Terrified of Labor and Delivery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that being in labor is totally different from thinking about being in labor or watching a video. You just have to be present and get through it and you do.

This person explained it about as well as anyone ever could. Once you are in labor, you won't have time to really think about it. You will be so busy and working very hard! And, of course, the reward at the end makes it all worthwhile. I am one of those people who actually enjoyed giving birth and look forward to doing it again sometime in the future.

Best of luck to you and please let us know how it goes!

[Anonymous]

These are such nice posts. I am actually (oddly) NOT afraid of labor and delivery. But I always WAS, up until I actually got pregnant. (Go figure!). I think I will probably become apprehensive as the final week approaches, but not terribly so. I've really educated myself well, prepared my DH on how I think I'll need to be supported (35 hours of backrubbing, please, and silence unless I ask for chatter! LOL) and in any case, it's going to happen whether I'm afraid or not, and unbelievably, I've convinced myself not to be afraid. That said, I've read the books, I've done the research, but I have NOT gone to any childbirth classes nor have I watched a single video. Why? Because childbirth, from what everyone says, is very individual. I do not want to watch some other woman writhing in pain becuase I do not have any idea whether or not she has taken steps to manage her pain (medical or natural). And I don't know what her body is like -- but I do know it's not mine. So if my birth hurts like the worst pain ever, so be it. I'll get through to the other side.

OP, I hope you find some inner peace soon. On the upside, so many of my friends were terrified to death of labor and delivery and their L & D was way easier than they'd built it up to be. Hope that happens for you. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I just did a birth with no drugs at all. It was very painful at times, but it is/was truly "pain with a purpose," and it was manageable. I knew that and got through it, with a doula helping me stay focused (could not have done it without a doula).

Once you get through the post-partum stuff (getting the placenta out, and for me, some minor stitching), and hold that baby, it is so worth it.

Honestly, it was more intense than I anticipated (again, I had no drugs), but it was still SOOO worth it, and I wouldn't do anything differently. However you do it, giving birth to a child is so empowering, and holding that baby in the days and weeks afterwards is so amazing!

Nothing we say can really get you comfortable, but trust that once you're in the moment, you'll be fine. You're a woman - this is what your body is designed to do. Good luck.