Trying to mentally prepare for labor pain

JK0112

Second time moms how did contractions feel are they bearable I'm just so scared

katrinasmith17

Not going to lie - to me , there is nothing that compares to that pain. I felt it took all my mind and body strength to get through it. One at a time. I couldn't talk or move during a contraction. My sisters advice was to"not fight the contraction, but go with it" it helped a little. Not trying to scare you. That being said , epidurals are amazing! And no matter how bad the pain , it's all 100% worth it good luck and you will be just fine !!

JK0112

I really want to try to make it thru with no epidural but idk it just crazy something I have to get thru but I'm trying not to scare my mind into making it hurt worse

flas

I think for me it's a matter of the length of the labour. I just went through my 3rd and I ended up getting an epidural again. I was stalled at 4cm for hours with no progression and intense contractions. If circumstances had been different and I had progressed I may not have bothered. I did go about 10 hours though before getting one, since I was able to handle the pain for the most part.

KaLikeAWind

Epidurals are awesome. I went into labor not planning to specifically get one, but not planning to specifically NOT get one, either. I feel like I went pretty far without one (over 12 hours), but that last hour and half while I was deciding and then waiting for the anesthesiologist to arrive were pretty rough. Bearable, but *very* painful. It was helpful for me to know the guy was coming and I would soon have some relief.
Once I got the epidural, I was relieved I had made the call when I did, because I had just squeaked in before they would not have allowed me to have one because of progressing too far in labor. I was able to get in a brief hour nap before it was time to push. And then I was doubly relieved because I spent almost 3 hours pushing.
That's really something to consider - you can bear pain well (and contractions ARE painful) but you don't know if you're going to have to deal with that intense pain for an hour, half a day, a day... I really, really, REALLY would not have wanted to deal with that pain for the 3 hours I was pushing. Pushing is a lot of work and I feel like I was able to concentrate more on 'the job' without feeling like my abdomen and back were... Well, I'm not going to describe it.

So, go for it (trying without the epidural). But remember a few things - 1) there is a point where they will usually not allow you have one. Communicate with your nurses to have them be up front about when you are nearing the point of no return. 2) you have no way of knowing how long you will be pushing. Some pain you can deal with for a while, but not a LONG while, you know? 3) being pain free will allow you to rest and use your energy when you need it, instead of using it trying to 'ride' your pain or fight it.

Wishing you well with your labor, however you go about it! There is no 'right' or 'wrong' way. Blessings on you and your baby

cMichelle0423

Labor sucks. Plain and simple. Yes contractions hurt like hell. Epidurals don't always work (in case you weren't already aware). But you literally forget about all the pain and misery the moment you hold your LO. And it's 100% worth every second of the pain. If labor was THAT bad, women wouldn't have more than one kid lol

PrimRoseMama

cMichelle0423 said:

Labor sucks. Plain and simple. Yes contractions hurt like hell. Epidurals don't always work (in case you weren't already aware). But you literally forget about all the pain and misery the moment you hold your LO. And it's 100% worth every second of the pain. If labor was THAT bad, women wouldn't have more than one kid lol

This all the way.

JK0112

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

kynbar5

JK0112 said:

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

I've never felt drugged up at all. Just slightly numb. You can still feel the pressure while delivering but it's not painful at all when the epidural is done correctly.

jessjess80

they hurt but its totally bearable...and you forget soon enough, in time to make another one  

amberrmariee20

JK0112 said:

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

I never felt drugged, just couldn't feel contractions. However mine stopped working with my second delivery ...

delujm0

JK0112 said:

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

Nope I completely had my wits about me, my legs just felt like they were asleep (pins and needles). I don't normally "feel" my midsection so the fact that it was numb didn't seem odd at all.

JK0112

Thanks you ladies are really helpful I was scared but now im kind of looking foward to it

cmerribury

For me the hardest part was how fast my labor came on. I had almost no time between contractions, so I felt like by the time I caught my breath after one, another had started. The epidural allowed me the chance to breathe and concentrate on what was happening to my body, without feeling terrified and hurried. I never felt drugged, and they turned it off for me before I started pushing, so I had a lot of sensation during delivery. It's really difficult to describe the way labor makes you feel, but I second the ladies who support epidurals, for me it was a gift. 

Bigboobsmcgee

JK0112 said:

Thanks you ladies are really helpful I was scared but now im kind of looking foward to it

Whoooooooa there. I wouldn't go this far!

I've had 2 labors. My first I never felt a contraction and had an epidural and the second was med-free. I'm convinced there is absolutely nothing you can do to prepare yourself for the contractions or labor itself. Too many uncertainties so you just sort of have to roll with it and put your trust in the medical staff to get you through.

My med-free birth wasn't med-free by choice but simply because of the circumstances. I would never ever opt to do that if I had the choice of getting an epidural. I literally thought the pain would kill me.

JK0112

I guess I gotta get thru it anyways no way around it

PrimRoseMama

JK0112 said:

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

Just numb. I did have the shakes pretty bad from it. I wasn't cold-- but just chattering like I was.

Then again I had the shakes with my med-free labor too.

JK0112

thank you so much

CharminglySouthern

PrimRoseMama said:

cMichelle0423 said:

Labor sucks. Plain and simple. Yes contractions hurt like hell. Epidurals don't always work (in case you weren't already aware). But you literally forget about all the pain and misery the moment you hold your LO. And it's 100% worth every second of the pain. If labor was THAT bad, women wouldn't have more than one kid lol

This all the way.

Yup. With my first two, I had an epidural (which was great). With this delivery, I wanted to try med-free. I progressed pretty quickly so I felt like that helped. It was hard. But you just go with it.

lindsey4585

I think it's different for everyone. I was high risk on lateral left side bedrest for my first- and she came via induction with pitocin. I was on IV magnesium as well for preeclampsia. I had an almost 22 hour labor- 2 pushes- and she was out, but my midwife had me labor down so I was at lower risk for eclampsia during delivery. To me, it felt like period cramps and disomfort/pressure in my hip area. If I could wiggle my hips, it helped a lot, but they couldn't maintain fetal heart tones if I moved, so it was limited movement. I did it without any pain meds. Pain is different for everyone. I'm hoping it's just as easy this time too!

LIly436

Everything depends on your pain tolerance. I was induced and had about 11 hour of labor. Very painful. It took me 10 years to decide to have another child

skruhmin

PrimRoseMama said:

Thank you ladies does epidural make you feel drugged up in anyway or just numbed you?

Just numb. I did have the shakes pretty bad from it. I wasn't cold-- but just chattering like I was. Then again I had the shakes with my med-free labor too.

The shakes are the hormones - I had it with both no meds and meds. 

Kiek

I have a pretty low pain tolerance. For me I wasn't sure if I was having a terrible bout of food poisoning or if it was actually labor. I Had back labor so I really couldn't tell one contraction from the next. I was bent over in pain and pretty much hobbled between my couch and the toilet until I finally decided to go to the hospital. Then I bent over, hobbled into that place too lol. It lasted 27 hours altogether but in all honesty, it wasn't as terrible as id made it out to be in my head.

Unknown

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