How painful is childbirth?

Question

If the pain can be described, do share

wow I didn't expect so many answers!

Answer 1

You do not want to know - it is incomprehensible.
I once had my back tattooed for 6 hours - it was a very painful experience. In my naivety I went around saying that it would prepare me for childbirth. No, it didn't, both in pain terms, but also how you feel when things go wrong.
But also - the real pain is not when you are actually getting the baby out - it is when you are dilating
But it is usually better the second time (though they quite often shoot out rather quickly).
Good luck!
Fellow Londoner

Answer 2

Ok I'll lay it on the line - it hurts and it hurts. However I used a tens unit until i was 8-9cm dilated and I thought I had a low pain threshold and managed to wait till then to go into hospital. Once you are on gas and air (fantastic stuff, if you time it right with the contractions as it takes about 10 secs to hit you, so no point breathing it in when you start to get a contraction) Does make you feel a bit out of it and the time flies by.

Also had morphine injection, I didn't think it did anything. The worst bit is when the baby's head crowns, it's like a really bad burning senstion down there like someone is holding a lighter to your bits. (only way I can describe it) After that it's easy as the baby comes out with the next contraction.

Just to let you know I had my baby 10 weeks ago and I can still feel the pain of childbirth, however it was definitely worth it. And I'm even talking about having another one lol. By the way those who say you forget, I've not forgotten yet !!

Answer 3

Childbirth is painful because women deliver the most mature baby possible given the female pelvic structure. Any earlier, and it's disadvantageous to the baby; any later, and the head simply wouldn't fit through the pelvis. (Even then, we're among the most helpless of creatures on earth when we're born, because we're really only about halfway through true development that would make us equivalent in the physical sense to most other mammals.) Other animals don't experience these problems; giving birth isn't painful for most animals as far as we are able to determine, and their babies are mature enough to maneuver around at least a little bit within a few hours. The part that WOULDN'T fit? The baby's head - the brain. If it were not for our cognitive ability, part of which is the head size, human babies would fit through just fine. So, in a sense, it's LITERALLY our capacity to be knowledgeable, sentient creatures that causes the pain of childbirth as a woman's body uses every bit of force it can to force that head through. Eve or not - it was inevitable once we became sentient creatures, either through evolution or through something like the Genesis story, that a human female WOULD experience pain during childbirth. The only thing that would have made a change is a bigger pelvic opening, and that apparently wasn't/isn't in the cards (at least so far...). On a side note: Ever wonder where all the Cesarean sections are leading? If Cesarean sections no longer existed, a LOT of women would die in childbirth, because their children are more and more often the offspring of one or both parents who were often times themselves undeliverable except by Cesarean. It's not totally germane to the question, I realize... just something I've thought about that I thought I'd drop into my answer. Edit: Wow - after reading some of the men's responses, I will admit to being astonished. I had no idea that men think that the cervix is the limiting factor or what causes pain during childbirth, or indeed, that most of them knew so little about women's anatomy in general. Gentlemen, it's the CONTRACTIONS of the uterus to force the baby down the VERY MUSCULAR vagina (the one that you all love best when it's TIGHT, by the way) that causes the pain. During childbirth, the cervix thins ("effaces") and dilates beautifully, and has no problems letting the head through. And "shutting the nerves off" won't work either; no nerves = no contractions; we can only shut down the RECEPTORS at present. Anybody but me think the guys should be required to take a female anatomy class and actually PASS it before being allow to have sex??????

Answer 4

If you can imaging trying to push out a watermelon through your vagina but also imagin that it is on fire!! as well as being squeezed like in a vice around your tummy and back, And then your beautiful baby is born and the pain is gone, well thst sort of pain has anyway, If you tear down there it can be hell for a few weeks, my friend tore from her vagina all the way to her anus and was in complete agony, I on the other hand only grazed and that was bad enough as it feels like your peeing acid it hurts that bad and pooing well you already feel as though the whole world has fallen out of you and can feel just as bad, i had bad tummy and constipation because I didnt want to use the toilet as it hurt so much!!

