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[quote=Pepita][quote=Anonymous]For my first, it felt like intense diarrhea cramps during transition, everything else just felt like period cramps. My cousin told me "embrace the sensations." to me it wasn't exactly pain. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but at the same time that it was painful, it was exhilarating. Like running when you're beyond exhausting, pushing through to the next milestone kind of thing. They don't call it labor for nothing. When / if the pain is excrutiating, change what you're doing. Get on your hands and knees, soak in a tub for a while, counterpressure for back labor, shake your hips. Don't push on your back or on your butt, try to be on hands and knees or squatting.

Good luck! I LOVED birth, I am looking forward to baby 2.

PS. I'm a total wimp in other areas of life / pain. [/quote]

This was my post and I wanted to add something to it:

I also think having a planned unmedicated birth is often (not always!) going to be less "painful" than unplanned. I do believe in a huge connection between fear and pain. But of course, while fear amplifies pain, I don't assume that the opposite is true and that being fearless vanquishes pain or guarantees a pain-free delivery. I just think that it can make the difference in perceiving something as an overwhelming, all-consuming, quasi-painful but totally exhilarating "sensation" vs "having your entrails ripped apart." I went into my first (and only) birth feeling very fearless, and the only time I second guessed the drug free part was during transition. And it was "okay, this seems like it's getting close to the maximum I can handle and if it's going to get a ton worse, I may need pain medication." But in fact, I was in transition, then I got a short break and my body did the reverse-vomit pushing thing, which made it really easy to get through that part. I had nothing to do with it and my body did all of the work. There's something to that, to being able to really let your body take over. I'm pretty far from "crunchy"  but I found it to be a transcendent experience. Like seriously, some dali-lama on a hilltop kind of stuff.

But, but, but, but, but, one experience is not universal. I have dozens of friends who prepared for drug-free births and not all of them, fearless or not, felt it was not painful per se, and some of them had to work very hard to stay on top of the sensations. So I'm not giving my story to suggest it is universal, but it is certainly one possible outcome that I hope you find reassuring. good luck! [/quote]

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