giving birth

[stylinsam]

how painful is giving birth and what do the symptons feel like i hav'nt any children but would like them in the future and just wondering what does the pain actually feel like i no that it is very painful but cant quite understand.

im just curious cheersxx

[rosieo]

I have two babies. With the first I was in labour for 39 hours, I had no pain relief and was in complete agony. I was rushed by ambulance from Telford hospital to Shrewsbury hospital where I was given an episiotomy and eventually gave birth to a lovely little girl. With the second baby I was in labour for ten hours. I was given an epidural which did not work on me (apparently this is fairly common) and gave birth to my lovely little boy. The labour pains are horrendous. I found it a relief though when the time came for me to push!!! All that said, there is only an 18 month age gap between my children so it can't have been that bad, can it?:-)

[dumb]

The whole time I was pregnant, the only part of the labour that scared me was the thought of the actual process of pushing the baby out. Though my mum said that's not actually the sore part. but as I said (in my last post) after 30 odd hours they finally gave me a C-Section (thank God!) my son was 9 pounds 71/2 and when I heard that I was sooo relieved that I hadn't had to push him out lol. But for those of you who did deliver naturally, is that the sorest time? what does it actually fel like as your baby comes out of you? (sorry for asking a question on your thread stylinsam )

[dirtyharriet]

Have had 4 kids and had to be induced with all of them as I can't seem to go into labour on my own. My first labour was horribly painful I think because I didn't really know what to expect.I carried my son posterior position which meant his back was against mine, apparently this causes more pain than usual. I was put on a drip and given Pethidine which made me feel drunk and sick.

My second labour didn't seem so bad as I had more idea of what was happening, although the nurses were very unsympathetic about the "Prostyn Pain" (a gel inserted into the cervix to ripen the womb) I was having and only offered paracetamol until they decided to break my waters the next morning. I was put on a drip after. Then they still only gave me Pethidine for the pain..
My 3rd was brilliant as I had an epidural and didn't feel a thing.

My 4th was probably the most annoying. I was shoved into an ordinary pre natal ward after I was started off with Prostyn gel in the cervix. I had really bad contractions for hours, but whenever I asked for pain relief was told I wasn't in labour. My waters broke but apparently I still wasn't in labour . They made me walk down the stairs with me holding on to my partner in great pain and having 2 contractions on the stairs. When I reached the bottom I yelled that the baby was coming and 5 mins later out he popped. I think I may have been in labour after all.
For me pushing out the baby is the best part. It doesn't hurt nearly so much as the contractions and you know you will soon have the baby in your arms and it is nearly all over. The euphoria you get after your baby has been born is indescribable.
I have to admit I don't understand the concept of natural birth and how great it is. There is nothing great about being in agony, you wouldn't want a natural appendectomy would you?

[rosieo]

Hello dumb. The actual feeling of pushing the baby out is very strange. Like your mum said, it doesn't hurt! My midwife told me that it would feel like burning. It didn't, it just felt like shear relief. When the head is born and the body is on it's way out you just feel elated. It is definitely not a bad experience.x

[Dudee]

still doesnt put your mind at rest does it! I am absolutely terrified of the whole pregnancy thing - really can't see how it is such an amazing experience, and if it's so natural how comes you hear all the splitting and cutting nightmare stories. Yeah it's true you hear all sorts of stories good and bad - but please I can't see how a baby is coming out of there - not without immense pain and definitely lots of screaming - I am so getting to choose the name after that!