Are you one of those women who "forgot" the pain of childbirth as soon as you held your baby?

Question

Or are you a little more realistic about it?

(I still haven't "forgotten" and my baby is almost 4 weeks now!)

Answer 1

I guess I was one of those people who forgot. I didn't forget the pain that followed for the next six weeks, but the actual birth pain, yes I forgot. Don't worry, it will get better.

Answer 2

I had fairly easy and painfree childbirth with my first and third baby. with my second my epidural didnt work and i will never ever forget that pain

Answer 3

I remember that is hurt, but I survived (three times) and that is the important thing.  Yes it hurt, yes I remember the pain, but it isn't enough to outweigh the joy I have from my babies.

Answer 4

Nope.  I was in labor for 17 hours, spent 5 of those hours suffering from a misplaced epidural, and ended up getting a c-section that I'm STILL recovering from almost 6 weeks later (although thankfully the operation itself was painless!).

Maybe a few years down the road I'll "forget," but right now it really doesn't seem likely.

Answer 5

Well my baby is my cat so yes I forgot the pain of his cat mum having him.  I'm sure it wasnt too bad, he was a little fur ball when he was born.  Mind you there was six of them lol

Answer 6

well, my childbirth was not painful. the first few pre-epidural, pitocin-induced contractions were painful -- very painful. but i only felt a few of them. ruby came out in 15 minutes of pushing -- 5 pushes total -- and i had no tearing and no pain afterwards. so there wasn't anything i needed to forget. HOWEVER, my pregnancy was incredibly unpleasant, with 4 months of puking and 3 months of migraines after that. i have not forgotten that -- not even a little. of course it was worth it to have ruby, but i remember every second of misery quite vividly. i still get anxious just thinking about it!

edit for mystic:

i was induced because of a weeklong pattern of reduced fetal movement. the pitocin started at 5:30 pm, one day past my due date. at 9 pm my water broke. shortly after that i had an epidural because i found the contractions unbearable -- well, not unbearable, but i was not handling them as well as i intended. this i think was partially due to the fact that pitocin induced contractions don't have a natural arc -- they just come on BANG at full strength. anwyay, ruby's heartrate kept dropping every time i had a contraction, so at midnight they stopped the pitocin to give her a break. literally as soon as the pitocin stopped, i felt her wiggle her way down. (if you knew her now, this would be no surprise. she is not one to be forced or wheedled into anything). she was born at 3 am. 5 pushes, no tearing, no episiotomy...the cord had been wrapped around her, hence the heart rate problems. i had intended to try to go drug free, but had no rigid expectations in that area. i did try...but i do not at all regret having the epidural. i had no other drugs.

Answer 7

i wouldnt say i forgot. but it didnt matter anymore. as soon as my boy was put up on my tummy it was like everything else stopped, the whole world slipped away. i could still feel the pain physically but it was like i was in a whole other place than my physical body.

Answer 8

I remember, but I forget the intensity of it. My son eased all that pain.

Answer 9

I don't think anyone completely forgets about the pain ... but normally a woman can't remember exactly how bad it hurt, or no one would have more children lol ...

I can honestly say  that by the time my babies were 4 weeks or so, I had forgotten how intense the labour felt!!!

Answer 10

I still remember the pain, but not in a bad way. I think the pain after birth is worse I had stitches aroun the area where you pee, that was excrusiating

Answer 11

no i"m not one of them women who forgot the pain, with my last labour i had about 20 stitches inside and out, and h**l no i couldn"t forget the pain, for the first 2 weeks even having a wee was absolute agony, i had to actually sit in a bath with enough water in every time i needed to have a wee, and i wouldn"t have wished that on my worst enemy, it took me about 2 months to totally recover..so i guess i"m more realistic about it..lol  

Answer 12

Honestly... yes as soon as they gave me my baby, I completely forgot everything! But then afterwards I started feeling pain from the stitches, the nursing, etc., but the actual childbirth is completely forgotten, I'm 10 weeks pregnant with baby #2 now and I feel like it's my first time, I don't know what to expect. Good luck with your new baby, give yourself a couple more weeks to feel completely healed, it will get better I promise, it took me 6 weeks to feel "normal" again.

Answer 13

its a funny phrase when people say that, and i'm realistic about it.  My daughter is 12yrs old and my son 9 and my youngest daughter is 22 months and i can still recall in great detail the pain of all three births.  As any mother would tell you its all worth it.  

Answer 14

LOL

I still tell my kids I'm in pain... and well, several of my organs have decided to work differently than they used to!!!

*shakes head* Kids what have they done for you lately???

