Honestly, how bad is labor and delivery pain wise???

dragenfli791 · 05-18-2008, 11:49 AM

I am getting nervous about it. I like everyone else do not like pain. I am horrified that I will pass out during or right afterwards. I do not know why I am so scared of that, but I am. I read that your blood pressure can drop and you can have bad headaches with the epidural, so just because of that I am scared to get one. I want to be able to hold the baby right afterwards, not lay there with a migraine and passed out. How often does that happen?

What about the pain? How bad is it? I guess new mommy fears are going full force! I tend to get panic attacks easily, so this is not helping. I am worried about getting those during the process too.

Haha! Panicking about getting panic attacks during delivery. What a baby!

rainyangl · 05-18-2008, 12:43 PM

The thing about asking questions like this is that everyone's answer will be different. For me, I had an epidural during an induction and never felt the bad contractions. It wasn't until I was fully dilated that I felt really intense pressure. My epidural worked in my tummy but wore off in my vagina so I felt pain and pressure there but pushing was like a relief. It still hurt but pushing made it hurt less. Even without pushing though, it wasn't THAT bad. Let me tell you, kidney stones and gall bladder attacks hurt FAR FAR worse than what I felt giving birth. I didn't have an episotimy and I didn't tear so I'm sure that helped pain-wise too.

emmalie2003 · 05-18-2008, 01:28 PM

I didn't have my epidural until it should have been too late (I was already 10cm) and I like you was scared out of my mind. Another lady down the hall was screaming her head off so I thought that was what I had to look forward to and it was going to keep getting worse until I was like her. I thought I had a low tolerance for pain. It was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. What I found really helped me was that I sat on a birthing ball, ( just an exercise ball really) which helped a lot with the pain and I watched the monitor as the contractions went up and down. This helped me focus on what I was doing and helped me cope because I knew when the contractions started, when they peaked and when they were coming down. I felt like I was more in control of the situation being able to do that and then rest between contractions and know when another one was coming instead of just gritting my teeth and not knowing what was happening. My nurses were stunned and told me to come back and have a baby with them anytime, lol. Probably because of the screamer down the hall. That being said, every labour is different and every person handles it differently. Some are calm, some scream, you just do what you can to get yourself through. In the long run, it's a very short period of time and you truly forget everything once you see that beautiful face.

academium · 05-18-2008, 03:32 PM

Try not to worry too much.... yeah right, that's more easily said than done.
HUGS. It'll all be alright.
you'll do great. Labor is painful but you're going to get through it.
I had the mindset that I wanted an epidural but I still had to labor for about 9 hours without it because I was not progressing fast enough. But I got through it. For me delivery was pain free and quite fast. Afterward I did have a headache but it was not unbearble and I was able to hold my baby as soon as he was born. I was walking around a couple of hours after the birth, when the epi wore off and I had no problems or complications.
There are so many variables that you can't possibly control or plan for. Just try to be educated about what happens and go in there knowing that you can do it!

ETA: You will NOT have panic attacks during labor! You're going to be focused on getting the baby out. I was actually very lucid and clear during that part.

Vanessa M. · 05-18-2008, 03:46 PM

I've had one med free birth and one epidural. THe med free labor and delivery wasn't bad at all! Intense for sure, but never screaming in agony pain. Please don't let anyone sacre you, I've never understood why people try to do that to each other... I found that the pain from the contractions gave me something to focus on and I liked knowing that the feelings were at least productive toward having a baby, if that makes sense.

The epidural birth was different. I only opted to have an epi because my placenta had abrupted and I was bleeding really badly. I was really afraid of the potential pain of that and even the doc said it was probably better that I didn't feel it. That said, I hated the epi itself. I itched so bad from the meds that I almost missed the pain, lol! I wwas numb to eveything except the itching. And I HATED being numb after the delivery. I did get to hold my baby right away, but it was awful not being able to walk. I didn't have a headache though.

If you're prone to panic attacks, I'd personally opt for something other than an epidural. Maybe the Stadol or other pain med? I'm a bit of a panicky control freak and not being able to move really messed with my head at some points.

Katie_W · 05-18-2008, 03:48 PM

I went into labour at midnight the night before my induction
the contractions started like a weird pinching and they came every 5 minutes to the second from midnight til 1 am when I went to the hospital!
they said it's weird that my contractions were so perfect to start with!

after I was settled into the hospital they got worse and I had bad back labour, they put me in the tub thing which did not help at all and they got worse but at 4 am I had my epidural!

the pain was not nearly as bad as I expected but I was scared about the pain I would feel while pushing so that is why I got the epidural

it's not a walk in the park but it's so worth it
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I would say it's like a really bad AF cramp and bad back pain if you have a bad back

I was in labour for 8 hours 42 minutes! It took me 42 minutes to push out my daughter, so needless to say the doctor told me that day the next time I am pregnant I should come in during my first contraction or else I might have the baby on the way LOL

packerfan · 05-18-2008, 03:50 PM

I don't know of anyone who has passed out after labor. The migraine thing can happen with the epi, but again, I know of no one that has. I have had 2 epi births, virtually pain free deliveries and 1 unmedicated birth, not by choice, he came too fast. That delivery was painful, would I do it again? YES I wasn't screaming in pain, but it was the worst pain I've ever felt, but that's not saying much in my life. For me, having had my epi delivery first that was pain-free, the natural delivery wasn't what I had planned. The contractions were right on top of each other and there wasn't a break for more than a few seconds.

It's really a different kind of pain and just keep in mind, you get a REALLY nice present at the end!! The adrenaline of the delivery will keep you going!

