What were your biggest labor/delivery fears?

Bump Kaitlin · April 2010

Hey everyone,

I'm working on an article right now for the site on labor and delivery fears (much like last week's Top 10 Pregnancy Fears) and wanted to see if anyone wanted to share some of theirs? The article is going to feature ten quotes from real mamas, and then we'll weigh in (along with one of our experts) on how likely/valid they are. Hopefully it will help calm some fears that Bumpies who are pregnant now may be having:)

If you'd like to share some of yours (and wouldn't mind being quoted), just comment below with the fears you had during pregnancy and whether or not they ended up happening.

TIA!

Kaitlin

celiabwatson · April 2010

I was afraid of a long labor because I knew I could cope with anything for a short time but doubted my endurance. Luckily the whole thing was less than 12 hours start to finish. I was also afraid of throwing up while in labor since I'd been sick my whole pregnancy. That did happen but wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

BBachmann · April 2010

My biggest fears were that I'd end up being induced and then have a long drawn out labor and ultimately end up in a c-section, and then the baby would end up in the NICU for some reason. All my fears came true and it all turned out ok.

Mrs.BoomBoom · April 2010

I was afraid of a c-section, especially once I had to be induced. Luckily the induction worked and I had a vaginal delivery 13 hours after the pitocin was started.

sharonke4 · April 2010

I was afraid of a couple of things:

1) That I would go into labor and be in so much pain before being able to go to the hospital and get an epidural.

2) I ended up being induced so then I was afraid of the sudden intense pain and it not working and I would end up needing a c-section. Neither situation happened. The pitocin dosage was given graduall and the doc suggested I et my epidural before my contractions were painful. I dilated from 7cm to 10cm in 20 minutes. No pain & no c-section. Much easier than I anticipated!

lindsayll · April 2010

Tearing from stem to stern. Luckily it didn't happen. Nor did I poop on the table, which I wasn't scared of but was 100% convinced it was going to happen.

elizabe · April 2010

I didn't have a written birth plan and was delivering at a large hospital, so my biggest fear was that a doctor or nurse would give me an intervention I didn't want without asking. For example, I REALLY didn't want an episiotomy, but since that's pretty much a game-time decision by the OB on call, I didn't know how to bring it up in advance. (The contractions also weren't helping my reasoning skills).

Thankfully my labor was short and easy (5 hrs, 3 at the hospital, with 10 mins of pushing)...but I wonder how much control I would have had over my own labor if it had been longer.

rodgersonmumma · April 2010

Dying or complications during c-section was my biggest fear, like having a reaction to the spinal or bleeding too much.

Also, something going wrong with the baby, like a cord accident. It scared me to death to think of getting that far and then loosing the baby.

greeneyes9800 · April 2010

With DD#1 I had 18 hrs of pitocin induced hard- labor, with an epidural that didn't work at all, followed by a c-section. I wasn't going that route again, so we scheduled a c-section. Honestly, I was terrified that something would go wrong during surgery, and I would die, leaving DH and DD#1 without me. I delivered at an amazing hospital and the head of O.B. was my surgeon, so I knew I was in good hands. But I know that there are risks with any surgery and I was scared!

anabell0920 · April 2010

I was absolutely terrified of having to be induced or ending up with a c-section since your chances of a c-section go up with an induction. I wanted more than anything to go natural. Luckily I went into labor on my own and labored naturally for over 24 hours and my son was born with zero medications of any kind a mere 5 hours before my scheduled induction at exactly 41 weeks. Most amazing experience of my life.

rinny25 · April 2010

That I wouldn't be able to get the epidural. I did get the epidural but it wore off about 30min before I began pushing so I felt everything. Having that kind of pain wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, it was actually a relief because the end was near and I only needed tylenol during recovery. It was much easier then I expected!!

kkalina · April 2010

I was scared to death of the Epidural. When it came down to it, I didnt even feel a thing.

eortman · April 2010

My biggest fear was that I would need to be induced and that the epidural wouldn't work. Unfortunately, that is what happened. I finally went into labor on my own, nine days after my due date and the day before my scheduled induction. 24 hours after starting contractions every three minutes, they decided to start cervadil. I had cervadil for the next twelve hours, before they started the epidural and the pitocin. The epidural caused my blood pressure to drop, caused vomiting and made breathing extremely difficult so they cut it off and it wore off entirely before my delivery. My beautiful baby boy was finally born with a forceps delivery 40 hours after I started labor. It was a terribly painful and drawn out experience that I wouldn't recommend to anyone, but my wonderful son was worth it all. If I had known I would have to go med-free I would have refused the Pitocin and that's what I will do next time!

Mrs.Hagzz51306 · April 2010

honestly this was my second birth and i think i was scared all together because i knew what was in store for me labor,epi,recovery... but the biggest fear for me was the epi it was by far the worst part of my first birth (the pain of putting it in) and the same this second time around it was the most horrible part of my whole labor the labor even with pitocin was a BREEZE! it was the epi that hurt the most it took 6 times to try and get it in and everytime they kept hitting bone!!