Answer 15

Well, 5 weeks out I definitely have not "forgotten" that everything hurt, but I have forgotten to what degree.  I remember that it was the most excruciating thing of my life but it really doesn't matter to me anymore.  It was totally worth it as I now have one of the best things I could ever asked for!

Answer 16

i dont know 'yet'! my mum said you never 'forget' thats just lies but you just realises its worth it..but you never 4get the pain ever! she explains it as 'it bloody urts'

Answer 17

i havent forgotten.  i have a 5 month old but had her with no pain relief and i got a 3rd degree tear.  i was stupid as she was my first and i was brainwashed into thinking that a natural birth was best.  i had flashbacks for many months and my husband was traumatised at seeing me in so much pain too.  i will definitely have an epidural next time - at least then i wont feel like i am dying.

Answer 18

I didn't find it that painful at the time, there are witnesses to this.

The worst part for me is the icky feeling when the placenta comes through the cervix.

For research into my own theory:

1) Did you birth in a hospital

2) Did you have ANY drugs during labour, or an IV?

3) Did you intend to have a drug-free aka natural birth

4) Did you accept pitocin after the birth?

Answer 19

i remember that i was in pain and i know it hurt bad and that it was unpleasant, but i just can't remember the details of how it hurt or what hurt about it. so i guess so

Answer 20

My son is 4 and I didn't forget for at least 2 years. I would wake in the night crying making my husband promise me that I would never have to go through it again. With my daughter (4 months) I forgot straight away to the point where I became the kind of person I hate. One who goes around saying "It didn't even hurt." At which point my dear Husband would quietly remind me of the screaming I did.  

Answer 21

No, with my son I didn't want to get pregnant again as I could remember it so vividly (I had an epidural with him) but when we had our daughter I remembered but it didn't seem to matter that much (I had her with no pain relief).  I would love to have another, it hasn't out me off.

Answer 22

Oh Dear one don't worry you will forget....it may take a while but you will. Your only 4 weeks out your still hurting from it.  Also maybe you should be checked for post partum depression. Having a baby can really mess with your hormones. After my first child it took me about a year to forget. Although holding him right after made all that I went through worth it! It didn't make me forget them pain!  Then I gave birth to triplets and that took a lot longer time to forget. I also got a touch of post partum depression with them. The Doc fixed me right up. Don't be afraid to go in. Please take care now.

Answer 23

I still can't watch any woman give birth on telly without crying..And my youngest is nearly 8 !

All that happens is the 'desire' for another child becomes stronger than the memory of the previous pain. How could anyone forget that kind of pain?

When I held mine for the first time I just felt relief the ordeal was over! No it takes a good while for any woman to get over the emotional and physical assault of labour.

Lol @ snizz!

Answer 24

having my daughter was a breeze even in the middle of labour the midwife said "i bet you dont want anymore children after this?" and i replied yes, then 2 years later i had my son and oh my god i still remember the pain like it was yesterday (hes 4 now)  

Answer 25

No, it stays with you awhile, at least it did me, because I had a C-section both times.  However, given the fact that I thought I would never have a child, much less two sons, it really did take the edge off the pain. Every day my boys and I share a smile or a laugh together, I know it was well worth it and I'd do it all again for the two of them.

Answer 26

i am absolutely not. i had a horrific birth with complications, an episiotomy, high blood pressure, etc. The physical pain was still there a couple weeks after delivery, as i needed sufficient time to heal. i can't even count how many women told me how quickly i'd forget. my son is 4 months old and the experience is still very fresh in my mind. i don't think they forget, i just think they want another child bably enough to dull it out.

Answer 27

my sister said she dont forget but at the same time would go thriough it over and over again to get what you get, she would go through labour before going to the dentist go figure, lol, xx

Answer 28

No, I'm not one of those who 'forgot'. My first died shortly after his birth and I never even had the joy of holding him, my second was an emergency C-Section, but was a beautiful, healthy baby boy they could hardly get out of my arms, my third was also a C-Section, I had a stroke and was in a coma for two days before I woke and held my beautiful healthy daughter. How can anyone forget? However I now have two great adult kids who have kids of their own, They are my world, my life,I survived, but will never forget.  

Answer 29

Hello.I don't think that you forget as when you have another baby you suddenly remember what it is like and what to expect.

Answer 30

Took me a couple of months as I had complications but ive totally forgotten now! (8 months on!)

Answer 31

I do not think you forget.......... in time the image becomes fuzzier and fuzzier.... but forget..no, however i do believe that as time goes and you see your little one grow, and become more and more of a little person everyday that the image doesn't seem as horrid lol. I had a c-section so i didn't have actual pushing and stuff to think back on, but when i look at my daughter she's almost 6months old i think its very much worth the pain i did go through to have her bring joy to my life everyday.