Painless Childbirth? Really?

[dislaney]

All worth it in the end but definitely not pain free! And I really haven't forgot that pain yet and it has been quite awhile.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

If I could turn back the clocks I would have not gotten the epidural with my second pregnancy. First birth, old school dr, pain meds through an IV, much much easier than the epidural. The after effects for me was worse than any pain the delivery caused.

And as I sit here, (DD17 & DS14 - just for reference), I can honestly tell you I don't remember the pain of the deliveries....

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Those of you who had epis and no pain I am totally jealous of! I had epis for 3 of my 4. Every single time when it was time to push they turn the stupid thing down! "We want you to feel so you know when to push"
Give me a break! It's not like you can even control the urge to push. Your body does it naturally. I have a new doctor this time and I told him that he better not turn the epi down when it is time to push. He asked me why on earth he would do that? I told him what happened and he promised that he would not turn it down. We'll see.......I asked if he could start the epi at my 2 month visit! There was no time for anything last time so no pain meds or even an ice chip. I so do not want that experience again. Yes- it was totally worth it and I would do it again to have my sweet babies but no- I have not forgotten that pain. I think if they told me they could hack off a limb to make the pain stop I would have told them to hack off two of them just to be sure.

 

[monorailsilver]

Drugs worked for me so I guess I am lucky.

Child #1-72 hours of labor, back labor. I'd say for 60 of it I had no pain relief. They gave me APAP #3 & Valium (I was a bit crazy from the pain, ya think?) to take at home but it did nothing. As soon as that epi hit me, I was in heaven & actually slept for longer then 3 minutes. And I was able to push & didn't have pain. So yes it is possible.

Child #2-30 hours of labor, and yes I was in pain but not like child #1. I was ready for them to check me for my epi when they told me I needed an emergency c/s because of arm/shoulder presentation. Once the spinal hit..ahh....

Child #3-planned c/s which mean no labor, right? Well 3 weeks prior to my c/s day my water broke. Luckily I was only in labor from 4:20 am until I walked into the OR at 10:30am, so 6 hours. My contractions were just starting to get to the point that I could feel them a bit more. But the spinal did good for me then too.

And no I could not give birth with out drugs. They are there so I believe in taking them.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Do you really think there is such a thing? I don't. I am feeling a bit nervous with my upcoming birth -it's totally worth it- but you would think that by now they would figure out a way for it not to hurt. Epidurals imo don't really work that well. When it is time to push they might as well put a hot poker in your eye because the pain is still bad! I have had 3 epidurals and 1 without (no time) and I can't say that any of them were painless.

What is your take on it? Did you have a painless birth? If so what did you do to make it that way? Drink a bottle of Scotch? Close your head in the drawer really hard? Put ambesol all over your lower half? Stick pins in your head to deflect the pain? Tell me your secret!
TIA!

I can truly say that my first childbirth was painless. DS was adding on a 2nd room and wasn't near coming out after 2 weeks post-due date. Dr. put me in the hospital to "soften my cervix". After 12-15 hours, he prescribed Demerol through my IV. The anesthesiologist came in the next morning, and started the epidural before the Demerol wore off when they started the drip. I wound up sleeping through labor, waking up when I had to push. I was ready to have another one the next day!

Now DD, 5.5 years later.....2 weeks early, induced through the drip, epidural didn't work at all. Dr. was really upset at the anesthesiologist (and I never got a bill from the anesthesiologist).

 

[tzolkin]

I was reading this thread - uh - for - future reference....


So - that said - I was hoping to read more posts about people who chose to forgo the drugs - and the pain associated with that.
I know its bad - but its all worth it in the end of course....

Obviously, everyone's experience is different but I can offer you some hope.

I have had 3 children with no pain medication during labor. (I was not trying to "prove" anything and have no issues with pain management, I just did not have a need and was able to do fine without)

My first labor was 47 hours. It really was not bad except for maybe the last hour-ish (I threw up and had to use the bathroom alot right near the end, but still not really any pain). A few pushes (it actually felt good-- no pain at all which was really surprising) and she was out. (I did have slight tearing and needed a few stitches, but I did not feel anything during the delivery.)

Second one was only about 7 hours. There was pain, but it was not horrible. The pushing was quite painful and took a bit more effort, but that was because she was in the wrong position and got stuck. Even though it hurt, I had no tearing and it was still only maybe 15 minutes.

