Labor: How horrible was it?
MommaA117
member
3rd tri lurker here.
I've pretty much just tried to not think about delivery up until now. Or maybe the thought really just didn't stress me out. OB seems to think LO could be here within the next week or so. I find myself really nervous. Now it hits me that this baby has got to come out somehow. lol. I fully plan on getting an epidural. I've always thought I had on okay pain tolerance up until getting my cerclage stitch removed today with some embedding. I can't think of a time in my life that I've ever experienced true horrible pain. I've had two past surgeries and 13 stitches done. No broken bones or anything. Anways, to the point. I'm imagining the worst pain ever in the world to where I want to be put out of my mysery...
How horrible was that pain? If you had an epidural did it help a great deal?
TIA!...I'll be posting over here soon 
Re: Labor: How horrible was it?
Landon & Porter
1-10-07 & 5-11-11
are you looking for a sugar coated answer or the truth? lol
truth: it is the worst pain you'll go through in your life. Contractions are the most intense pain, pushing is incredibly painful. Keep in mind I had my DS without drugs *NEVER AGAIN!!
but.... it is true what PP says... once you see your baby it is all worth it
yep, I wanted the truth!
Oh and as far as the relaxing advice..after the cerclage removal pain today and freaking out through the first embedded stitch coming out I told myself I needed to go to a happy place and relax. It really did help a lot through the removal of the second stitch. DH even asked if the second one hurt less because it seemed like it. I know it's a shabby comparison to labor but it really motivates me to go research labor relaxation techniques some more..
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oh and I hope your experience this time is much better!
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thanks! I'll definitely be going with the epidural this time!
Truth: It was horrible... water broke at 9pm, got to hospital around 10 - walked around, no contractions - - - easy easy easy - - - started meds at midnight - visitors at that point (I should have slept) - 3am pain began and did it come fast - 4 am intense and wanted epi - got epi, life was great - tried to sleep but nurses in and out all the time - husband snoring (ugh get used to that when you feed baby at night) - 8 doc came in said we were about ready - 930 doc reentered and we began pushing - 1030 doc was putting me on emergency C list because baby not moving through birth canal very well - - - - I heard the word vacuum and screamed get it - - - mom crying, husbands head down not looking at me in pain - - - 6 pushes (meds way gone by now) with 6 vacuum attempts - baby born at 1040 - - - - baby given to NICU because of vacuum but doing great - - - finished pushing out other junk - - - 22 STITCHES and 12 weeks later still pain when I sit on my butt the wrong way - and still not approved to have sex.... ugh - O and did I mention I hemoraged that 1st night and had then entire medical team from my floor in my room, more ultrasounds, my doctor had to come back in - - - lots of blood or how my husband put it "it looked like a murder scene" but I would do all of it again!!!!
and YES get the epi, even if you want a natural birth you might just get it because it will taper off while your pushing (usually). But it was nice and rest was much needed.
I Bump from my phone 90% of the time, with a baby in my lap, so please excuse my bad format and poor spelling and/or punctuation.
I was induced, and had my water broken by a Dr. My contractions were pretty strong (maybe due to the pitocin?) My OB was very understanding, and she didn't make me wait for the epi.
I asked for the epi early. You have to sit still, and I didn't want to hit the point during delivery where I couldn't sit still or I was past the point of being able to receive an epi.
I ended up with an emergency c-section since E's cord was wrapped around his body twice. I think his blood pressure was dropping when I pushed, and the OB let me push for 2 hours before calling for a c-section. That's when we learned he had the cord wrapped around him.
I had a great anesthesiologist. She waited around until my epi worked, and then upped the dose when I could still "feel pain." They also gave me a button that I could push to temporarily up the dose.
I honestly don't remember too much about that day. I was alert during the c-section, but all the meds kept me from feeling pain. It was uncomfortable, though.
Everyone's experience is different. I trained for birth using self-hypnosis (Hypnobabies self study course, specifically), and I had a 4-hour labor and delivery, including 15-20 minutes of pushing, and only had a first-degree tear...with no pain medications until I had some Motrin after having my baby. I know that sounds braggy, and I'm not saying I wasn't lucky or that hypnosis took care of everything or that my baby's birth was pain-free (it wasn't), but it's not necessarily the case that birth is an unbelievably painful experience for everyone.
