How did you act while in labor?

Question

Were you more cool, calm and collected or were you panicing and screaming your head off? I'm just curious, I was at the hospital a couple days ago, I saw a couple different people, I woman it was her first baby, she was being induced and seemed to have been there a while she looked in pain but she was just trying to be calm it seemed, not sure if she got the epidural yet or not. Then there was another lady, this was her 4th baby, her first boy, and she kept yelling and yelling and it kinda made me nervous lol, she didnt want the epidural but they were saying something about putting some other kind of pain medication through her IV. How did you act, I'm just curious.

Answer 1

I think to a certain extent, you decide before you go in how you are going to behave.  I hear people talking about how they cursed their husbands, nurses, doctors, you name it, and raised heck while in labor, but I decided before my first was born that I was not going to behave badly, and even though it was (especially that time) a very difficult labor, I was still polite and civil, and quiet during the whole ordeal (except for two times when my cervix was checked while having contractions, which made me scream but completely involuntarily).  With my next two, I gave birth naturally, and I still kept my cool, although again, there were moments (head and shoulders coming out) when I did scream involuntarily.  There is a difference though between how you treat everyone and your natural reaction to intense pain.  If you are normally calm and collected, unless you have made allowances for bad behavior in labor, you will be calm and collected except possibly when the pain/discomfort is its most intense, especially if you have never experienced that type/intensity of pain before and it catches you off guard.  

Answer 2

I was pretty calm. My epidural wore off by the time I gave birth. I figured all the energy it would take to scream I could use to push out the baby. I delivered her in 20 minutes. yes it hurt but there was nothing I could do about it so why get crazy lol

Answer 3

My first delivery was h**l on earth. I had an epidural, but it didn't take, so I felt every contraction plus the pain when I pushed my son out. It was a nightmare, and I screamed at the top of my lungs. It was really bad.  

With my daughter, the epidural did take, and what a difference!  I could have had a tea party in the middle of pushing. I didn't feel a thing or make a sound.  

Answer 4

Well with my first I had the epidural and the Demerol and I felt high so I was silly but when it wore off I felt like giving up saying I cannot do this it hurt so bad etc.. but with my daughters I went natural because I did not like the feeling of being high but I was a lot more calm and I meditated pretended to go to sleep with the contractions because I realized no matter what it is going to hurt

Answer 5

Im due 3 days before you and im really hoping that i will stay calm :) i usually do pretty well with handling pain but who knows how this will go. I was at L&D last thursday and there was some lady there that you really would have thought she was dying lol I dont see myself as yelling and screaming at everyone. my boyfriend was also there with me so he got pretty freaked out after that :)~ now he says he'll be waiting in the waiting room when i give birth lol

Answer 6

With my first I was in a lot of pain being induced with the pitocin and all. I was all giggly and fine and then boom right after the pitocin the contractions kicked in full force. I didnt get the epi until 5 centimeters and by then i only got 1/2 and epi (hospital policy)..I was crying and wiggling around a lot but was not screaming, tried to be strong, it was hard. With my second, tears rolled down my face but i was not boohooing, before i got the epi they gave me some meds in my iv to knock me out for a couple hours, i feel asleep as they were giving me the drugs, when i woke up back in pain but got the epi and everything was smooth after that..with my most recent, i didnt cry or anything but i would wiggle around a bit trying to get comfortable and trying to make the pain a little less intense. didnt work so i got the epi at 2 cent. and after that i was in heaven! My best friend on the other hand has 3 kids and screamed with every single one..being induced makes it worse but thats why there is pain meds.

Answer 7

for those women's privacy, I am embarassed for them.  I would not want some random person walking arround judging me when I am in labor.

I was pretty calm, but sometimes the pain is so intense you cant help vocalizing it. I do think some women play it up and make a bigger fuss than they need to. Saying to your husband that you are going to kill him etc is out of the question over the top.  

Answer 8

I was induced also and that was very painful for me, I had back labor BAD. But I cried a lot and held my husband's hand. I didn't have an epidural but I did take pain meds through the IV that put me to sleep. I just remembering to tell them to put on the Yankee game so I can watch it to help get my mind off the contractions. Wound up having a c-section though which was a bad recovery but with the most rewarding prize (my son :0) ) best of luck to you :-)

Answer 9

I'm a birth doula, so I've seen a lot of women in labor.  I've found that women are often very nervous about making sounds in labor, but once they get into it, it is a great coping mechanism.  It actually feels really good to make noise.  Also, there's a little saying -- "as the throat opens, the cervix opens".  I've definitely found it to be true that women in labor who make noise tend to dilate faster.  Think about it - if you have to stop yourself from making a noise, you tense up - and that causes labor to slow down.  Low tones usually are more effective for opening the cervix, as screams can tense up the body as well.  

A strange but true metaphor - Having a baby is a lot like having s*x.  Some women make noise, some women don't -- neither is better or worse but you've gotta do what you've gotta do for you to achieve that end result (o****m).  In labor, you "lose yourself" a lot like you do in s*x.  Hard to describe until you've experienced it.  A light switch flips on, and you go to the moon.  It is really key to allow yourself to let that happen, especially if you want to birth without an epidural.

My own personal experience -- back when I was having babies, I wasn't aware at all that women sometimes make noise during labor.  When I reached 5 cm or so, I noticed that I was making a mooing noise.  It was weird - there was a sound in the room, but I wasn't really aware it was coming from me.  I mentioned to my husband, surprised, that I was mooing.  He said, "that's okay" and mooed right along with me, his forehead pressed up against mine.  It's one of the best memories of my births.

Answer 10

I was quiet and wanted to be left alone.  I spent most of the contractions in the shower by myself (being in the shower helped a lot).  However, I did get the epidural after a couple hours, and that was amazing.  Surely I would have been screaming when the contractions got really bad, if I hadn't gotten that.  

During delivery I was mostly quiet, but during one particularly difficult push I grunted really loud like a caveman!  The doctor said it was primal instincts coming out.