Third one was maybe 3 hours. After my first 3-day labor I always thought it would be nice to have a quick labor, but my experience was the shorter they were the more intense. I felt fine and even got in the tub for a little while. I started to have some pain and asked the grandmas to leave. The nurse checked me and said I was only at 3 or 4. There was no way I could handle the intensity for hours, so she sent in the doctor to discuss pain meds/epidural with me. He went to check me (about 5 mins after the nurse had) and baby's head was already about 1/2 way out. I did not push at all, the pain subsided, and it was a very surreal experience.


So, out of nearly 60 hours of labor I only felt the need for pain relief for about 10 minutes (and that's basically because my body did the work of an entire labor during that time).

 

[eliza61]

Drugs, drugs and more drugs LOL. My first pregnancy my son was a 10lb baby, no way no how was I doing that without an epidural. I still had pain but very manageable. I think the childbirth movie I saw in class was enough to convince me.

 

[diznygirl]

Do you really think there is such a thing? I don't. I am feeling a bit nervous with my upcoming birth -it's totally worth it- but you would think that by now they would figure out a way for it not to hurt. Epidurals imo don't really work that well. When it is time to push they might as well put a hot poker in your eye because the pain is still bad! I have had 3 epidurals and 1 without (no time) and I can't say that any of them were painless.

What is your take on it? Did you have a painless birth? If so what did you do to make it that way? Drink a bottle of Scotch? Close your head in the drawer really hard? Put ambesol all over your lower half? Stick pins in your head to deflect the pain? Tell me your secret!
TIA!

My take on it is that everyone is different, and every labor is different. Both my labors were completely different. With #1 I felt the pain of a thousand white hot suns before the epidural. After the epidural I felt nothing and gave birth with no pain. With #2 my water broke first and I felt nothing at all before or after the epidural.

There are a million different birth stories. Good luck with yours!!

 

[tinkgurl]

You need to watch a video of Kourtney Kardashian giving birth to her son Mason. Seriously, she was in no pain once so ever. She even grabbed down and pulled him out!

 

[amandaluvsgoofy]

You need to watch a video of Kourtney Kardashian giving birth to her son Mason. Seriously, she was in no pain once so ever. She even grabbed down and pulled him out!

I KNOW!! It was insane! DH thought she was high since she looked emotionless (is that a word?)! Guess he was comparing it to my situation with no drugs!

 

[Minnesota!]

I had C-sections. I hardly had any pain at all.

Ditto.

2 c/s - one after 36 hours of labor and only getting to a 5. The other one emergency because my son's heartbeat was only 60 and fading fast.

No pain with either. With DS#1 - getting out of bed the first time was weird. Didn't hurt at all - just a really freaky PULLING feeling from inside. It was so weird feeling that I had to quit my walk and go back to the room b/c it was skeeving me out so bad.

I was up and walking within about 4 hours of my younger son's birth and was at his hospital (they transferred him to a NICU across town) the next AM walking and standing by his isolette.

So...c/s is my recommendation if you want painfree!

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Ditto.

2 c/s - one after 36 hours of labor and only getting to a 5. The other one emergency because my son's heartbeat was only 60 and fading fast.

No pain with either. With DS#1 - getting out of bed the first time was weird. Didn't hurt at all - just a really freaky PULLING feeling from inside. It was so weird feeling that I had to quit my walk and go back to the room b/c it was skeeving me out so bad.

I was up and walking within about 4 hours of my younger son's birth and was at his hospital (they transferred him to a NICU across town) the next AM walking and standing by his isolette.

So...c/s is my recommendation if you want painfree!

GOOD LUCK!!

I had more pain from my one c/s recovery than my combined 40+ hours of active labor! You could always tell the ******l deliveries from the c/s deliveries walking the hospital halls. I think it's rare to have major abdominal surgery, with cut muscles and skin, stitches and staples, and have no pain. I've never met a single person who had this experience.

