How bad does it really hurt?

[Anonymous]

"vomiting can be a normal physiological part of labor--caused not by pain, but by hormones and muscle spasms."

I threw up during labor but I wasn't in all that much pain at the time. I just suddenly needed to vomit, and I did, and that was it. It apparently happens a lot--the L&D nurses were totally unfazed and had a vomit bag ready to hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had the debate of whether childbirth is only the worst pain you've ever experienced or the worst pain you can imagine. It hurt. A lot. But here's the thing--the really painful part didn't last that long. Contractions were uncomfortable, but not painful. Transition and pushing hurt, and the baby actually coming out hurt incredibly (they call it the "ring of fire" for a reason). But the painful part didn't last that long, and just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, it was over. And here's the other thing--when it's over, it's gone. As soon as the baby is out, the pain stops.

And the third thing--not all pain is suffering. The pain of pushing is productive--your body is making something happen. So it's pain, but without fear or other negative emotions, which makes it totally unlike the pain of getting sick or breaking a bone.

Your experience. In my case contractions and transition hurt like hell and pushing lasted over an hurt and was beyond painful.

[Anonymous]

It hurt less than open-heart surgery, I recovered faster from it than I did from that. But, I work out like a mofo on a regular basis. Remember that scene in Cocktail where Tom Cruise twisted his socks after tending bar and a bucket of sweat fell from them? That's the type of workouts I do, and I've done them for years before getting pregnant. My pain threshold is pretty high, although I'd never felt this type of pain or much pain at all in this part of my body. The endorphin rush after giving birth helped a LOT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who've delivered without any drugs, can you compare the pain of childbirth to some other pain you've experienced? For example, I once fell down stairs and sprained my ankle. How does that compare? Any other similar comparisons? I know it varies for each individual, but just looking for some idea of how bad it gets.

I've given birth twice, the first I had horrendous back labor and got the epi at 2 cm. With the second, I managed to get to 6cm and was still fairly comfortable when I got the epi. Would like to go drug-free for #3.

You are pushing something the size of a basketball out of an opening the size of a half-dollar. It hurts like hell! All of my children were about three weeks early and were around 5 lbs and I had no anesthetic. If the first one had been big, I don't know if I would have more. Get as much pain killer as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've had the debate of whether childbirth is only the worst pain you've ever experienced or the worst pain you can imagine. It hurt. A lot. But here's the thing--the really painful part didn't last that long. Contractions were uncomfortable, but not painful. Transition and pushing hurt, and the baby actually coming out hurt incredibly (they call it the "ring of fire" for a reason). But the painful part didn't last that long, and just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, it was over. And here's the other thing--when it's over, it's gone. As soon as the baby is out, the pain stops.

And the third thing--not all pain is suffering. The pain of pushing is productive--your body is making something happen. So it's pain, but without fear or other negative emotions, which makes it totally unlike the pain of getting sick or breaking a bone.

Your experience. In my case contractions and transition hurt like hell and pushing lasted over an hurt and was beyond painful.

+1. In my experience, labor was hellishly long (48 hours from timeable contractions to baby) and much of it excruciating. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I was at 7cm, nowhere near ready to push. Midwife recommended an epi and it was the right call.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure some people in labor throw up from being in labor and not from the pain, but for me it was definitely from the pain. I also occasionally have periods where I throw up from the pain of cramping in the first 12 hours or so. If I don't take some ibuprofen at the first sign of AF I could be in the bathroom puking within hours. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does it sucks.

The bad part about this being during labor is that I had not actually eaten anything in a long time so what I was throwing up was bile and maybe a bit of water. The taste was awful and drinking water only made me puke more. The only thing that helped was the epi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a different perspective, I felt much better after I vomited for the pain. I've learned with migraines not to fight the urge to vomit, and the pain subsides for a period of time after.

For those of you who felt like you were being ripped in half, was that from contractions or the pushing/birth?

From contractions, for me.

I vomited between every contraction for the last few hours and understood this was because of hormones not the pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it to be similar to a really bad case of food poisoning involving bad stomach cramps and diarrhea -- similar pain level / sensation, but more intense.

