Labour pain

It's definitely a 10/10 for pain. Unless you get an epidural or other pain relief.
Pushing for me is better than the contractions. I dialate quickly which means contractions are very close together almost immediately. Both labours I was pushing for almost an hour but that is on the long side. When the head is out and you're waiting for the next contraction, it is very painful.
Saying all this a day later you really do start to forget the pain. X

Thanks Sophie, really helpful! Glad to hear the pain is forgotten so quickly again

So many uncertainties! Is the baby coming tonight or next week? Will it be a 10/10 for pain or a 2? Will it last 6 hours or 40? 😅😅

Everyone is completely different, I was 3cm and didn’t even know I was in labour, the contractions were fine, I had my waters broken then (long story short I was going to be induced as waters were leaking) and my baby was born 3.5hrs later. I didn’t find the contractions too bad, so did 1.5hrs with no pain relief whatsoever, and then used gas and air for that hour before pushing, I only used it when the contraction would start as it gave me something to focus on and not panic, when it peaked and went back down i just took deep breaths through it. The whole way through when I wasn’t contracting, I was saying how it’s not that bad and I’ll definitely do it again, as I really couldn’t believe how scared I was and it didn’t live up to my fears at all! I pushed for an hour after this, the pressure gets so intense when baby is ready to come out, I found pushing bloody painful, he came out with his hand over face which made it harder. My god was it worth it though!!

Also tore internally and had stitches and they’re nothing to fear either, didn’t notice it happened, and then the completely numb you to stitch you up. I was so scared of taring! I burst blood vessels all over my face and got a blood shot eye from pushing, just to give you an idea of how hard you really have to push! Pushing was the hardest part for me. Like others have said, by the next day I had forgotten/got over thinking about how hard the pushing was and now a week later I’d do it all over again in a heart beat for my little boy xxx

Yeah sorry its a 10/10 but please don't freak out or stress about it because that won't help. You will get through it, just listen to your body and zone everything else out.
I hoped for a water birth but didn't have time as I was 10cm when I got to hospital. I didn't have any pain relief at all and was also too late to put the TENS on so my advice is just to get things ready well in advance. The pushing part lasted about an hour and a half for me and the hardest part was probably right at the end because I had some tearing on my labia and it really stung. The relief when baby comes is something else though, then it's just amazing from there on x

With my 1st two labours I remember the ring of fire over everything else. That never left me. Fast forward to 14 years later giving birth to my son 2 weeks ago the contractions were 20/10 and everytime one peaked all I was thinking was how the f am I gona push through this pain then cope with the ring of fire I couldn’t have anything other than gas and air due to my sons heart rate dipping with every contraction and had to lay in certain positions for them to monitor him for the whole Labour after 9 hours I opted for an epidural which I’d never had before (had pethadine with my last two which took the edge off) and honestly I don’t know why people don’t just have the epidural if I knew how much of a nicer experience you have with it I would have had one sooner lol don’t get me wrong the experience of the pain and the support from my husband and the whole event was magical and I wouldn’t change it but after being awake for 2 days being induced and it working very slowly

Having the epidural meant I got to sleep through a couple hours of the Labour and rest and there was no ring of fire when I pushed and only 3 minutes of pushing and being so relaxed when I did due to the fear of that pain not being there made it so much more enjoyable and I could focus on seeing my son arrive. The cord was wrapped twice around his neck which explained the dipping of his heart rate through out the whole Labour but he’s a healthy beautiful boy. So my out take from Labour number 3 is having an epidural doesn’t mean you cheated. I always felt if I’d had one with my other labours it meant I cheated so I suffered lol dunno if it’s because I’m older this time or my pain threshold is lower or if it was just because it had been so long and I was knackered but it made my experience so much better. Do what you need to do and try to enjoy it even the pain it truly is a magical experience how ever you do it x

This was my biggest fear, not knowing how bad it would be. My ideal was for unmedicated, using the birthing pool if I felt like it once things got going.

I managed all the way to 10 cm between midnight and 7 am on my feet just using the TENS machine and breathing through and then added a bit of gas and air. I think there were a few occasions where I said to my husband that I couldn’t carry on and would need the epidural but that was when I thought I still had hours and hours to labour.

I unfortunately had to hold off pushing while being moved around the hospital, everything slowed down and we stopped making progress, so I ended up in theatre with a spinal and forceps delivery. I think, if I’d been able to push right away that I would have got him out with just the gas and air but I’ll never know for sure.

So my contractions were 10/10 on pain. I was really surprised as I felt a lot of it in my bottom and my legs. I breathed my way through them with gas and air and a deep concentration. However I ended up with an epidural as they wanted to do the hormone drip to get them closer together, I just couldn’t face the pain being non stop. As you would like a home birth I would defo think about hypnobirthing

You can do it! I had no pain relief and no gas and air! The only way to explain the pain is to imagine a period pain but on an extreme level. It's painful and it's going to test you! but you just have to ride the waves. Pushing him out wasn't the worst pain for me but rather the contractions. What I would say is try not get into the water until your in active labour as the water completely slowed my labour down to a point where it stopped. The water is a huge pain relief, but it can slow things down. X

Thanks so much for all these stories guys, I think the main takeaway for me is women are Bloody awesome and the fact that we all go through this without medals is pretty astounding! Sounds like preparing for the worst pain is a good idea so it can only be a positive experience! :)

I was really uncomfortable at 10pm after having contractions since 10:30am. They built in intensity throughout the day but only the last few hours 8-10pm were making me feel like I was in pain. I’d been using a tens machine and squatting to relieve pain during the day.
Got to the hospital and was told my contractions weren’t signalling active labour - they thought I was below 3cm dilated. Requested a vaginal exam and was 8cm. Everyone handles pain differently and they saw me coping so thought I was ok, but inside I knew I was in pain/discomofrt. I’d say at that point it was maybe a 5/10 for me during contractions.
Pushing was definitely 10/10 for the crowning phase but didn’t seem to last too long to me.

Also I did it without pain relief so felt everything and remember everything, but I felt very in control of the experience

All I’ll say is be open. It’s nice to have a plan and it’s great if it works out, but expect the unexpected. Not one part of my birth plan happened.
I personally found the contractions extremely painful but I was hooked to a hormone drip which intensifies them so again, yours could be the total opposite.
You will 100% forget what you’ve done through when your baby is handed to you and even when you reflect after the shock, you’ll say you’ll do it all again for that little life. You’ve got this ♥️♥️

I found my contractions pretty painful. Also first time mum and didn’t know what to expect.
I used TENS machine in early labour and then gas and air in the pool.
I felt mine mostly in my back/bum which I think was why they ‘hurt’ more. I remember having the occasional ‘easy’ one that felt more in my belly and saying to the midwife if they could all be like that it would be fine!
Turns out baby was sitting in a less then optimal position which we didn’t know about until near the end