SigmundsGirl · April 2010

I was scared of needing a c-section (which I didn't have) and worried about pooping on the table (which I didn't do).

Summer20 · April 2010

Ending up with an emergency C-section. I wasn't scared of a standard c-section, but I didn't want a situation where things had to happen so quickly that I was knocked out cold and DH couldn't be there... I would have hated to have us both miss DD's birth.

mystqjaq · April 2010

Wow, so it looks like I might be the only one who was MORE afraid of pooping in front of everyone than of having a C-section...(neither ended up happening).

I was also really, really scared that something would go wrong and the baby would die (childbirth seems like such a difficult, distressing experience for LOs). Once that thought occurred to me, nothing else seemed remotely scary.

salinaterri · April 2010

that I would poop while pushing...I ended up having a c-section
getting an episiotmy....had a c-section

After the c-section...I didn't want to take the bandage off 'cause I thought that was holding my internal organs in and if I took them off they would I would loose it. I learned it was not that way at all.

Dawley82 · April 2010

Okay my biggest fear sounds dumb compared to all of yours!! My biggest fear was pooping or farting while pushing. Sounds silly, but I was terrified of being humiliated like that! Thankfully neither happened. Smile

jenfurleigh · April 2010

Well, I was prepared for, but really bothered by the thought of pooping on the table. But they say "everyone" does it. Guess what??? I didn't!! I know for sure cause I saw everything with a mirror!

Tina562 · April 2010

rodgersonmumma:
Dying or complications during c-section was my biggest fear, like having a reaction to the spinal or bleeding too much.

Also, something going wrong with the baby, like a cord accident. It scared me to death to think of getting that far and then loosing the baby.

this. But in my delivery I had a vaginal birth and lost so much blood, so my fear was happening :-( I ended up needing a blood transfusion.

kimandjared · April 2010

My biggest fear was the epidural not working... and my fear came true!!

storybooklove · April 2010

I had 2 big fears:

1. Having an epidural. I wasn't afraid of the meds but the actual needle going into my back. I wanted to avoid it at all costs, but after 20hrs of back labor I decided to go ahead and do the epidural. Luckily I had the best dr. do it, he was very comforting and the epidural worked great.

2. Having to chose between having to save the life of our child or my own if something went wrong. DH and I talked about this a few months before the big day, and good thing we did. We agreed we would save me (If all things were equal) because we could have more children later in life. Luckily this did not need to be questioned and everything went smoothly, but it's something that needs to be talked about BEFORE needing to be decided on.

gwennec · April 2010

I was afraid of long, painful back labor and that after I started pushing for a few hours, it would turn out that the baby was too big to fit through the birth canal and I would need a c section. Unfortunately, almost all of my fears came true. I had a long, 20 hour labor that wasn't too painful until I got to the 3 hour pushing part and it also included horrible back labor. I was not prepared for that and wanted a c section, my dr did not agree with me and I delivered vaginally with an episiotomy and 2nd degree tear. I also was not ready for the pain afterwards from the stitching to the long healing process that took nearly 2 weeks to feel back to my old self and even now at almost 4 weeks, I am afraid to see what is going on down there.

DCnSF · April 2010

My biggest fear came true when I went into labor 10 days early, when every last second counted to finish our kitchen remodel (I know bad timing for a kitchen remodel right?), as well as labored too fast and couldn't get an epidural in time so ended up delivering sans epi. So not in the cards!!

However...after all was said and done, I was SO proud of myself for delivering epi free. Hardest thing I've done. Also all of our friends and family have really stepped up and helped us finish our remodel so baby Kylie and I can go home tomorrow to a completed house! We have our beautiful healthy baby girl, what more could you ask for!

x55centsxshortx · April 2010

I had preeclampsia so I was scared of everything. I was scared of a failed induction which I ended up with and then I was afraid of the c-section. I was afraid of something going wrong with the baby and it did. She had two true cord knots, incredibly rare I know but it happened. The knots were so pulled that she wasn't receiving anything and I came within minutes of having a different outcome. After everything I hated my birth story and I felt like a failed as a mom and a woman. Now, I look at my scar and I am so proud of it...proud that I did everything I could to get her here safely. In the end that's all that matters.

madisonlindy · April 2010

Mine was just the fear of the unknown. You hear thousands of labor stories and none of them are like your own. I didn't like not knowing what to expect, what it would feel like, and how I would react to it.

ABColeslaw · April 2010

1. Since I was being induced, ending up making no progress and needing a c-section.....luckily this didn't happen

2. Pooping on the table.....which happened.

3. Getting an episiotomy....which happened.

4. My baby coming out with the cord around his neck......which happened.

5. My epidural failing.....which happened...but I got another one.

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