How painful is child birth?

Question

I'm not pregnant and don't plan on getting pregnant for many more years but how painful is a natural child birth? I know it's not as risky as it once was but how would you relate the pain to something someone would most likely understand?

And...the same for a child birth with pain relievers? How painful is it?

I know that pain all goes away when you see your baby but I'm just curious...

Answer 1

It is horrible.... beyond words and the absolute worst pain i have ever felt in my life... a headache is nothing after that, a belly ache no big deal.... Labor .... oh my ..... not a good feeling...

An epidural...is great if you have time to get one... and nice ! no pain or feeling.

Answer 2

I had my son six years ago and I got an epidural. However my labor was so long that by the time it came to push the epidural had mostly worn off. I won't mislead you, it is not a comfortable experience. BUT... I would go through the delivery any day of the week over nine months of pregnancy. It is not the delivery that was horrible for me, it was the physical discomfort of pregnancy. But many women LOVE being pregnant... I thought the birth was a magical experience! Get the epidural if you are worried, and enjoy it. Your body is designed to give birth. Don't over analyze what is going on down there. If you tear, you won't even know. The doctor would be the one to tell you. I tore, and didn't know because I was so busy looking at the beautiful little boy that I had just gave birth to. Pushing comes naturally. Your body is contracting as it brings the baby down the birth canal. The contractions without drugs feels like a really bad menstrual cramp (because they are basically one in the same.) It is somewhat like pushing when going "2". It is true that any pain you do feel is numbed and you begin to forget. I have heard that we produce a hormone that makes us forget the pain... and while skeptical when I was pregnant... a week or so later it had clearly diminished in my mind. Please don't get overly anxious... there are more uncomfortable things in life that don't have nearly the same reward. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I had my first baby with epidural and the second one with no pain reliever. The first one was a walk in the park. The second one came so fast there was no time even to calm myself down enough to be on top of the situation. Years later, I had a kidney stone. That was worse than childbirth. My best advice is take a Lamaze class, but don't bring the instructor to the hospital (she'll pressure you to do it natural all the way). Then, get the epidural. The relaxing learned in the class will make it easy until you get the epidural, and then there's no more pain!

Answer 4

pain is very much a relative subject amongst different individuals. Your perception and threshold of pain differs greatly from another person.

Anesthetics or 'pain relievers' come in many forms and choices for labor. I've heard certain patients say through an epidural there was practically no pain at all which makes it a very popular choice although some complain that they cannot feel the contractions and therefore need assistance during labor. But of course there are also some people who prefer to be weaker anesthetics for a myriad of personal or religious reasons (I've had one saying it makes the whole experience more real and fulfilling).

Hope this helps :)

Answer 5

Donno how much this will be of help... coz me too have never experienced it.

still from the hear-say, here is my contribution

There is no measure for calculating the pain; it depends from person to person and their ability to withstand pain & their body structure etc etc.

there are many pain relievers, but the docs need to monitor the progress to avoid any last minutes run.. so, painkillers will not relieve you from 100% pain.

Thats a mental state.....

But I have read somewhere that the muscles that expand like anything at the end do not carry the complete message to your brain to get registered, and thats why you get over the pain as soon as the delivery is complete.

From my point, I can say that by giving a good company while at the delivery table can reduce so much mental stress.

Answer 6

You'll never be able to grasp the feeling until you have a child yourself. I can tell you that the contractions feel like bad period cramps, however the feelings are different for each person. It's a totally amazing experience and there's no need to be afraid of it. At the end of it you get the most amazing gift you could ever get. The best thing you can do is go to a prenatal class and learn the different things you can do in order to prepare yourself for the birth/labour--then there's no need to worry.

Answer 7

well natural child birth hurt like hell it's like the child is trying to come out of your A-- but when you opt for the numbing medicine you don't really know when you had the child because your so doped up that most people go rite to sleep and NO all of the PAIN does not go away after you see the child you'll be in pain even after you get home

Answer 8

Carrol Burnett once compared child birth with pulling your bottom lip up to the back of your head. That sounds painful!
Although if a doctor gives you an epidural it is like being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down, therefore you don't feel a thing.

Answer 9

It HURT ALOT, I have 2 small kids and due again in a month. With both my kids i had back labor and that is said to be the worst labor, which i belive so b/c it does hurt pretty bad. I got the epideral with both my kids. My first child I was so doped up on paid medication they gave me I was falling asleep when they were trying to make me push *SUCKED*. And with my 2nd child I told them i wanted the epideral but no the pain med they put in the IV. I felt everything but the contractions when he came. HURT LIKE HELL. Its not easy I wouldnt say it hurts as some ppl would say but its pretty painful. I would recommend the epideral to anyone that is not pain tolerant. And some ppl who are pain tolerate still cannot take the labor pains. It all comes down to ITS YOUR BODY, you have to wait to see how you will handle it.

Answer 10

I couldn't tell you how natural childbirth is because I had 4
C- Sections but it was pretty painful after the pain medicine wears off. I agree with everyone else it all won't matter once you hold that little bundle of joy in your arms for the very first time. Good Luck

Answer 11

I was soo worried about labor when i was pregnant! but really it wasn't as bad as i had it in my mind! it was like really really bad menstral cramps and lots of pressure! I was without pain meds for like 12 hours...then I got the epidural just so i could relax and get some relief. So i know about both the pain and the pain medication. I loved getting the epidural...it let me relax and wait in comfort with my family until it was time for me to push. And I wasn't completely numb (its not like it paralyzes you...that was what i was afraid of) I could still move and feel my legs and stuff...and there wasn't pain while i was pushing just a lot of pressure...and all of that is TOTALLY managable. all in all, i had a wonderful childbirth experience...and that is all a woman could hope for right? haa ha, good luck when you do decide to have babies, its not that bad!