Reassurance needed pls

I gave birth with no pain relief (had paracetamol and codeine early on but had worn off by the time of labour). Didn’t get a choice in the matter because it was too late for anything at all. The contractions hurt but they aren’t unbearable. You can do this! Focus on what you will be gaining by going through the pain. It’s worth every bit xx

This is so me at the moment! Due on the 30th and absolutely terrified to give birth, I’m more scared of the pain of contractions then actually pushing him out 🤣 the thing I keep thinking millions of women right this second are giving birth, millions of women want to give birth multiple times! So yes it’s going to hurt that’s a given but our bodies are made to do this, the pain won’t last forever. I kinda do wish though I could just have a c-section to just take him out but I have to remember to be greatful that I can have a natural Labour 🥰 hope this kinda helped xx

You can 100% do it!! Remember the contractions start like period pains and only last 30 seconds, it takes a while till they increase in intensity. Our bodies are designed for this! I managed 80% of my labour using movement (I stood either walking or swaying), breathing through my contractions and using a tens machine. I highly recommend a tens machine! I got to 7cm before I asked for an epidural which was actually too late. I’d say research pain management options if that’s what you want to do. I had on my birth plan that I don’t want to be offered any I will ask if I need it. The last part where the contractions change to pressure which is intense but when you get to this point you know the baby is nearly here, you are so close to giving birth. Check out the positive birth company on YouTube, and the naked doula they both share incredible birth stories for all types of birth x

@Lucy I feel exactly the same! I’m due to be induced Wednesday and I’m absolutely terrified of how it’s going to feel pain wise! Xx

You can absolutely do this!! 🙌🏻 I managed to control my pain up until 8cm with just breathing and moving on the ball. I had gas & air from there after and then decided on an epidural. The main bit of advice is be open with your Birth plan as things can change. X

You can absolutely do this! The pain HONESTLY is not horrendous. I also did it with no pain relief, other than the water and a few paracetamol. Take each contraction one at a time. There is a rest between each one when the pain completely goes away. Definitely take pain relief if it’s offered (I would have done but got my timing wrong and was ready to push the moment I got to hospital) because, why be in any pain if you don’t need to be? But please know that you can do it without if need be!

I had the worst contractions. It was so numbing that they felt so bad. I was asked if I wanted an epidural as this was the only pain relief available and I did even though I panicked so much. But was so worth it really. All depends on your pain threshold

Try a hypnobirthing course :)

I feel like I could have written this post!! I am so terrified of the unknown !! The unknown pain, not knowing if they’re contractions and just the whole situation itself 😭 but as someone said above, millions of people do this so if they can do it, so can we 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

@Amanda agree. And believe me I was the same about contractions. But you will know what they are. They hook you up to a machine too

I had really bad anxiety re. pregnancy/birth so referred to perinatal mental health team who booked me in for elective section if not spontaneously started before as wasn’t sure about induction. Also put on my notes early epidural and could ask for a c-section whilst in labour if I felt I wasn’t coping well … started spontaneously anyway and baby’s movements changed, went into hospital, started getting regular contractions 5 mins apart for an hour lasting a minute-midwife didn’t seem too concerned and didn’t check me so went home as all fine Bath at home where started to ramp up and really thought I couldn’t do it and was not coping well- thought just in early labour and anxiety making it worse Went back in asking for epidural/poss c-section but was fully dilated and wheeled straight to delivery- too late for anything Had laboured at home and no pain relief and glad it happened the way it did now. Didn’t need to be as anxious as I was at all! Built it up to be worse in my head

@Leighan mine was similar but I was in hospital as I was induced. The midwife was not bothered by my contractions and said as a ftm it would take a long time. I laboured on the toilet in the hospital as it was the best position for me to deal with the pressure. Transferred to the birth suite at 4am and she was born at 4:17. Her heart rate dropped and it was a case of get her out asap. They were going to give me a local anaesthetic but my body was pushing before they had chance. My only regret is that due to the stress/panic around her birth no photos were taken of us during or after she was born xx

I had my baby 10 day ago - I also had the worst anxiety about it to the point I was being sick in the night crying all sorts - now I regret that so much because I felt I ruined such a precious time by being so worried about something natural and amazing that gave me my perfect boy. Your body is made to do this and will tell you what you need to do if not do it for you - just listen to that and use the midwives they are amazing. You can do this and you’ll do amazing at it🥰

I was also very stressed about this. The first 8 hours were fine - paracetamol, tens machine, ball. I’m not going to lie because I don’t think it’s helpful - it did end up being the worst pain I’ve ever felt BUT while I know that it was the worst, I already can’t actually remember what that felt like. I’ve spoken to other mums in my NCT group and they felt the same. It’s really fleeting. Be open to all pain relief. My labour was probably so bad because my placenta started coming away during labour. I planned to move on to gas and air but I was weirdly immune to it - it had no affect on me at all, which was unexpected. So I had an epidural and it was MAGIC. I was able to regroup, calm down and get ready for pushing. There’s no shame in getting pain relief - in fact I’d say don’t push through it too long. As you can see some women can’t get the pain relief they want because labour has progressed too far. You’ll be fine, you’ve got this!

@Hannah I was hoping for pain relief, I was induced and there midwives didn’t believe that I was progressing so quickly and wouldn’t examine me. By the time I got through to the birth suite it was 7 mins before having her. Her heart dropped so with the panic there was no time for pain relief. My advice would be to listen to your body and do what is best for you, there’s no shame in having all the meds you can have. All that matters is getting little one here safely xx