Really scared of labor and delivery, is it as bad as it seems?

Question

I feel like it seems like torture, really scared and anxious about it

Answer

lol it's not torture. It doesn't "hurt" like an injury or a thing like that. It feels different than if your were hurt. Your body knows what it is doing. Your body is built to make, carry, and birth babies. Trust your body and maybe read up on the topic a bit to ease your mind. "Ina Mays guide to childbirth" is a great book and helps you better understand the process and trust your body. The worst thing you can do is be afraid and tense up during labor. Labor is something you have to embrace and just kind of ride it out. One of my favorite analogy for birth is,"it's like swimming in the ocean. The waves are your contractions and you have two choices. One, fight and try to stand against the waves. Or two float in the water and let the current take you where it wishes. If you stand your ground and fight the waves you will be tired quickly, the waves might knock you over and you feel helpless. Or you glide with them and try to ride the waves. Then you won't tire as quickly and won't get pummeled by the waves." This is true for birth. You have to trust your body and not try to fight the process. It knows what it is doing, so just breath and try your best to relax. Your mindset can determine the outcome of your birth.

Answer

It can be horrible and painful but it it is also so awesome. I used pain meds and an epidural with all of mine but the last one I had was a piece  of cake. I didn't feel a damn thing. The others I felt way more than I wanted too. In the end none of it matters cuz it's all worth it as soon as u hear that baby cry. All of my labors were around 6 hours or less start to finish.  Good luck and don't stress.

Answer

No, it was not torture and mine was totally med free. I had 18 hours between water breaking and baby coming, but only 5-6 hours of holy shit bad pain.

You just keep thinking "I want it to get worse, the worse it gets the closer it is to being over"

And once you get to start pushing it's great because you actually feel like you're getting somewhere, and I pushed for 3 hours which is way longer than most.

It wasn't fun, but a few hours later I was up and walking around, it was not traumatic at all.

Mi mil told me right when I found out I was pregnant it's not that bad, otherwise women wouldn't have multiple kids. 😊

Be pumped and excited about getting it over, that's my best advice 😂

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It is very sore BUT our bodies are made to do this. YOU CAN DO IT!

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Did it twice. Fist delivery was easy, labor was 13 hours and pushed for 30 minutes exactly. Second delivery was hell. Labored for 6 hours and pushed for 8 minutes (baby wad 8.14 pounds so it felt like my isndies are ripping apart)

Answer

While everyone's comments are really positive, you should know that there are also other variables you may need to consider and every pregnancy isn't the same. With my labor, I was in active labor for 19 hours, pushed for 6 hours, had the baby get stuck in my birth canal face out, her heart rate dropped drastically, and they rushed me for a c-section. Unfortunately because my epidural had fallen out earlier, they  didn't give me enough medicine and when they cut my abdomen it felt like a hot iron being drug across me and I screamed. They apparently knocked me out afterward and then next thing I knew I was waking up alone in a recovery room. I met my almost 1 hour old baby who was already clean and fully dressed. 
It isn't the story you want to hear and my story is one of the worst cases, but I went into labor with my head in the clouds and never even thought a c-section could be in my cards, and afterward I suffered major postpartum depression.

That being said, all of the pain and trauma and mental anguish was awful but it didn't stop me from wanting to have another baby. This time I will opt for a c-section because I've had many medical professionals tell me I have a small birth canal and VBAC isn't really an option for me.

I hope this didn't come across as an attempt to scare the piss out of you, lol. I just wish I hadn't only prepared myself for the sunshine and rainbows version of labor lol.

Answer

You should read Ina May's guide to childbirth. It's all about reducing fear in women surrounding the childbirth process. It's such a natural thing, and although the unknowns can be scary, it's something our bodies are built to do.

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Honestly it wasn't as bad as people make it seem. I had a 12 hour labour (I was really in labour all day but it wasn't painful), 8lb baby and a second degree tear requiring two stitches. The worst part of the whole thing was days 3-5 of the stitches mixed with bleeding and having to wear pads. I would rather be in labour for 3 days than deal with that again lol. The last bit of contractions before pushing suck big time but they aren't forever and it will be over before you know it.

Answer

I just try and think about allllll these women that have babies, it can't be that bad if they all made it and have more than one! We got this!

Really scared of labor and delivery, is it as bad as it seems?

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