ChildBirth..Seriously how painful is it?

United States
September 26, 2006 4:41pm CST
We are curently trying to have a baby and the thing I keep thinking about how painful the birth will be. Tell me the truth how painful was it?
6 people like this
46 responses
@DeenaD (2684)
• United States
29 Sep 06
It's the contractions that are the really painful thing. The actual "pushing" phase is more scary than painful. Many women get epidurals for pain relief. I've given birth both with and without pain relief. My experience: an epidural is wonderful for pain relief, but it interferes a little bit when it comes to pushing, as the natural urge to push (when, where, how to push) is not as strong and this phase of childbirth can take longer. But you will definitely be more comfortable with an epidural.
2 people like this
@Lillith (774)
• United States
26 Sep 06
I was just like you when I was pregnant the first time. I worried and stressed over what that labor pain would really be like. My husband and I attended childbirth classes and I learned the breathing techniques. I highly recommend this because I have used those breathing techniques for other things besides childbirth. It is different for every woman, but I found that while it WAS painful to a degree, there were so many things going on around me when the pain got to that point, that it wasn't what I was focused on. You will do fine though. Lillith :)
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Dec 06
Its not that bad! I labored for 13 hrs. and had aC-Section
@hppygrrrl (419)
• United States
26 Sep 06
For me, it was more uncomfortable than anything. I did get an epideral so that helped the pain so much! When I was pregnant I made up my mind that I was not going to stress out about the labor pains, because there was nothing I could do about it. The kid had to come out! haha It is so different for every woman though...
• India
30 Oct 06
I got me scared.
1 person likes this
@vicele (328)
• Kenya
31 Oct 06
child birth? yes it's painfull,but not as painfull as a c-section.you see the good thing with going into labour and giving birth is that as soon as the baby is out you forget of how painfull the process is/was,with a c-section.....you'll have to be in pain for the next four weeks or so plus you'll end up having an ugly scar for it. But as you excersice frequently before birth,you might have a short time for labour and an easier child birth,but I can tell you one thing with all the pain it's worth it,you will be scared but if you think of the little one believe you me i dont know where you'll get all the stregnth to push.Plus in some way,later on you will be glad you did it the natural way.Wishing you luck.
1 person likes this
• United States
31 Oct 06
well everyone endures pain differently and no matter if you are in labor for minutes or hours or even days and as painfull as it seems at the time its worth it to enjoy a life time of pleasure with your own flesh and blood... just know that all that pain and wanting to kill the dr. or your husband the pain disappears once the baby is born
1 person likes this
@ichurn (611)
• Philippines
31 Oct 06
They said it is very painful that is why I don't want to give birth.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
30 Sep 06
I don't remember it being too bad. I was induced but had started going into labor on that day. I thought I was having really bad gas. For me the worst part was when the nurse broke my water and it took a 1/2 hr for the anesthesiologist to get there.
1 person likes this
• United States
26 Sep 06
My first baby I was in labor for 9 hours. It was sooo painful. Something I will never forget! After 9 hours of pain and pushing I had a c-section. When I woke up.....OMG! the pain from that was so bad! I wish I could have just pushed him out!
@MellieC (783)
• United States
30 Sep 06
for me i was a week overdue and by that time i was like get him out! lol. the contractions were uncomfortable but tolerable but when they gave me the pitocin THAT was when they got bad! i wasn't dialating properly so they pumped me full of that! i would try my best (if you can avoid it) to NOT get the pitocin. it causes the contractions to get much more intense!
1 person likes this
@DRoddy77 (1776)
• United States
29 Sep 06
I have never had the experience of pushing out a baby, but I have had 2 c-sections. Everyone's birth experience is different and every woman responds to pain in a different way. Some people just have a better pain tolerance than others. With my first c-section, my son was sideways and literally "stuck" in my ribs. I remember hearing the doctor saying, "I'm trying to reach a limb!" and my husband said the doctor had his arm up to his elbo inside of my stomach trying to reach him! The nurses were pushing on the outside of my stomach and the doctor was reaching inside trying to grab ahold of him. It felt like I was being trampled on by an elephant! I was soo sore afterwards. It brought me to tears just to roll over to get out of bed! I was in pain for a long time afterwards, too and had a longer recovery because I was "bruised" on the inside from all of the pushing and pulling. It was a couple of months before I could sleep in any other position besides my back because it hurt so bad to roll over. My second c-section was with my twins, and I also had a tubal ligation done at the same time. This time it was a different kind of pain. I was free to move around in bed and get up out of bed, but to bend over was excruciating, however I recovered very quickly. I am a bit disappointed that I will never be able to experience natural child birth (pushing out with NO epidural!), but Im not having any more babies!