Anyway, try not to let yourself be afraid. I've never had a cerclage, but I would imagine cerclage-removal pain is different than labor pain, so I wouldn't use that as a baseline. It will be intense, but intensity is expected when your body is working another body out of it.
m/c 12/25/09 (5w5d) mm/c D&C 4/9/10 (11w1d) Take home baby 2/22/11
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Truth: For me, it really wasn't that bad for the most part.I had my LO on a Monday mornings. On Saturday, I woke up to contractions. They weren't bad. They felt like menstrual cramps. There was no pattern to them, so I didn't time them. On Sunday, they were 10 minutes apart all morning. I called L&D, and they said they tell women to wait until they're 3-5 minutes apart for an hour. DH and I went for several walks. My contractions picked up, but never were consistently 3-5 minutes apart. By Sunday night, they HURT and were anywhere from 3-8 minutes apart. I called L&D again because I was so uncomfortable. They again told me not to bother coming in. DH went to bed, and I stayed awake to time the contractions. At this point (midnight-ish), I was curled up on the floor in a ball. I woke up DH, and we went to L&D. They checked me and I was already dilated to 6cm. The nurse was like, "Oh wow, you should have come in earlier." I almost hit her in the face.
I was admitted quickly and got an epi. After the epi, I really didn't feel much of anything. I fell asleep for a little bit. When it was time to push, I couldn't tell when I was contracting, so they had to watch the monitors and tell me when to push. I had a small tear and didn't feel that, either. I had a really good anesthesiologist and I hope to goodness he is still working and happens to be on duty whenever I have another LO! Hahaha!
I went natural, and simply there is no way to prepare yourself for what the pain is like. Its horrendous. BUT you can prepare yourself in how you'll try to cope with it, whether with an epi, iv or relaxation. Personally, I was able to use relaxation breathing for maybe half of it (10 hour labor), the second half I just sat in the dark and whimpered my way through till it was over. Pushing was way harder than I thought; like making yourself run as fast as you can into a brick wall. BUT again, you get thru it and the SECOND your LO is out, the pain stops immediatly and the next three months (so far) will be the best most amazing of your life. For a week, you'll obsess about how awful labor was, retell the story over and over, by two weeks, you'll be saying 'it wasn't that bad', by three weeks, you'll be calling it 'manageable' and by four, you'll be ready to do it again:)
Women have babies on their own in fields all over the world. Thats what I kept telling myself; if they can squat out a baby and get back to their day, and your body is made to do this, than I could get through it too. Labor is really cool - its an experience you'll never totally understand till you go through it, and once you do, you'll see the world a little differently. Good luck!
I had a med-free birth this time. It hurt a lot, especially crowning, but then it was over and I had a baby in my arms.
My first was a Pit induction. That hurt way more than my natural labor, but I was fine once I got an epidural.
For me, the pressure was the worst because not even the epi took care of it. It was a little better when I was relaxed, so if you stay relaxed it will help.
Also, I truly think that the post partum recovery is worse than the birth. After you have your baby, it's done...but the pain after is worse because it goes on for days! Some advice: as soon as you pop that kid out, take stool softeners (and keep taking them) so that when you go to the bathroom it won't hurt as bad. Also, the longer you wait to go, the worse it will be. Trust me. I couldn't for 5 days...I wish I would have in the hospital before I went home.
In the end, you will get through it one way or another. A supportive labor coach and nurses make all the difference in the world.
It does hurt. I tried without the epi and I ended up needing it. I was using just a pain med through the IV, which numbed everything EXCEPT where I was having labor pains ha ha
It is wonderful once you have the epi, tho. I was able to chat up a storm with the interns once I had it when prior to the epi I couldnt even think about talking. When they let you walk around the hospital to help urge labor on DO IT! Once you're down it tends to get painful. Before that its just like bad period cramps (at least for me).
You really can't describe what it feels like, even after or during feeling it. I've tried and I really am glad that my brain doesnt remember the exact feeling. Besides, it's different for everyone. Yours can be a walk in the park :-}
Good luck!
I was in the minority where the epidural didn't seem to decrease my pain at all even for the contractions but I've heard from other people how amazing and great it was and how they felt very little so hopefully you will be in that category. The pain was insane but already it is hard to recall exactly how bad it was, I think my husband can remember it much more than me since I think your brain just blocks it out. When they finally pulled the baby out it was like the worlds biggest feeling of relief EVER and what is what I really remember best. Just remember that you will get thru it, you body knows what to do, it will be over and you'll have your baby in your arms, you just have to focus on the results not the process.
The bumpie formerly known as First Time in MI
Mine wasn't that bad, not nearly as bad as I thought. I had never been in the hospital before. I was only in active labor for 8.5 hours (first baby). I had pitocin and after about 4 hours, the contractions became unbearable and I got the epidural. I was fully dilated after another 4 hours, pushed for 30 minutes and that was it! Had a small tear. I was really nervous about the recovery. I kept up with the Motrin and was a bit sore and the bleeding is pretty gross, but all in all it wasn't that bad.
Edit: you may want to ask for the epidural before the contractions are unbearable. I didn't know that they'd make me get a bag of IV fluid before they could give it to me, which took a loooong 30 minutes!
