripping. ( A cut is easier to heal than a rip.) it will require a few stitches. This is a minor procedure I didn't even feel it. While you are in this stage of delivery you are thinking about your baby and you won't it really won't be a big deal.

the end result is a beautiful baby and you will see that it is all worth it in the end.

Besides if it was too bad do you think that most of us would do it a second, third, fourth............ time?

It will be fine.
and congrats by the way!

Answer 6

It is something you can never even imagine until your going thru it! yes, it hurts! it hurts a lot, but i personally found that at that pushing stage you ain't worried of the pain, you just want it to be done with. I only had a 9 hour drug free labor. Just remember, it dose end and as a smart mother up the top of the list said, you end up blocking most of it out. it is scary knowing you have to go thru labor, just do as many of the things that make you more comfortable and take it one contraction at a time. it'll be over and when you give birth the pain stops immediately!

Answer 7

For me there wasn't...this might sound strange, but you'll understand when you experience it...when you're in the pushing phase, you're so focused on pushing and the fact that the pushing relieves the pain from the contractions that you won't notice much else...at most I felt a little burning sensation when the head came out, but thats it...and remember, once you have that baby in your arms, you'll forget what you went through to get it! Best of luck!!!

Answer 8

I did it without meds and prefer it that way. The painful part is the labor pains (contractions). The actual pushing is a relief. After delivery, your body releases a hormone that makes your memory fuzzy so you don't remember specific details. Ask some women you know...most of them found themselves saying or thinking "That wasn't so bad" afterwards. I couldn't believe I felt that way too, but I did. Then when you hold your baby of course, it's all forgotten :)

Good luck!

Answer 9

the cramping/dialating phase is the worst, like a meathook yanking you til you can't breathe.. the pushing phase feels like someone has a blow torch down there, a ring of fire, hurts, yes, what the heck? nuprin and epidural all the way...ice pack when you are done, and some stool softeners for a few days.
I have a low pain tolerance, and believe in modern medicine to help you thru it all. Great for all the natural chicks! I am just not one of them.. had four kids... eeeoooowwww!

Answer 10

It is painful but for me I had more pain after my son was out. While I was pushing I just felt lots of pressure and the skin strecthing. Afterwards I was very sore and since I had stiches, that was more painful than the giving birth part.