How painful is it to give birth?

Question

On a scale from 1 to 10 how painful was it? How long were you in labor? Did you have a good experience or a bad one?

Lol I know I'm full of questions, just getting really close and nervous.

Answer 1

The pain varies from person to person, just as the labor does.  My sisters all went into labor and had their babies within an hour.  All of my babies were "sunny side up" which resulted in very long (33 to 48 hours), painful labor.  Everyone will have their own experience, but even on my labors the pain was not constant.  Don't be afraid to ask for pain medication.  After that long, though, you become so exhausted that it's harder to get through it.  Make sure that you are getting plenty of rest as you get closer to your time.  That way you will be better prepared to be a partner in this process.  The best part is the prize you get at the end.  It will make everything worth it.  Also, you will become one of the sorority of women who can now carry on long and enjoyable conversations about their own pregnancies and labors.  

Answer 2

Labor is hard to quantify on a scale of 1 to 10.  I do know what everything feels like because I gave birth naturally twice, without any pain medication of any type.  I would have to say that the different stages of labor really need their own grade.  From 1 to 5 centimeters was about a 1 to 2 on my pain scale.  From 5 centimeters to about  8 was about a 5 on my pain scale and from 8 to 10 was about a 9 or 10 on my pain scale.  Pushing the baby out wasn't too terribly painful...but when my babies crowned it was very intense.  I would give that about a 9 or 10 on the pain scale.  I was in labor for my daughter for 15.5 hours and with my son for 30 hours (but wasn't in pain for all of that time).  Both births were awesome experiences that I do not regret at all.   It is an amazing thing to give birth to a child.  Good luck.

Answer 3

Well i was induced the contractions didnt start out bad about a 7-8 or so then got painful. I was in labor for a day and a half got an epidural about 1/2 day in. Then my little boy decided he couldnt come naturally and had to have an emergency c section. After when they made me walk now that was a 10+. The pain got less and less and about day 7-8 I was off my pain meds. I was nervous and scared to have my baby and as I got nearer. Then when I had to have the emergency c section I was terrified. If I had to re-do it (not for a while I hope) I wouldnt have stressed myself out as much. I would have thought about holding my son more, and the pain less.

Answer 4

Being honest here - it hurt a lot. It was probably the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. I had a really fast labor - less than 2.5 hours - and I've been told/read that the speed probably contributed to a lot of the pain. I did not get an epidural (didn't plan to get one anyway) but I was able to cope. The nice thing about not having the epidural was that once the baby was out, that was it! Except for a few contractions to deliver the placenta, I was done! No epidural to wear off, no catheter to remove, nothing! I didn't even need an aspirin after it was all over, just a heating pad. Giving birth like that, just letting my body do what it was meant to do, was extremely empowering and a positive experience. I am definitely going to go natural again for my next one, though I think I'm going to try hypnobirthing!

Answer 5

I've never had a baby, but I'm gonna guess 12. At least natural birth.

Answer 6

Well... I've ask a lot of people and they said it feel like bad cramps,h**l I don't know how bad cramps feel.I got 4 tattoos so if it's worse than that then all i can say is that the lord can't put nothing on you that you can't bare. I'm 3mos.w/first and believe me I just pray every night and I know when it's touch down time I will be nervous i'm quite sure that every mother will be nervous. I heard the head is the hardest and once the head is out everything is fine. Just pray! Hope everything will go fine once you deliver. Good luck and to the virgo baby too! my b-day is 9/11. :)

Answer 7

I've given birth twice. Both natural and no drugs. I'd give the contractions a 10 and everything else(pushing) a 7. I started labor both times around 7am and 6am then gave birth 2 hours later. The contractions leading up to labor hurt. But they got more intense when I was ready to push, it felt like my stomach was continuously hard and never let up. Two pushes and they were out. Is all I felt was painful contractions in otherwords pushing their heads out didn't hurt. The second they came out all the pain just stopped instantly. And the second I was holding my baby nothing else mattered. I couldn't feel them stitching me up. And I couldn't feel them delivering the placenta.

My third child is due this Thanksgiving and I'm still nervous about labor. I wish you a speedy/easy labor and good luck, it'll be okay :)  

Answer 8

i had a C-section and i didn't feel c**p...but the day after OMG i could have died

Answer 9

Don't get scared if you hear 10 and over and bad stories.

My mom's experiences were great!

She had no labour pain at all.

I was born within 20 minutes of her feeling that I was coming.

My brother was born within 15 minutes! She actually prayed to feel at least one contraction just to know what it felt like and then she felt one!

Each woman is different and you probably can't look at the average experiences to gauge how your labour will turn out.

All the Best!

Answer 10

ok  when i went in before any drugs 10 but once i got the epidural i felt absolutely no pain in fact i fell asleep. i was in labor for 18hrs after my water broke at home. i was not dialated (2)any further than i had been in weeks so they induced me. the actual pushing part was 1 1/2 hrs and at first it was a relief to push but when the head was coming out it did hurt to a 10 again. i did tear internally and had to get stitches but i was so focused on meeting my son i didnt know until my epidural wore off and then i was sore. but i have to tell you though i had all that pain i would do it all over again 1000 times because its SOOO worth it, it truly is the forgetable pain. good luck congratulations. its ok and normal to be nervous but focus on getting to meet that little life thats inside of you.

Answer 11

I've never had a child, but there are women who say it's the most horrible pain  they've ever had, and there are others who don't have nearly as much pain.

Try not to worry yourself.  You will have your own experience.  You will get through it and have a beautiful little baby to enjoy.

I wish you well.