Tell Me About LABOR PAIN :)

You'll know when the times comes. Everyone told me that, but I kept reading and reading until I know for sure what its like. Honestly, for me..it felt exactly like period cramps times 10. Between contractions, I was calm, but the whole experience just seemed to mold together. Everyones labor is different, but we all forget it once you have your baby in your arms. Its worth it..you'll be fine :)

Stephanie, Where are you located? I'm in Sterling, VA and lead the Northern Virginia Chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network. Check us out at www.icanofnova.org. You can VBAC!!! Labor pain is pain with a purpose - it's good pain that brings your baby :)! I had a c/s with my second, and had my third, who was my VBAC unmedicated. It was the hardest, and most empowering event of my life! Good luck to you, and e-mail if you're in the Northern VA area and would like more information! Best wishes for a safe and wonderful birth! L. Cooper

PS - I did have my gallbladder removed, and I would compare my attacks very closely to labor. However, a gallbladder attack 1) doesn't bring a baby at the end, 2) is continuous pain (and, yes, the pain goes away in between contractions, and 3) isn't a normal physiological event! :)

Stephanie,
I was in labor for 26 hrs before they finally did the c-section. In my personal oppinion recovering from the surgery was worse than the labor pain. My sister had gallbladder problems and she said that pain was worse than the labor also. Keep in mind that we both did have an eppy. With the eppy there is alot of pressure and you are definatly uncomfortable. Before the eppy the pain did pretty much go away but the pressure was still there and you could tell things were in progress. I always feel better with more information, I hope this helped.

S.

Honestly, there is no way to really prepare you for labor pain. It's different for everyone. I will tell you to prepare for the worst. My last delivery was very intense and shutting the world out and focusing on keeping my pelvis relaxed was how I worked through it. My birth assistant also had me hum instead of yell out and it really does help get you through the pain.
Also, consider checking Hypnobabies. They have a website.

Hello, I asked the same question when pregnant with my daughter almost 2 yrs ago. I was told so many different stories because every pregnancy and labor is different. I expected the worse!I mean the worse!I truly believe that it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. I really dont rememeber that much. It is a blur to me. I had an amazing pregnancy!On sept 5, 2005 at 5 am I went into labor with having contractions 5 min apart lasting about 45 sec long. I went to the hospital when I couldnt get comfortable in my own home. I went in at 10am being 3 cent dialated, and 50 % efaced. I had a birth plan and everything. At 1 pm, if you had even thought about talking to me, turning on the lights, turning on the TV or making any noise....I would of screamed at you!giggles!I didnt want touched...nothing......LEAVE ME ALONE!The contractions were on top of one another, and they hurt!I was set to do this all natural! Yeah okay...whatever.....at 3pm I had a epi....lol.....Totally different story....it was awsome! At 5pm, they broke my water, and at 8pm they gave me potossen (spelling)....at 10pm I started pushing....well yeah 3 hours later, an episotomy...and alot of hard work I had my baby girl....So, 20 hours of labor!!!!!!!!IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Honestly, It is not as bad as you would think, and honestly I hope you get to experience the beauty of a vaginal birth.....

Hi Stephanie,

I've had 2 kids, my first was 9 1/2lbs & vaginal, my 2nd was 6 1/2 lbs & c-section, so I've done it both ways. As far as pain goes, recovering from a c-section is a lot more involved than vaginally, at least in my experience. As far as labor pains go though, everyone is really different just like every pregnancy is different. There's not really any way to explain what it's going to be like, except that your body will walk you through it. That's why it starts small & builds up over however long you're in labor. I've never had braxton hicks, so I don't know how close to actual labor pains it is, but it's my understanding that they're very similar to early labor pains. I had an epidural after about 10 hours of labor once I went into transition to help me relax once breathing through the contractions wasn't helping much anymore. It worked for me, I went from 3 cm to 10 in 2 hours & felt no pain at all. But once you start pushing (at least at the hospital where I delivered) they turned off the epidural so by the time he was born 2 1/2 hrs later, I felt the full effect. On the upside, yes, in between each contraction, the pain stops completely aside from maybe some back aching. The same is true for once the baby is out. You really just have to trust yourself & if you feel like you are ready for something for the pain, don't let a nurse bully you into waiting (also just my experience). Good luck & try not to worry too much about it. Like they say, it's the most natural thing in the world & it's what we were made for! I hope I helped maybe shed some light, if not, don't worry, you'll figure it out when the time comes!

