Natural Birth

worried about crowning... do not read if staying away from "pain" stories

I was pretty phsyched about hypnobirthing.

But after hearing a few birth stories about the ring of fire feeling like being burnt with a hot frying pan... 

I am in need of some encouragement. I know I can breath through the contractions, even if they aren't pain-free, I have felt some and know I can handle it. Its the *birthing* part that is making me nervous, and the possibility of needing an episiotomy (luckily my hospital is pretty anti-cutting) and having to feel it. I guess that "frying pan" description really got to me... it seriously gave me the chills.

Encouragement would be greatly appreciated! TIA! 

 

Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml

Re: worried about crowning... do not read if staying away from "pain" stories

  • Forget the "needing an episiotomy" part. Its in fact better to tear than to be cut. Cutting cuts teh skin, muscle, and your vaginal barrel. Most tears are ONLY skin tears. Much easier to heal from. As far as crowning goes. It does NOT feel like being seared with a hot frying pan! Yes, it hurts. Yes, it burns. But its more similar to an "Indian burn" than a frying pan. And with me- it stretched, tingled, burned, then her head cut off circulationg to the area and there was some numbness. Thank you mother nature! Your body's MADE to birth this baby. Your body would not have made a baby your vagina couldnt handle. Pushing and the actual birth is the very best part of the whole thing for me! The whole time I had my hand there feeling my daughter be born. It makes it SOOOOO worth it. Dont be scared of the birth, just embrace it for what it is. :)
    Lilypie Breastfeeding tickers Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • You know, I think it's different for everyone.  Some people feel it and some people don't.  I wouldn't worry too much because you just don't know which way you'll be, but either way it's only temporary and you'll be so close to the end you'll be ok.

    Here was my natural birth experience--I had a long pushing stage (3+ hours), it turned out DD was mostly sunny-side up (posterior) so it too a lot of work to push her out. Toward the end the midwife said that she may want to do an episiotomy (I think DD's heart rate had been dropping some and the midwife wanted DD to come out soon).  This was in a practice where my midwife (different than the one who attended my delivery) told me that none of the midwives there did episiotomies anymore so I didn't even need to put anything about it on my birth plan.  I said "I'd really rather not--is there anything else we can do?"  I think they had me change positions or something.  Episiotomy averted.

    Once DD was finally coming out, I remember thinking "oh, that must be what they mean by the 'ring of fire.'  I get it."  And I thought of the story my doula had told me of the woman who started singing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" when she delivered.  But it was not that bad.  It was not an intense burning sensation, more like a very faintly mild one that I was like "oh, I could see it being called that I guess" and then it was done.

    I had a 2nd degree tear but neither felt it nor cared.  You are so numb down there from the pressure of the head that you really don't feel much--I don't think you'd feel an episiotomy either for the same reason.

    So that's my experience--I hope it helps.  I wouldn't let the "ring of fire" scare you too much.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • Loading the player...
  • By the time you hit the "ring of fire" it's too late to go back anyway.  Breathe, and take your time when you hit that point....it may feel like you want it done with, but then you are pushing the limits of your natural stretch and make tearing more likely.

    It's such a short moment in the birth experience, try to not worry about it too much.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • Just remember, however painful it may be for those brief moments, if it was soooooooo incredibly bad we'd never see women with more than one kid.

    In the moment, you'll know the ring of fire means the end is near and you'll be welcoming it! (well maybe not, but stay positive!)

  • I would not worry about it at all.  Contractions are a lot worse than the 'ring of fire'...at least in my opinion and by the time you are there it's almost over.
    image
    Wedding 6.18.04 Cole 11.20.06 Gavin 3.31.08 Parker 07.15.10 Logan 04.03.12
  • Try not to worry about it - it's different for everyone & for me it was painful but I wouldn't describe it like being burnt w/ a frying pan - that is scary sounding!

    With DS, once I got to that point I knew there was no going back, there was no time or opportunity for meds, and the only way it was going to get better was to push him out - it was good motivation & the minute he was born it was all gone and so 100% worth every second of discomfort.

    Also - if you tear you won't feel it (just ask to tear naturally over getting an episiotomy). I tore in two places w/ DS and didn't even know it - there is so much pressure down there that you don't know what's happening.

    Don't worry - you'll do great! Next time someone tries to tell you a scary birth story just tell them you'd rather not talk about it!

  • In my case the ring of "fire" wasn't bad at all. It hurt a little and I even tore but barely felt it. In Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, she recommends completely relaxing your mouth, jaw and throat while pushing (you can even "sing" low notes to help) rather than clenching and grimacing. The muscle tissue in your perineum will instantly become more flexible and stretchy and more able to slip over the baby's head and body without tearing. HTH!
    252855_10150214241312114_262494087113_7012916_3895481_n-2Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
    Lilypie Second Birthday tickersLilypie Fourth Birthday tickers BabyFruit Ticker Siggy check.
  • Ditto flowerchild on episiotomy vs. tearing. Tearing is better.

    My ring of fire only lasted a very brief time, and honestly, after contractions paired with everything else going on at that moment (pressure, etc) it's not as bad as you imagine it ahead of time.

