Did you scream during labor? Was it as bad as you thought it would be?

Question

I was horrified that labor would hurt like **** and I couldn't take it. I planned to hold off on pain meds until I couldn't handle the pain then spring for the epidural. I was so nervous and sure I'd be a bloody pukey screaming mess. I was very physically fit when I got pregnant, and I maintained pretty active during pregnancy in hopes to help reduce my labor.

Well I was shocked. Labor, was not as bad as I thought. Yes, it hurt, no it wasn't fun, but for my 11 hour labor I walked around, leaned against the bed on my knees, took a few warm showers, and had my husband distract me through the pain. At 10 centimeters my husband looked at me and said, "Come on, you're doing great, lets meet our little girl". I was soooooooooooo motivated that I really hardly noticed the pain while pushing, and it took me 25 minutes to get her out. I was sooooooo excited to meet her. Honestly, I had salmonella poisoning before, and I thought the food poisoning cramps were worse than labor! I didn't scream, I moaned a bit, but nothing horrible or dramatic.

Am I the only one who had that sort of experience?

Answer 1

You are one of the lucky ones.

I felt like I was managing my labour pains quite well too, but I opted for the epidural for fear of the pain to come in the transition phase.  I ended up progressing quickly to 9cm... and then stalling at 9cm for 8 hours.  They finally gave me a c-section.

I don't think I screamed or moaned... just breathed very deeply.  When I was admitted to labour and delivery, the lady in the room next to me was screaming!!

Answer 2

that is so great that you had such an awesome labor and delivery!  i have had two- the first one not so great (six hours labor, two hours pushing with vacuum and forceps, also a huge episiotomy), and the second one pretty good (four hours labor, only one push, tiny tear needing no stitches).  i opted for the epidural both times because i am a wimp, but i didn't scream either while laboring or while pushing because i found out that screaming is a waste of energy and if you want to get your baby out, you should just concentrate with all your might on pushing, not screaming and flailing about as you see in the movies!

Answer 3

OMG girl you did great!!! my 3rd child i also had him naturally. i was very active and dialated 3cm for like 8 weeks which i guess was all a part of the master plan! So by the time i went into real labor, my doctor said awww you don't need any medication! at first i was soo upset with him, but everytime the contraction went away i was totally cool with it! After all it felt like i was in labor for 2 months so when the real deal happenned, i was well prepared.  I didn't do a lot of screaming, i did more looking around for my chapstick because my mouth was dry from breathing soo hard! I hope this one is as just as easy as the last. It wasn't half as bad as i thought it would be. i just really had to take advantage of the time inbetween contractions to focus.

you did great! wish me luck!!!

Answer 4

The first thing out of my mouth reading that was I hate you lucky!! I will tell you about my 2nd pregnancy.....My contractions were so bad they went off the charts, they were lasting for 4 min's AND were 5 to 10 seconds apart. They were coming so fast and so hard that my son was in distress so they gave me a shot to slow down my contractions....but they ended up stopping my contractions completely, so i ended up pushing him out (15 min's) with no contractions. Maybe you are just braver then me, but I personally felt like a truck was running me over multiple times.

Answer 5

I was screaming so loud the Dr.looked at me and yelled Michelle stop screaming.... I had an 18 hour labor with my first and an 11 hour with my 2nd. My uterus wouldn't clamp down and I kept bleeding so they gave me meds to make my contractions stronger and I didn't have any drugs....

Answer 6

I screamed, very loudly, may I add.  I didn't take any classes, and didn't know what to expect.  I mostly screamed at pushing phase, and probably scared, mothers-to-be, down the hall.  I'm 25 weeks pregnant, and hoping things will be easier a second time around.

Answer 7

You lucky dog! lol You are defiantly a rare person. My sister had a twinge in her lower back, not joking-a twinge, went to the doctor because she wanted to make sure she didn't pull anything, and she was dilated to an 8! That was all the pain she felt except for the pushing sensation when she delivered. It made me sick! lol  ok, ok, more jealous!  I, on the other hand, went through labor with my children without meds, and I was like the devil incarnate, anybody touched me, I was ready to rip their eyes out, if the spoke to me, I wanted to puke on them. It truly is different for each person. Sure do wish that I had a labor like yours and my sisters!

Answer 8

Well, my water broke when I was in the waiting room for a doctor's appointment. I wasn't in any pain at all. Fast forward about 3 hours, and my contractions are so bad I am crying and it's hard to breathe. I demanded my epidural stat! After that I just kinda layed there for another 10 hours, and it sucked cause I couldn't get up, and I was numb all over. When it finally came time to push, it wasn't really painful for me, just very uncomfortable with all the pressure, and I just wished all the doctors and nurses would leave me the h**l alone and stop messing with me. I never screamed, but the contractions made me cry before I got the epidural. I think it was just having to endure it all for such a long period of time is what sucked for me.

Answer 9

You are right, I felt the same way.  I hope many women that are scared about delivery read this.

Answer 10

with my first i was so drugged up i slept threw it all my second i screamed like a baby and my third i was okay not as bad. i did learn that if you are fit and work out during your pregnancy then it does help to have a better birthing experience. my mom had 5 kids with no medicine and took it like a champ. she made it look easy.

Answer 11

No you're not the only one. With my daughter i felt like i was being run over by a train!! The doctor asked me was i feeling anything because the contraction monitor was going off the chart and i uttered not one sound!! My daughter came very quickly!! Took me 30 minutes to get her out!!