Hi Stephanie,
the question you are asking is a difficult one to answer; why you ask, well, first because like every pregnancy is different every labor is different and every woman has her own pain tolerance (or lack there of...) Women can even have extreme differences from one baby to the next.... so instead of concentrating or worrying about how much pain or what it will be like... (in the beginning stages the pain usually goes away between contractions) You should probably go over your breathing excersizes and things like that. Look up ways of coping and getting through it... like concentrating on an object and listening to your coaches voice counting while you are in a contraction.... Just Remember The Most Important Thing is that you and your baby come out healthy and happy.... People are wrong about forgetting the pain after, but I am a big baby and I do not handle pain well, but I had 5 kids.... if I can do it, I know you can do it. My 4th son weighed 11 lbs when he was born (yes, C-section) but if I can handle that preg you can do it. I promise.....

S.
ps: don't listen to too many horor stories. it may scare you too much....

Well I was 19 when I had my first child last year, and I was scared to death! To begin with I was nervous about being a Mom, and I hate hospitals so that had me freaked out too. Then of course there was the fear of the pain from the labor. I had a scheduled induction but my water broke before I made it to the hospital. At first it didn't feel any worse than period cramps, but with a little more pressure in my bottom area. But on the way to the hospital I was singing to the radio trying to not be distracted by the pain. It took about an hour for me to get checked in changed into my gown into bed and get my IV's started. Then it seemed like every half hour the pain got worse. I felt a little lightheaded and of course totally out of control of my body. I had support from my fiance which was great because he is good at making me laugh even in bad situations. Anyhow, I made it to 5 centimeters before very politely BEGGING doctors to give me an epidural. And after that I swear I would have given birth to 20 babies if I could have. It was still a little painful, but more pressure than anything. I also got an episiotomy because the doctor was worried about me tearing which he thought would be worse than him just doing it himself before it got that far, and I agreed. In the end as soon as I saw my daughters face, all the pain went away, and I was ready to go home and get started being a Mom. Not sure if this will help you or not, but trust me that it really isn't that bad. However I had drugs! Good luck!!

A little humor for ya, If the pain were that bad and women actually could remember it, there would be no such thing as siblings lol.......About 6 months after the birth of my son I couldn't remember the intensity of the pain itself. Seriously, once you get into the full delivery you are so focused on the end results of seeing your baby that you will go thru hell or high water to get there, and that would include pain. My son weighed 8 pounds 15oz, my labor was induced and my epidural did not take so I guess I had the equivilant of natural birth. The one thing that sticks in my head that I can actually put into words to anyone who has ever asked me was the incredible urge to push. Kinda like bad menstrual and gas cramps all mixed together from my pelvic bone to the bottom of my rib cage. I can also recall being sore afterwards like I had done a couple of hundred sit ups and I had a bit of a fear of having a bowel movement, not wanting to strain any more than I already had. I was up and was able to walk into the store to buy formula 2 days after I gave birth, so all in all, it was not too bad. Keep in mind, it is always different for each woman, I recall reading a story last year about a High school basketball coach who delivered and went to coach a game the next day!!! So take a deep breath, relax and stay away from the "birth stories" on TV, they ALWAYS show the worst case scenarios :)

Good luck and congrats!!
Jennifer H.

Hi Stephanie,

I can't help with the labor pains, as I too have had c-sections )getting ready for my third). But I do belong to this great forum at www.americanpregnancy.org and they message boards there are awesome! You can post your question in the general section or even in the month you are due and you'll be sure to get LOTS of responses from LOTS of mommies! I absolutely love it there! Check it out if you have the time!