 

[mjkacmom]

Those of you who had epis and no pain I am totally jealous of! I had epis for 3 of my 4. Every single time when it was time to push they turn the stupid thing down! "We want you to feel so you know when to push"
Give me a break! It's not like you can even control the urge to push. Your body does it naturally. I have a new doctor this time and I told him that he better not turn the epi down when it is time to push. He asked me why on earth he would do that? I told him what happened and he promised that he would not turn it down. We'll see.......I asked if he could start the epi at my 2 month visit! There was no time for anything last time so no pain meds or even an ice chip. I so do not want that experience again. Yes- it was totally worth it and I would do it again to have my sweet babies but no- I have not forgotten that pain. I think if they told me they could hack off a limb to make the pain stop I would have told them to hack off two of them just to be sure.

I told them I would absolutely not push unless I was totally numb. Once you've already had a baby, you can push without feeling - you just know how to push!

 

[tmarquez]

I had pain medication and then an epidural...I felt NO pain. And really even the next day they kept trying to give me more pain pills, but nothing hurt. I told them I took advil so they would leave me alone...but then she kept saying am I sure I didn't want something stronger.

 

[mumzie2three]

I was reading this thread - uh - for - future reference....

I'm scared of an epidural - I actually know someone in my hometown who is paralyzed from her waist down for the rest of her life from one.
I realize this is a very rare thing to happen - but ya know - when it hits close to home - you think about it.

So - that said - I was hoping to read more posts about people who chose to forgo the drugs - and the pain associated with that.
I know its bad - but its all worth it in the end of course....

With my first I had a shot of Demerol to take the edge off and did a lot of crazy breathing that didn't really work.

With the second I had an intrathecal, which was pain-free until it came time to push.

With my third I used Hypnobirthing and it really worked! I went to a full day class and then I used tapes to practice up until it was time. Like another poster said, use gravity and don't be flat on your back for pushing.

With my 4th I really wish I had gone back for a refresher course but I couldn't afford it at the time. After they broke my water and contractions didn't start, they gave me Pitocin which is terrible! But I had learned from my 3rd birth to use gravity. So I changed position for pushing and overall, it was still better than my 1st and 2nd. But #3 was the easiest by far.

 

[pperfectmom]

Heck, I don't think it should be painless. Women would be popping out babies right and left. Even getting a filling in a tooth is painful at some point and having a baby is a much bigger deal than THAT and the reward is worht it.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

I had relatively pain-free birth experiences, with no pain medication. The thought of an epidural completely freaked me out, so I didn't even consider having one. My first baby was induced, which is supposed to be more painful than a naturally-occurring labor, but mine was not bad and I did not get any pain medicine whatsoever. With my second child, the labor was so painless I didn't even know I was in labor until it was almost too late--I was 9 cm when I got to the hospital, and he was in my arms 20 minutes after we got there!!

Also, I think labor is less painful if your water is left intact as long as possible. My water did not break with either baby until I was ready to push, and the doctor never once suggested breaking it (obviously not with the second one, since I practically had him in the car!!)

Honestly, the pain of the uterus contracting AFTER the birth was way worse than actually having the baby! I took Tylenol for that!

 

[almburr]

Everyone is diffrent. I for one would take a natural child birth over any other. I had 2 natural and they were not that bad, then I had 3 c-sections and I wanted to curl up and die from the pain.

 

[robinb]

I had a natural birth and my labor lasted maybe 5 hours after my water broke. I can honestly say ... I don't really remember the pain. I know I had pain. I know it hurt at the time. But I can't say "Oh yeah ... that one part was the worst!" I guess it's because it was over pretty quickly .

 

[disneymomofmyca]

I had an epidural and two more doses of the medicine through the tube they leave in your spine...nothing worked. All that did was make me sick so I threw up the entire time I pushed! In fact, I had to ask my doc for novacaine because I could feel her stitching me up and it hurt so bad. She couldn't believe what a high tolorance my body had to pain meds. She asked me if it hurt when I went to the dentist even after novacaine. I said "Oh Yeah!" She said my body had a high tolorance to pain meds so she gave me a different type of novacaine for the stitches. Finally!...no pain! So from then on when I go to the denitst I tell them about my tolorance and they give me different stuff...no more pain! Hooray!

On that note...my sister gave birth about 8 months after me. I was in the delivery room. She pushed only 4 times ( I pushed 2 hours!) and the baby was out. I wanted to slap her!

Every birth is totally different and all you can do is be prepared for the different scenarios that may face you. Good luck! Just remember what you get in return for all that pain...

**I must note that I have never had to take perscription pain meds in my life...so that is NOT why I had a high toloarance.Just something with how my body reacted to the drugs**