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Natural Birth
vahlegirl
member
Most painful part of labor?
vahlegirl
member
This may be all dependent on the person, but if you're a second+ time mom, what part of labor did you find the most painful? When watching natural births on TV, it seems like some have more pain getting to 10 cms, and some have more pain with the pushing.
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Re: Most painful part of labor?
You will find some women on here that choose not to describe labor in terms of pain. Also...I dont really judge things by TV....it is after all, entertainment and a woman naturally giving birth to her baby calm and cool does not make for great entertainment. They choose the most dramatic parts and air them.
As for me, the most intense part came durin the "transition period" as most women will say. This is usually when you will say I can't do this anymore or you start doubting yourself. I did say at 9cm that I didn't think I could do this anymore.... but I never wanted pain meds at all...I just wanted my DH to know that this was tough work! Allowing my body to push itself was quite intense...but I never felt a ring of fire during crowning.
I agree with PP, try to not think of it as "most painful".
I am a FTM, but we learned in Bradley class that transition is usually the hardest part when you will be tired, doubt yourself and want to give up. But it only lasts like 20 minutes or so and then you get to push and meet your new baby!
It is important to have great support and encouragement from your coach and remember when you get to that point...it is almost done!
I don't mind saying that it hurt. It hurt a lot. 110% worth it, but yeah. my labor was painful.
I think transition (the last part of getting to 10cm) was nearly overwhelming. I definitely thought all the things they warn you that you might think: "I can't do this." etc. the contractions come and they don't let up and then they come again. It is incredibly intense.
Pushing was painful in a different way. But it was also a relief in a way because I was actually *doing* something and I knew that my son would be in my arms before too much longer. Pushing was also sort of scary at first because of how my body took over completely and basically started convulsing. I wasn't prepared for that, exactly and it frightened me a little. Definitely not something you learn on TV.
After all of that, feeling my little boy coming into the world was the absolute number one wihtout a doubt most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life. I can't wait to do it again.
I am an odd ball I think because I am a new mom, just had DD in March and I felt not pain till my water broke, and she was out 15 minutes later. I didn't have time to react, no time for epidural (not by choice but it worked out). Honestly, the worst pain was after baby was born and adrenaline started to die down and I had to get stitched up a bit (sorry TMI).
Moral of the story, it can happen so fast, you don't have time to think of the pain. One moment my water breaks, next thing I know, the baby is on my chest! What a whirlwind!
Agreed. Labor hurts quite a lot for some people, and I don't think there is anything wrong with talking about it. In fact, I think it's better to acknowledge that. Otherwise someone who thinks labor won't hurt may be caught off guard and think they are doing something wrong or aren't cut out for NB.
The most painful part for me was crowning, especially because my doctor had to help his shoulders a little.
as long as i was uy HypnoBirthing techniques, my labor was not painful. it was INCREDIBLY intense, yes, but not painful.
not even crowning and birthing. i felt the ring of fire. i remember shouting out "ring of fire, ring of fire," but it was more of an announcement than a declaration of pain. my labor was a bit of a sit-com that way!
there were two parts of the day that i remember as being painful.
1) i had a cervical lip and asked my midwife to hold it back through several surges so that it could move out of the way, as my body had shifted to birthing stage and my cervix wasn't quite ready yet. that hurt like a beeyotch!
2) i had a tear that required surgical glue (my MW doesn't do stitches) and caring for it PP sucked. going to the bathroom for a while was both scary and painful.
For my first, the most painful part was the IV they put in for the pitocin. Labor was more work than pain (and I did it drug-free too). The hardest part was needing to push for what seemed to be forever before they checked me and gave me the ok. For my second, I actually didn't transition - I stayed at 9 cm for 12 hours and then suddenly felt the urge to push. The most painful part was the catheter they put in after to stop PP hemorrhaging.
For me, labor is just that - it's work. Yes its painful, but you can control the pain by relaxing your body and letting it do its job. Please don't take any stock in what you see on tv. I have yet to see a delivery that didn't leave me shaking my head - its not really like that at all.
So glad someone asked this question because I plan on delivering naturally and have been wondering as well! Thanks for the great info everyone
https://www.ChroniclesOfABabyMama.Blogspot.com
Knowing that it's the last time you're going to do it.
Oh, you meant physical.....hmm, I can't really remember. I suppose the worst for me was when I had to lay on my back for a cervical check. That was by far most uncomfortable and painful part of the whole labor for me. Thankfully it only took mere moments. The rest was pretty easy.
In hindsight, learning to breastfeed correctly was waaaaaaay more painful (in multiple ways) than any part of labor. seriously.
But in terms of labor... stage 2 (transition? I guess...) was definitely very intense and painful. I had such an upbeat supportive team, though, that they really kept me focused and got me back on track. I labored at home a loong time (probably too long honestly) and I had a better time once I got to the hospital so maybeI'm just a lucky anomaly.
Yes, it's painful. But I'm actually looking forward to birth this time around because I know what to expect (within reason). It's truly amazing and I consider myself very very very lucky to have such a great experience birthing my DD.
For me, labor was tough, hard work, but really wouldn't call it painful. Crowning on the other hand - YOWZA! Definitely felt the ring of fire, and think I said a few times that I changed my mind and didn't want to push her out. She was born with her hand by her face, which certainly didn't help things!
I'll be interested to see how it goes this time, and since I'm doing a HB (in the hospital last time) I'm hoping for a water birth, and wonder if it will be less painful.
BTDT: I had normal labor that turned into back labor. The normal labor contractions were like intense menstrual cramps: Very manageable.
Back labor contractions were by far the absolute worst pain. I felt my vulva tear, and it was painful, but not nearly as bad as back labor pains.
If I had to decide between the pushing/tearing versus the regular contractions, I'd say crowning was the most painful part.
Pregnancy # 6
4 missed chances
2 loving children
1 on the way
With the birth of my first, transition was definitely the most painful part. I couldn't feel DS crowning because he sat in the birth canal long enough to numb that area completely. With my second, my labor was much shorter (4 hours compared to 16) and she came out so fast that I felt definitely her decending into my birth canal and crowning, and that was the most painful part.
Transition. All of a sudden everything seems so out of control and I panic. By the time I'm pushing, it seems to take on a life of it's own. I'm merely a by-stander.
I'm a FTM but my midwife said that one of the important things about planning a natural birth is to recognize that there will be pain and to expect it to be intense, but also to know that the pain will end at some point and chances are it will be over faster if there aren't any interventions.
I just had DD 8 months ago- but still post here! I think of labor in two ways:
1-The most discomfort I felt was during the later part of transition. It was right after my water broke and the contractions were SOOO incredibly intense. I wouldn't call it "pain" because to me, the word pain equals sharp pain. That came later...
2-Crowning was the most painful. It was burning/sharp pain. BUT it lasted for what felt like less than a minute. By then you're so focused and determined to see your LO and be done with labor, that you will almost withstand anything!
With DD, the most painful part was during transition. I went from 8-10cm in about 15 minutes when it took about 8 hours to get from 5-8cm. Pushing was hard but not painful, crowning hurt a bit but it was over in a second.
With DS pushing was more painful than anything else but he was posterior and had a lot of molding to do before he could come out. Crowning hurt a ton and it took much longer to get him out, even at that point because I had to hold back a bit to avoid tearing (which I did, yay).