I disagree with this statement. I haven't forgotten it. At this point in time I never want to go through it again. However, I will say that I am glad about the end result. My LO is awesome.
I think the thing that helped me the most was knowing that at some point, it would end. I didn't know when the end was, but I knew it was coming.
I didn't get my epidural until I was fully dilated:( the labor contractions were bearable at home...they really hurt but I could breathe through them. once I got to the hospital, I was 3-5 cm already and they started getting worse. The only way I got through pain was to close my eyes and breathe. forget that awesome jacuzzi in my room, labor ball,walk-in shower.... I wasn't moving for the life of me. when that contraction came, it knocked me to my knees. also squeeing things was enjoyable;) my husbands hands...the siderails of bed.
I got a dose of iv pain meds and finally got the epidural and it was like a light appeared in the room. I could finally look around and experience what was happening. I had really wanted it earlier but anesth. was tied up for a c/s. I wanted to sing after I got it and name the baby after the resident:)
I was terrified of the pain of birth in the days leading up to LO's dd but the actual birth wasn't as bad as I thought, I actually thought pushing was the most enjoyable part of the whole labor (I did have the help of an epi though). By the time it was time for me to push, the epi had worn off a little, as it should, and I could somewhat feel what was going on down there, minus a lot of the pain. I could feel the contractions again though, but pushing through them felt like a relief to me. But that's just me...
Now labor on the other hand, that was painful. In the beginning the contractions hurt but you just get through it. After they ruptured my membranes, that is when the contractions intensified and I was in serious pain. Soon after that I got 2 epi's, first one was administered incorrectly so they sent in an actual anesthesiologist and not a student like they did the first time (NEVER AGAIN). Once I got the epi, I felt a million times better. To me, it was totally worth it. I just don't have any tolerance for pain.
I was terrified of having my son...especially the few weeks before I deliever. He was my first ad i have to say I would do it again!
It was painful but not unbearable...until transition. I had an epidural and it did not work on the right hand side but finally they dosed me enough to where it would take.
Lastly...I only took the 600 mg of Motrin after delivery. I had a 2nd degree cut andit hurt most in the fist 72 -96 hours after delivery.
Honestly...it is true...you forget the pain. I kept telling myslef that there is a reason women do this...and in fact it's true! Good luck!
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My plan was to try med-free. That last until I was about 7-8cm. I can't describe the pain (because it's true what they say, once you're holding the baby you completely forget about the pain) but I do remember not being able to open my eyes. SO tells me that I snapped at people not to even touch me.
After the epi kicked in, it was like I was a totally different person. I was talking and being social with everyone. It was so good that my doc was cracking jokes and making me laugh, WHILE I WAS PUSHING!
I never held you, but I always loved you.
Baby Squirt- September 2009
Baby Turtle- May 2010
Baby Surprise- August 2011
Kaeti-Su: Your experience sounds very similar to mine. I also used Hypnobabies and had a quick and complication free delivery.
The pain isn't an "injury" pain, it's a productive pain. I would encourage anyone to work on their relaxation techniques- find what works for you- breathing, toning, a focal point. Also, having a positive attitude towards labor helps a lot. Don't be afraid, it's the most amazing thing you'll experience in your life...and YOU CAN DO IT!
Honestly, I didn't think it was that bad. I had no medication at all, and a third degree tear, and a OP (face up) baby in a sort of bad position to deliver - so I'm not just saying it because my experience was ideal.
People experience pain really differently. There were times when I was in a lot of pain, but I knew it would pass within a few seconds. To me, that was a lot more tolerable than the time I had a toothache. The constant, low-level pain was much worse than the intense but short lived pain of labour.
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Horrible isn't a word I associate with my labors - after all, it results in a pretty swell baby. Yup, it hurt (both were med free) but it was towards an end so that made the pain manageable.
And it's very true you forget how it feels as soon as baby is out ;-)
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I think a lot of it is about preparation and attitiude. That's not to say that your attitude will change the level of pain you do or do not experience, but try not to be afraid of it. Your body was made to labor and deliver your baby! Millions of women have done it before, and millions will do it after you.
It certainly wasn't pain-free, and since I was induced, the pitocin made the contractions come on faster and harder, but it wasn't unbearable. I asked for the epi after 11 hours when I was 6 cm dilated because baby wasn't dropping at all. Her official station was marked as a -4 lol!
As for the epidural, I had a very positive experience with it. It relaxed me and completely took away the pain.
Good luck!
I was going to be induced, but ended up going into labor about 5 hours before I was suppose to get to the hospital. The contractions were pretty bad, probably the worst pain I've ever experienced. I ended up having to get a c-section. Every time I pushed, LO's heart rate dropped to about 50 and was stressed. But the pain of the contractions didn't matter the moment I got to hold her.