1 person likes this
@claudia413 (4280)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Take a good childbirth class (I didn't have that option 44 years ago). Remember that every woman handles it differently. I was in labor for 15 hours with my daughter and only 6 hours with my son. When my kids were born, I was only offered natural birth or a c-section (if needed); so both my children were born naturally...no epidurals around back then. I was up and around in no time. A friend of mine had her son 15 minutes after she left our house with minor back pain. We had been playing cards for several hours and she was due, so her husband drove her to the hospital just to be checked out. I couldn't believe how lucky she was when he called and said they had a son so fast. I was very uninformed when my kids were born; and I honestly believe the more you learn, the easier it will be on you. Fear of the unknown is the worst thing, so get informed. Good luck and, believe me, it's all worth it.
• United States
27 Dec 06
its true everyone is different..i know some women that had it soo great.,some didnt feel much at all..and then there were other like me that have horrible stories..everything went wrong that could have with me, when i got my epideral it was wonderful! when it worked! lol..my son got stuck, they had to do a C section and when they put a line in me and started to pump in the meds, it came out and even though i told them that they diodnt listen, soo i felt everything from the doc cutting my stocmach to ripping Sky out of my tummya nd my insides that came out.,.everything! it was HORRRIBLE!! and in the end they relized what happened..but al the way till that point..i was ok..it was more annoying and crampy liek when you get your period,times about 50 or so..
@LadyElektra (1078)
• Canada
23 Oct 06
i think a toothache is worst
• United States
26 Oct 06
Toothaches are terrible!
@birthlady (5609)
• United States
25 Oct 06
I agree, a toothache is worse! A toothache doesn't let up, where labor builds over time. Besides, with a toothache, something is wrong. With labor, you're birthing your baby.
@lstoops (12)
• United States
9 Jan 07
I just had a baby 6wks ago so it's pretty fresh still. It is very painful. I had back labor with my first but this time around I had regular contractions. Both ways hurt! I think I have a pretty good pain tolerance. But, I just couldn't hang. I had to get an epidural. I got to the hospital at 7cm so I was right there but I chickened out! Oh, well.
@meetsammy (578)
• India
30 Oct 06
well i dunno exactly but ya measured on a richter scale the amount is pain measures more than the most disastrous earthquake also...
• United States
26 Oct 06
My water broke before i started having contractions, so i had to go to the hospital. They had to induce me, which caused me to have contractions very often!! Wasnt too bad at first. They get worse, some people have back labor some dont. I was lucky to not have it, however i had a pain in my leg every time i had a bad contraction. So they finally gave me something called Nubien, then once i dilated to 5 (which was pretty fast after i was induced) They gave me the epidural, i didnt feel a thing after that, except for pressure when it was time to push. After you have the baby, the pain goes away, besides some minor discomfort, and you actually forget what pain you were in a little bit ago. All you can think about is this wonderful little baby you brought into the world with your husband. If i could give you one piece of advice, get the epidural, most women dont feel anything when they get it. good luck to you and your husband!! =)
• United States
30 Oct 06
I'm not going to lie, it does hurt, but I think it's the unknown that is the scariest thing. YOu don't what it's going to feel like or how your body will react. I felt much better the second time around! But, it is a scary thing. Don't worry sweetie, you'll be fine! Don't let that frighten you away from doing it. Motherhood is the best thing EVER!!!!
• United States
26 Oct 06
Honestly it is painful but as soon as you hold your baby you forget how painful it was. You remember it being painful, but you don't remember how much it hurt. My recommendation if you're worried about pain would be to get the epidural. I wasn't going to get it but started experiencing back labor and couldn't stay focused. The epidural was wonderful.
@starr4all (2863)
26 Oct 06
Lets see... My first pregnancy I wanted to go natural. Lets just say that didn't last long. I went into the hospital at 4am and had my son at 4:19pm. I'd gotten an epideral, but towards the end it started wearing off and they wouldn't give me more. My second pregnancy I went in at 9:30pm and had my son at 7:04am. Again the epideral started wearing off but this time they gave me more and I couldn't feel a thing. The nurses had to help me push cause I was so numb.
• United States
27 Oct 06
To be honest.....it was cake. I had an epidural and all, but I slept through the whole thing. They broke my water when I was dialated to 7, I went back to sleep and pushed for about 20 minutes and there was my beautiful baby boy. And my son wieghed over 9 lbs at birth. Dont stress about it, that will only make it worse :)