If I was you I would have some tea tree oil ready for the quick healing process to bath your bits twice a day in.
Also have an epidural. Im sorry if all these answers have frightened you but if id have know how painful it was going to be I would have had an epidural!! Good luck

Answer 5

At the time it is horrible and I remember thinking 'if this goes on much longer I am going to die' but then you get over it and can only think of it as a good experience.

I have had two c section births and one natural birth although a difficult one. The c sections came first so I was a bit out of the ordinary as most people cannot give birth naturally after elective c sections. I had the c sections as both my kids were breech and I was too small to deliver a breech.
Anyone who says having a c section is the easy way out is nuts as I would deliver naturally with difficulty any day before having myself cut open. My darling doctor was of the opinion that he would need to be doing another c section so gave the nurses instructions not to give me any pain relief other than panadeine. So my whole labour I had only that for relief. I think the doctor figured I would give up and take the c section option. But there was no way I was doing that without good cause.

I also like ashleys discription as it is much like being tasared every few minutes for the duration.

Answer 6

Labor pain is called pain for a reason, but don't think that means you cannot handle it!

Hormones are released during labor to help with killing the pain. Most women opt for painkillers so they haven't experienced those natural ones. Their choice!

To me, labor pain is like the WORST gas pain I have ever had, magnified several times over.

What I don't think anyone mentioned yet is how labor pains come in WAVES. You will feel the pain come on gradually, and then it intensifies until you feel like OH YIKES maybe this might be getting too hard for you .... then it gradually subsides. Then these pains come again and again, getting more and more intense over time. Instead of dreading these pains, think of how the uterus' contractions and the accompanying pain are getting your little one ready to be pushed out and into your arms!

The delivery itself is not too bad .... but it is a weird feeling to have a baby pop out of you! Especially when he is half in and half out!

If you opt for an epidural, know that you may have side effects, like shaking legs or even your whole body. This unnerved me when I first had an epidural because I was not expecting it and I felt very out of control. But all of the discomfort quickly passes! Best wishes!

Answer 7

it varies from person to person and labor to labor. I had an epidural with my first so felt no pain but i felt everything 2nd time around, it starts faint and comes in waves with a peak in the centre before fading away again, as the hours go on the waves of pain bcome stronger and longer, like the most severe period cramps you'll ever feel, the desire to push is the wierdest thing and you'll instantly know when it has to happen, a pressure builds up down below and the urge to push downwards takes over you, this is also quite painful but in a different more permanent way then the contractions until baby finally slips out, at which point you forget about everything you've just been through because you've got the most precious gift in the world cradled in your arms.

Answer 8

Extremely... it was so bad I don't even remember it right the way it was. But then I had a difficult birth and rupture of the womb. Breathing and everything else you learn before is pretty useless when you've been in labour many hours, you just get too tired to do it right. And relaxing your tummy doesn't help sh*t when your back and legs cramp.
With Simon I had a Caesarian.
Still I'd gladly go through all the torture again if I could have another baby.

Answer 9

Sure it hurts, they gave me Pethidine with my first (never asked me!) sent me loopy and did nothing to relieve the pain. Second one, just gas and air, was still painful but more rewarding. Labour feels like it lasts for ever, but remember what the purpose of labour is. It is to dilate the cervix. Do not listen to women who say they were in agony for 18hrs etc, that is rubbish, pain only increases as the cervix becomes fully dilated, which basically means closer to the birth. The worst part for me and I'm sure for others, is when the baby's head "crowns", you asked for a description so here it is, it feels like your "down below" has been attacked by a red hot poker, but it lasts for a VERY short time and is quickly forgotten. Ask yourself this Q, were it that bad why do we keep doing it? If I could have afforded them I would have had at least four! Enjoy your pregnancy, look forward to the arrival of your child, giving birth is not the worst pain in the world, your child will enter this world regardless, enjoy the experience, be pro-active and listen to your body, it knows what it is doing. Good luck x

Answer 10

With no epidural, its pretty painful, but somehow you manage. The toughest part is when the baby's head crowns, but thankfully it's the shortest. I'm not sure if you are preparing for childbirth, so I really don't want to go into how I'd describe the pain since I really wouldn't want to hear that before I gave birth.