A.

I had a c section also. My daughter, now 4, was breach and decided to come 2 weeks early. I woke up on a Saturday in labor. I hear that each woman is different. Even though I don't remember the intensity, I do remember that it felt like I had both cramps and a bm at the same time. Please don't worry yourself over it. You will know and trust you gut feelings. I wish you all the best!

IT HURTS:-) I am a 40 y/o Mom of 4 and it hurt to different degrees w/ each child. But the beuty of it all is that there are options to relieve the pain. Gall bladder pain cannot be compared to child birth as it is different or at least I don't think so. Also, everone's threshold of pain is different. Good luck....remember that your body is eqipped for labor and if it hurts too bad there is always an epidural:-) Good luck!!

Stephanie,
I had two vaginal deliveries. One was induced and the other was natural. They were both completely different. I can tell you what was similar however, was they both felt like intense mentral cramps. In comparison to Branxton Hicks, which I felt a tightening all over.. the real ones were low, felt more compact and increased in intensity very steadily over a period of time. Once transitional labor hit, it felt like I had to poop really bad, and the pain actually was relieved when I pushed.
With being induced, it was worse. The contractions were one on top of the other, with no down time. I had to get an epidural because I was moving slowly and had no time to rest. With the second, it went super fast and was bearable until about 6cm. By the time I had enough fluids for the epi, I was already dialated all the way and it was time to push. I don't think it had so much to do with the epidural however, as it had to do with being the second child and not having to be induced.
That's what they felt like. How you will react however, is a whole other story. No matter what happens, just because you endured labor or had a c-section, or had an epi or went all natural, you are no less of a woman, no less of a fantastic mother. Don't put too many expectations on yourself and allow things to just go as they will.
Good Luck to you and congrats!

This may be a bad question for me to answer considering my experience was not what you would call "normal". I was actually past due with my daughter by quite a bit and had to be induced. They tried cervidil first to thin my uterus and that was probably the most uncomfortable feeling that I have ever experienced. Even before they placed the cervidil, I kept telling the nurse that my back hurt really bad but she insisted that I was not in labor. I had read about "back labor" and had feared that would be me and I knew that was what was happening. It took a shift change and a new nurse and an adjustment of a fetal monitor for my pains to actually count for something. I was in labor. Suprise, suprise! The first 12 hours I was in labor o' natural. I was very calm in between contracting but I could anticipate the next contraction. It's was almost like the aura one would experience right before the worst migraine you ever had sets in. The contraction it self wasn't that bad. Just felt like a bad menstrual pain that happened to come with the tighting of my abdominal muscles. What helped me through other than trying to create a calm environment with music I liked and trying to control my breathing was a tip that my mother gave me. She told me to look at the ceiling or the wall and find an imperfection (a rip, a tear, ruffled paint, a discolored light bulb, anything) and to concentrate on making that imperfection dissappear while I was working my way through a contraction. My husband was wonderfully helpful too with keeping me focused on my task. This worked for a long time. However, you tire out and by hour 13 and the second bag of pitosin (Evil Pit...I call it :( ! ), I begged for an epidural. I was in labor for 12 more hours with an epidural and by the end it wasn't working any more and then it hurt. Finally, the doctors decided something was wrong because at this point I wanted to push but my baby wasn't dropping. They paralized my waist down so I wouldn't push. I didn't feel anything else until the were cutting the 2nd layer of my uterus during my c-section. That was much more painful than any labor pain. But don't let me scare you. Everyone has different pain tolerances and it is hard for any other woman to anticipate what your experience will be. You just don't know until you're in that situation how your body and most importantly your mind (because that has a lot to do with how you perseive your situation and what you translate into pain) will react. Just keep yourself as calm as you can and know in your mind that this too will pass and that the end result will be a beautiful new baby. Good luck, my thoughts are with you.

I have a 6 month old little boy. I had him vaginally and was expecting the worse. Labor is what you make of it. As long as YOUR in control it's a walk in the park :) The park being up hill both ways! But not so bad.