Is anyone else super terrified of labour and delivery?

Question

I would and will do anything to have children and make a family but I am super beyond terrified of the labour and delivery part... how do some of you cope and get through that scary stage?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Answer

Learn as much as you can beforehand as possible. This isn't one of those situations where ignorance is bliss because you WILL have to give birth whether you like
it or not. Take a labor class at your hospital and ask the teacher lots of questions, especially about the parts that scare you. Make a birth plan and know the risks/benefits of forceps, vacuum extraction, c-sections, episiotomy vs tearing naturally and other things that come up during labor that require split second consent on your part. They used the vacuum on my baby and it took me and my husband about 2 minutes to decide once they offered it because I did my homework beforehand. Also surround yourself
with positive birth stories. There are a disproportionate amount of scary birth stories out there. Find the people that make you feel more relaxed about giving birth and talk to them! Lots of women have uneventful boring birth stories but the people that take the time to write out their scary story often had scary complications and are writing up their birth story as a way to cope with the scary crap that just happened. Also stay away from Dr. Google as much as you can. Rely on a book like "what to expect when you're expecting" and your medical provider if you have a legitimate medical concern.

I was terrified of giving birth and when it came down to it, it really wasn't that bad once I got my epidural. Good luck!

Answer

Read Ina May Gaskin's book: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. She's fantastic at talking you through the normalcy of pregnancy & labor & birth. It's perfectly normal to have those fears! I did(& still do at times! I'm due in early June!). But it is a natural bodily function & there are wonderful ways to navigate it out there. I'm currently taking prenatal yoga so that I can learn how to strengthen my mind-body connection & learn to control my body so that it serves me best. Millions of women do it...& keep doing it, so we can too!😊

Answer

This is my first planned home birth.. I had my first two at the hospital and with epidural. I'm fine til I talk to family and they make me worry.. I try to just stay away from them. :/ they should be encouraging not discouraging..

Answer

I'am definitely terrified my friends always ask me about the labor and delivery part and how I would react to it . I just tell them that I don't even want to talk about that , that's the least thing that I want to talk about I think about it all the time and scare myself 😂😂

Answer

Honestly the epidural saved my life lol I probably would of screamed bloody murder the whole way through labor and delivery if it wasn't for the epidural! I gave birth yesterday afternoon and it was all so worth it I have a beautiful little newborn baby girl❤️

Answer

I didn't get nervous until they broke my water and I started feeling the contractions. I labored with just two doses of sedative, so I felt it all. Of course it is painful, but it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle and I didn't find it that bad. The whole experience was actually  empowering and I look forward to doing it again someday. 😂

Make sure you have a good support person and take them to a birthing class, if you haven't already.

Answer

Drugs! Lol. Honestly though, for me this was it. I really respect those who can do all-natural but I've always decided on epidurals and other pain management. I am a very anxious person and have a feeling I wouldn't manage the pain well. As most have said, you do what you gotta do to get that sweet little babe in your arms!

Answer

Eh you just deal because you have to because it'll happen wether you're ready/want it to or not 😂😂 the whole pregnancy I chose not even to think about labour as it was inevitable so I just focused on being pregnant. When it finally happened I just said yes to the gas and some morphine and listened when they told me to push and let the natural progression do the rest... proud to report o only asked my husband to take me home and let's forget about the whole thing once 😂😂😂

Answer

I was terrified of birth, but u get so uncomfortable and excited to meet the baby at the end u don't even think of the pain. Then I ended up pushing for so long and then with an emergency csection and after all of that u don't remember after how much it sucked once ur holding ur little one.

Answer

What made the contractions easier to take before I got the epidural and when it stopped working and before my c section was my mom rubbing my head and talking to me in a very soothing voice. Her doing that made it easier for me to relax and not be tensed with the contractions.

Is anyone else super terrified of labour and delivery?

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