    "Get your facts first. Then you can distort them as you please." ~ Mark Twain
  • imageNewzieMom:
    I would not worry about it at all.  Contractions are a lot worse than the 'ring of fire'...at least in my opinion and by the time you are there it's almost over.

    this.

    I've had three natural births and the ring of fire is not anything to stress about. It means you are almost done with all the hard work!

  • Well, the 'ring of fire' was one of the only things I 'felt' during dd's birth with an epi, so I was really worried about it when I was pregnant with ds and planned to go natural.  And then it just plain ol' didn't happen with ds.  I don't know if it was because I was able to experience all of labor or what, but it definitely didn't feel like a 'frying pan'.  Hugs mama, you're gonna do great!! HTH's!
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • Oh, it goes so fast, though, and you forget it almost instantly because within seconds, you're going to hear your baby cry for the first time. :-)

    The Ina May Gaskin tip above helped me a lot. And actually, if you are constipated from pregnancy, you can practice relaxing those muscles - to me it was a similar feeling. Try breathing/singing in really low tones and focusing on "opening" more than on "pushing".

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • I have had two natural births and never thought the crowning felt like "a hot frying pan", which is an awful description. In fact, I didn't really notice it with either birth. No matter what though, the baby will crown, and you will survive it! Just ask your midwife to help you take it slowly and get her to help stretch you out (warm compress, oil, gentle stretching, etc).
    Pregnancy Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • Nope- no frying pan feeling here!  I simply felt the ring of fire as someone stretching me out to my max.  I kept yelling at the MW to "stop touching me there."  It was when they told me that they weren't touching me that I realized that was the "ring of fire" I heard so much about and the end was near!!  I pushed past that feeling and out came a baby! 
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • oh for crying out loud who on earth told a pregnant lady that!

    No, it did not feet like being seared with a hot frying pan, good grief.

    Honestly, I labored in water which loosened everything up so while I did "feel" crowning, it felt more like pressure/stretching and not so much pain.

    If you can keep that area wet (ie shower/birth pool or compresses) everything  will stretch much more easily.

    ~Christina S~ EST: 9/27/08        *May 2015 Jan. Signature Challenge-
                                                     You had one job- Parents magazine
    image
                                                                                       
    image
    image
    image

    BFP-3/17/14 --M/C 4/25/14

  • Three drug free vaginal deliveries here... felt the ring of fire in my own way... did not feel anything remotely like a burning frying pan... for me- it was more like an out of body experience- transcending- a make it or break it moment... it does not last long... and feels GREAT afterward.- the whole thing- INTENSE- awesome intense. 
  • First, if you haven't already you should talk to your care provider about this. With my daughter I went natural until 8 cm then got the epidural, so the pushing was the only part I didn't feel. As a result, I was sort of obsessively worried about the same thing as you. I talked to my MW about it, and let her know of my fear, and just doing that helped me release some of the fear and helped her prepare to guide me in those moments.

    FWIW, my son was born in water with his hand by his face after a fast labor, and I didn't really feel the ring of fire at all. It burned for a second or two and it was no big deal at all. :)

  • I felt pain but my issue was I thought I was going to tear from one end to the other. Not so much because of the pain but the pulling sensation.

    Like pp said, discuss it with your midwife because I'd told my midwife and at that point she said to me, "you have to push through it" because I'd push so much and then pull back because I was scared of tearing.

    Yes it's sore, but it's such a short part of the process that it's really not an issue, to my mind. 

    image
    Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
    image


  • While it did hurt for me, it's only temporary. And the relief you feel as soon as that part is over is amazing. 
    DS May 12, 2009 DD September 7, 2011
  • Thank you!!

     

    I feel better about it now :)

     

    As far as episiotomy vs. tearing... my hospital is not keen on cutting, thank the lord!!  It is staffed with many nurse-midwives and few OB's, so barring any unforseen circumstances, I will be having a midwife attended birth, and they are all pretty comfortable with natural and hypnobirthing. I just have to forget about that stupid comment lol!

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • My advice is similar to others. I wouldn't worry about it. It's probably going to burn a little, but that part of the birth is so quick compared to the rest of it, AND you get your ultimate reward right after which takes a lot of the pain away. You can do this!

    ETA: It did NOT feel like being burnt with a frying pan to me.:)

    Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickersLilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
  • imageNewzieMom:
    I would not worry about it at all.  Contractions are a lot worse than the 'ring of fire'...at least in my opinion and by the time you are there it's almost over.

    This.   I thought transition was the worst part of labor.  For me, pushing wasn't bad at all and it was over so fast I don't remember ever feeling anything painful enough to call it a ring of fire.  I ended up with a first degree tear, no stitches, and never felt that either.

      I would try not to worry about it, it could make you tense up which is the exact opposite of what you want to do.  It probably won't be as bad as you're imagining.

    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    med-free birth x2, breastfeeding, baby wearing SAHM
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    My BFP Chart

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • imageNewzieMom:
    I would not worry about it at all.  Contractions are a lot worse than the 'ring of fire'...at least in my opinion and by the time you are there it's almost over.

    ditto. The contractions are MUCH more painful the pushing and the crowning.

This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"