KellyLeigh · 05-18-2008, 04:21 PM

Dragen--

I am 9 days away from an induction with my first child, so while I cannot give you a definitive answer, what I can suggest to you is to take a Hypnobirthing class. I took that as opposed to Lamaze or the Bradley Method, because it looks at birth in a very natural way. In my opinion, you go through 9 months not being able to take anything, so why is it okay to be pumped with drugs in the last few hours?
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In any case, Hypnobirthing is all natural and it states that the reason women are in "pain" during birth is because of FEAR. The body knows what it needs to do (this is why women in comas can naturally have a baby). The nurse who ran the class was honest and said that while it is no walk in the park, it definitely is not as bad as people make it out to be...others just like to embellish how awful it is to scare others...how interesting a story would it be if they said, "Oh, after a few hours, I peacefully brought my child into this world."?

I wish you all of the best with your pregnancy and your birthing experience, whatever you choose. As for me, I am looking forward to giving birth and finally meeting my son (and telling all of those who had their birthing horror stories how easy a drug-free delivery was...so I can shut them up, cause I am SICK of hearing about the screaming and pain!!)

jamie77 · 05-18-2008, 04:36 PM

I've been through 2 natural births, no epidurals either time --- too scared of having a needle in my back. Would rather go thru the pain (LOL).
Seriously though, it may be kinda bad when u going through it, but the minute the baby is born, you start to forget. It's all worth it. I know I sound like a cliche, but it was true for me. I took pethidine for the pain - but it just made me woozy for a while - slept thru many contractions. Would wake up for the actual contraction, and fall off to sleep again. For the second pregnancy, pethidine didnt work well (but they told me it wouldnt). Anyway, that was a quicker labour. The 1st one was 12 hours.
I wish u everything of the best.

marji · 05-18-2008, 09:02 PM

DH is an anesthesiologist, and I asked him about how common spinal headaches are as a result of an epi. He said it's about 1 in 200, and more common in thin people.

As for pain, I have to admit, I felt the epi was necessary. However, mine only ended up working on 1 side, so I still felt a lot of the pain. Honestly though, even with the pain, you know at the time that it's not forever, and you'll just breathe through it and deal. You'll be fine. A billion women have gone through it and lived, and you'll be one of them!

Stacie M · 05-18-2008, 09:17 PM

I have never had a baby, so I hope you don't mind me posting. I was however in L&D with my best friend when she delivered her daughter without ANY meds (no epi, no Stadol, nothing). She actually didn't even have an IV or anything.

She said the fear was the worst part, because her two prior deliveries had been with epidurals. She handled it really well, no screaming or anything. The second the baby came out, you would have never known she had just been in pain. After it was over, she said that she wishes she had chosen to not have epis for her first two.

Now, I'm not saying you should get an epi, I am just saying that my friend (who generally considers herself a big wimp) handled it like a champ when she ended up in a situation where she couldn't get the epi. If she can do it, so can you! Epi or not, you WILL get through it. Just remember, birth is a natural process that women have been doing since the beginning of time. It is perfectly normal to be afraid, but I am sure in the end you will surprise yourself with your own strength!

butterfly815 · 05-18-2008, 09:31 PM

I think I was pretty lucky with a first pregnancy. I was only in labor about 5 hours, and it was more of a very uncomfortable pressure, rather than pain for me. I got my epi at 8cm and after that, I felt nothing, completely comfortable! I don't think I could've kept going though without it:} Good luck!

kary05 · 05-18-2008, 09:40 PM

With my DS, 30 minutes after my water broke, I needed an epidural badly. I had gone from 2 to 4 plus centimeters in a very short period of time. My son was facing the wrong way so I had some bad back labor. Having said that, though, onc my epidural was in I was set. I had a fabulous epidural that took most of the pain away but still allowed me to feel contractions to push. Once I got my epid, things were smooth sailing. Like a pp said, though, evryone's experience is so different!! Good luck. You'll do great and you'll surprise yourself come delivery day.

dragenfli791 · 05-18-2008, 10:22 PM

Thanks everybody! That does help. I have struggled with the epi/noi epi question. I just might look into hypno-birthing, if it might help with anxiety. I had a miscarriage a little over a year ago at 8 weeks, and I remember that pain being bad, and it only became really bad when I started to hemorrhage. Ended up being a d&c because some of the tissue wouldn't come out, hence the incredible pain I felt. I keep thinking if the pain never gets any worse than that, I can take childbirth.

MsSuziQ · 05-19-2008, 01:11 AM

I had two vaginal deliveries with an epi and I was completely pain free and comfortable. It allowed me to enjoy the labor and delivery process and not have to deal with the pain. With my DD, I was induced and was fine with the contractions until they broke my water and then they got more intense. I had a shot of Stadol and it did nothing but make me dizzy and hot. After that wore off, I had my epi and was in heaven. My labor lasted just over 4 hours and I pushed less than 30 minutes. I was in no pain at all. With my DS, I went into labor on my own and my contractions were uncomfortable from the beginning (they woke me up). I had my epi about 3 hours later and was instantly pain free. They broke my water and my DS was born 3 hours after my epi. Again...completely pain free and I enjoyed the entire experience.

Just as a side note...when I was pregnant with DD, I didn't want an epi because I was afraid of the needle in my spine. By the time I was able to get the epi, the needle in my back was NOTHING at that point. It honestly felt like a bee sting when they numbed it and that's all I felt of it. If you need it, use it. You don't get a prize for a drug free delivery. In the end, you have a healthy happy baby and that's what it's all about.