And it comes in waves (that "vision" helped me get through it). "Waves" that last like 60 very long seconds.
The pushing part feels like you are pooping (and some women really do) but the poop feels like a bowling ball passing through you...on top of the wave of intense food-poisoning contractions.

Oh yes, and than there is the ring of fire. No explanation needed.

But somehow we "forget" all this and moms continue to have more than 1 child.

I have always described it as giving birth to a bowling ball that was on fire. I have never heard the "ring of fire" explanation. I would concur. I did not choose a non-epidural birth. It happened so fast no time for an epidural.

The pain was beyond belief - thankfully I gave birth 15 minutes from hitting the hospital bed.

I would neve have chosen that path.

I had 2 other non-eventful births that were glorious. (epidural and all)

I had two natural births. Both big babies. The second was the largest baby my doctor had ever delivered vaginally (and with that his head was proportionally larger than his weight). I did NOT feel the ring of fire and I did NOT tear. Not to say that the birth wasn't painful, but that part was not difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Natural labor with normal-small sized baby, not bad at all.

Natural labor with 9 lb 2 oz baby? Wow! Incredibly painful.

Back labor with average sized baby? The worst pain I have ever experienced in my life, and I have a high threshold. Got the epi for that one.

9lb 2oz sounds pretty normal sized to me after delivering a 12lb baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a natural drug free birth but I was 34. Now I am 41 and OB thinks may have need a c-section. If I have an epidural for pain management, will I need another one if a c-section is needed? How soon before it wears off? Thanks to any insights.

Does she think you'll need a c- section because of age only or for a medical reason!

I'll be having my third at 41 and plan for it to be my third without an epi.

Just age

Get a new OB. there is no reason that you shoudl automatically have a c-section because you are 41. none at all. Or ask your OB to provide you the peer reviewed evidence that this is necessary and does not introduce unnecessary risk to your baby.

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of a c-section just for age. That's bizarre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found it to be similar to a really bad case of food poisoning involving bad stomach cramps and diarrhea -- similar pain level / sensation, but more intense.

And it comes in waves (that "vision" helped me get through it). "Waves" that last like 60 very long seconds.
The pushing part feels like you are pooping (and some women really do) but the poop feels like a bowling ball passing through you...on top of the wave of intense food-poisoning contractions.

Oh yes, and than there is the ring of fire. No explanation needed.

But somehow we "forget" all this and moms continue to have more than 1 child.

I have always described it as giving birth to a bowling ball that was on fire. I have never heard the "ring of fire" explanation. I would concur. I did not choose a non-epidural birth. It happened so fast no time for an epidural.

The pain was beyond belief - thankfully I gave birth 15 minutes from hitting the hospital bed.

I would neve have chosen that path.

I had 2 other non-eventful births that were glorious. (epidural and all)

I had two natural births. Both big babies. The second was the largest baby my doctor had ever delivered vaginally (and with that his head was proportionally larger than his weight). I did NOT feel the ring of fire and I did NOT tear. Not to say that the birth wasn't painful, but that part was not difficult.

+1
My second baby was much bigger than my first (by almost 4 pounds) and it was a smoother pushing phase by far. 10lb+ baby, pushed for about 20 minutes, no tearing at all. It's all about your anatomy and how baby is positioned. Size is just one factor among many different variables.

[Anonymous]

My first labor was 17 hours. I got an epi 10 hours in and do not regret it. Back labor is brutal. The pressure that I felt in the last minutes of pushing (2.5 hours) was insane and made me fear having another baby. That said, I felt that labor was nothing compared to a migraine with aura. with #2 I was having contractions for several days that debt like menstrual cramps. At 1 cm and 41 weeks I was given pitocin. It was the LONGEST hour of my life. Unlike labor #1, I was crying by the time I was able to get an epi. After the pitocin was stopped and the epi was in, my baby was born 2 hours later. It only took 15 of pushing and I didn't have any horrible pressure.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is different. Pushing has never been painful for me and I tear a little.

[Anonymous]

This all sounds totally miserable and solidifies the fact that I want an epidural. No desire to feel that much pain or be that sick.