Labour anxiety

amymead23 · February 2015

I am starting to become really nervous of the Labour and the pain. I am scared I won't be able to handle it and pass out. I try to reach out to other women who have delivered but they just seem to scare me more lol

How is everyone else feeling?

DabriaVan · February 2015

My biggest fear is that I won't get there in time for an epidural being this is my second. However, as long as I have the epidural, I'm pretty chill about the idea of doing it again. Love me a good epidural :x

chrissyR78 · February 2015

It's normal to be scared, but I promise you will be just fine. I was scared to death the first time around, but it wasn't bad at all. Are you planning on getting an epidural?

amymead23 · February 2015

Thanks ladies! Yes for sure want an epidural. I guess the unknown of what the pain feels like scares me more then anything. And as i said most women scare the pants off of me about labour. The reponse is usually, "OMG, worst pain of your life, you want to die but you will forget!" Are you kidding me lol, that sounds unbearable. I am sure once I am there I'll be worried if baby is okay before me but the anxiety before it all is stressing me out!

chrissyR78 · February 2015

I had a kidney stone that caused me way more pain than labor.

JuliaLovesPugs · February 2015

Yes, I'm also kind of afraid. At the same time it's one of those things that you really can't fail at because one way or another these babies are coming out of us. All you really have to do is endure and in that you have no choice. The only comfort I can give you is that it won't last that long. Also, it's been done seven billion times in the last 100 years or so. That tells me that it is bearable, especially when you consider that some women do it without pain meds and in much harder conditions than most of us are likely to face.

JoeMama89 · February 2015

You're going to do awesome and remember that you ARE a woman. You have the strength to bare a child. We're special creations by God, men could NEVER do what we do.

topaz7777 · February 2015

I was worried about this with my first also. Fortunately contractions though quite uncomfortable for me started small and got progressively worse. I stuck it out for a few hours before getting the epidural. It was definitely painful for me before that, but it's brief. For me the trouble was the frequency and not really being able to recover between contractions. Though after the epidural I could have taken a nap.

angelfish628 · February 2015

I'm nervous too but I plan on getting an epidural and I'm trying to hope for the best! Try not to think about it too much and definitely stop asking other women about their experiences because everyone and every situation is different. You'll just end up scaring yourself even more. I'm also staying away from the videos!

keifekm · February 2015

I was nervous with my first too but like others have mentioned the pain is so temporary and the excitement to meet baby overcomes a lot of it.

Unfortunately this time around I will be a repeat c section. So although I won't feel typical labor pains the c section recovery has me really nervous.

Good luck momma! You can do it!

taramanter · February 2015

I didn't think it was nearly as bad as everyone said. Obviously everyone has different pain tolerance though. My contractions felt like a real bad stomach ache but nothing I couldn't handle and after some hours I got my epidural and it was more like pressure and exhausting while pushing but not really pain.

khan08 · February 2015

I was a little nervous withy first but when the time came, everything seemed to happen on its own. My anxiety went down and I kept telling myself that I was going to be holding my little boy soon. That kept me going. You all will be ok. God wouldn't give us this challenge unless he knew we could do it!

miracle4x · February 2015

Sorry, I can't sugarcoat it. I've had three babies with no epidurals, and yes, it's probably the worst pain you'll ever experience. But it's beautiful and amazing. I loved being able to feel my babies coming out, as weird as that may sound. You can do it! Especially with an epidural.

houser1406 · February 2015

I'm terrified too! Just not knowing what to expect is what's really gotten me nervous. These responses really helped me feel less anxious about delivering, though. Thanks ladies!

pistachio&blush · February 2015

I am also terrified.... Terrified of the pain, unplanned c-section, tearing, needing to be cut, the epidural or some unforeseen complication that someone hasn't mentioned yet.

I am afraid of the recovery too.

I am also anxious about taking care of an infant. My husband is only taking off 3-5 days from work for his paternity leave. I have so much anxiety about taking care of an infant during the day alone because I have zero experience in this area.

I am scheduled to take every class available at the hospital so I am hoping that helps ease my fears.

kjuryfl · February 2015

I am also anxious about my delivery and this is my second baby. My epidural failed when I had my daughter and I was not prepared for that. The pain and discomfort instantly melts away the second you meet your baby though! The delivery after care is what I am least looking forward to. Thankfully this time I will have supplies ready to go.

SnottaHugeIssue · February 2015

JoeMama89 said:

You're going to do awesome and remember that you ARE a woman. You have the strength to bare a child. We're special creations by God, men could NEVER do what we do.

Yeah, and remember that when you're in the midst of the most pain in your life, God hasn't abandoned you, he's carrying you.

J/K he doesn't exist!

Good luck, labor sucks.

JuliaLovesPugs · February 2015

One thing my doctor told me about the epidural is that sometimes you have to really press the anesthesiologist to get it right. If they mess up, insist that they do it again (assuming it's medically advisable).

What scares me more than actual labor is being too tired to care for baby afterward. I can see myself just wanting to sleep and hide away afterwards, but I'll be really disappointed in myself if I can't overcome that instinct.

topaz7777 · February 2015

@pistachio&blush Babies start out with little needs, eat, burp, sleep, change diapers. They sleep a lot the first few days. It gives you a chance to learn how to deal with them gradually. They get more complicated as the days go by.

@JuliaLovesPugs I had to send DD to the nursery the first night because I was in labor 28 hours, but I was still awake every 2 hours waiting for them to bring her in to nurse. Having that new baby is so exciting that all you really want to do is stare at them. Sleep? nah, I'll just stare at you another 4 hours.

DabriaVan · February 2015

rachellewaiting said:

kjuryfl said:
I am also anxious about my delivery and this is my second baby. My epidural failed when I had my daughter and I was not prepared for that. The pain and discomfort instantly melts away the second you meet your baby though! The delivery after care is what I am least looking forward to. Thankfully this time I will have supplies ready to go.
Very good point about the after care. No one talks about it much and I found the aftermath far worse than labor. I had a pretty bad tear from delivering vaginally; it took 6-8 weeks before the pain and bleeding completely stopped. I'm not trying to scare anyone but I would have appreciated someone telling me stuff like this can happen because I had no idea. But we are all strong women so no need to worry!

Imagine if men had to deliver babies?? Yikes!

Touché! No one ever really talks about the after care and that's what made me break down after coming home...not my son. Stoke up on the "ice pack pads" at the hospital. They are a life saver. Plan ahead for being uncomfortable. I feel like after the first week, the worst of the pain/uncomfortableness was over. The next few weeks were uncomfortable but completely tolerable without the pain meds.

DabriaVan · February 2015

Stoke = stock btw...words are hard

tiffany1884 · February 2015

Very neevouse

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