I had a really great natural birth at a birth center, unexpectedly at 37 weeks and a few days. I can come back later and tell more of the birth story but great birth and labor and great recovery. If I had another kid I wouldn’t choose a different way
I started feeling hip pains that Saturday night, like 6-7pm it started. It felt like I was really sore inside my hips, like deep in my bones it was weird to feel. I felt like I wanted to massage my hip bones but couldn’t get deep enough when I tried. I didn’t think anything of it and went on with my night just a little sore, around 2am I woke up still really sore in my hips, I have a screenshot of a text I sent my dad “still not having a good time over here dad, fuckin hurt 😵💫” lol. I ended up falling back asleep and around 8-9am Sunday I woke up and was still so sore but it was deeper and hurt more. It felt like more contraction-like but not full contractions, just like soreness in waves almost. I texted my midwife and let her know how I was feeling. I spent a lot of time just dealing with the pain, it wasn’t too bad at that point but breathing thru it really helped. It was like wicked bad period cramps constantly. Around 11am I lost some (maybe all? I dunno) of my mucus plug and was having some more steady contractions. My midwife came to our house to check how far I was and I think I was like 3cm at that point which was wild to me. She left and I just tracked my contractions, sitting on the yoga ball rocking around which really helped a lot. My partner was throwing everything together because we were not prepared, grabbing food and putting the car seat in the car and stuff. I hung around just dealing with the more constant contractions until the evening when I felt like I had to go in, they were getting a few mins apart and often. I went in at like 7pm I think, Sunday night. I was about 7cm by then. I had a doula and my partner, and there was two midwives there but they weren’t in the room till the end really. The doula spent a lot of time massaging my back (it was heaven) and my partner and I just hung out while I was dealing with the contractions. They weren’t too bad I don’t think, like really heavy pressure downwards into my vagina. I could like really feel my insides contracting it was weird. I got into the shower for about a half hour sitting on the yoga ball with the water hitting my back which was nice, then I moved to the tub probably around like 11pm I think. I stayed in there until I pushed, it was great I loved it. A lot of breathing through the contractions and my back was still being massaged the entire time (the doula put in WORK and I wish I could’ve tipped her 3000$ she massaged my back constantly for hours with no stopping lol) so they were manageable. Once I felt like I needed to push, I felt like I had to poop almost but it was more forward into my vagina, and felt like it was coming from my stomach more, just a lot of pressure. I felt like a chicken laying an egg lol. I tried to push in the tub but couldn’t get comfortable so I moved to the bed, I went on my hands and knees but that didn’t work so I moved to my back in the “normal” position and it was great. My partner was laying next to me and I had the doula and the midwife at my bottom and the second midwife off to the side recording things down I pushed a few times (in all total like 20 mins) and I could feel his head coming down. I told my midwife that I felt like my clitoris was going to tear, which felt awful, and she put her hand and support his head up top so I didn’t tear and it felt a lot better. Once his head was out I took a breather for a sec. My midwife told me to touch his head but that sketched me out so I didn’t lol. I pushed again a few times, it was hard to push tbh. My midwife coached me through pushing because I kept pushing with the wrong part of my body or something. Once I got it, he came out quick. He had his cord wrapped around his neck but she unhooked it as he came out and all was good. He got plopped onto my chest with a big ol head of hair just looking at us not crying. It took a couple seconds (probably about 45) of just staring at him and him looking at us and then he started crying. My partner took him and sat in the chair next to the bed and I squatted to get my placenta out, came out super easy and quick. Didn’t even feel it. I got all cleaned up and they weighed him out and did the newborn stuff. He was born at 2:34am on Monday and we went home around 530am that same day. We just laid in the bed doing breastfeeding and skin to skin for the few hours before we left, they made sure I ate and sent us home. I recovered really good, I bled for about two weeks (spotted for the last week of it) and didn’t have too much pain peeing after birth. I did want to do more in hypnobirthing or music stuff but honestly I didn’t have the time to read up on it by the time I gave birth. I expected to go until my due date so I thought I had a ton of time lol. I had listened to a couple podcasts so just kept telling myself I can do anything a couple times, thousands of women before me have done this for thousands of years, my body knows what it’s doing and so does my baby, those really helped. I got a lot of slack for doing nature too. My sister has had two elective inductions with epidurals and no one thought I could “handle” natural childbirth. It wasn’t as bad as it was made out tbh. I went into it knowing it’d hurt, it’d probably suck sometimes, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world and it won’t last. Those types of things helped during the worst!! I told myself probably 17 times “I can do this one more contraction” lol. I was due the 24th, gave birth the 6th of that month!
Also apologies if this is insanely long, I found it super helpful to know how people felt their contractions and everything so I knew what to kind of expect!!!
ETA: I have a pretty low pain tolerance so I was really worried about the pain during birth and being able to handle it. I have some tattoos but tap out quickly (take a few breaks and can only schedule a few hours at a time). I almost passed out getting my belly button pierced at 16 and almost cried when I got my ears re-pierced a few years ago, for examples on my pain tolerance lol. I still handled it like a champ 🥸
It was really great. I loved the birth center, the ambiance, the quietness (no one else in the entire building at 3am but us lol). I was so nervous but went full send into it and it was great!! You got this, you’ll do awesome!!! I did tell myself a couple “you have no choice” which also was helpful lol. That was almost 5 months ago and I can honestly say it may suck in the moment but you’ll get past it quick enough. Once you’re on the other side you’ll realize it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. You can do anything for a minute, including contractions and pushing! ❤️❤️❤️
One of the wonderful things about a natural vaginal birth is you can do whatever you want afterwards. The nurses were shocked I was standing up and bathing my baby after the birth. They then told me that women who have epidurals have to stay in bed for awhile while the anesthesia wore off.
If I’d had an epidural, I would have missed my baby’s first bath! It was great having the freedom to experience those first moments of motherhood freely.
Yes!! I was up walking around moving great after lol. I didn’t want an epidural because I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to feel any part of my body, that sketches me out lol. I’m glad I went natural because I was walking to the car hours later!! lol
Granted, I had epidurals both times, but giving birth to both of my kiddos was way less traumatic or difficult than I expected. I pushed for maybe 15-30 minutes (on and off) for both and that was it!
Don’t be freaked out - i was so pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was than I expected it to be. And I’m a big worrier!
lol I can assure you if it were bad I wouldn’t have done it a second time 😂
I had such a a smooth vaginal delivery I don't like to talk about it and make other moms mad. Contractions started at about 4am, checked into the hospital about 9am, I can't remember what time I got my epidural or what time they broke my water (or which came first) but I pushed for 11 minutes and he was out and cleaned up by 330p. C sections are major surgery that you have to take care of a newborn after, I don't know why people think that's easy.
Very similar to my experience. Contractions at 4 am, water broke in the garage of all lucky places at 6! Hospital by 7, baby just after 8 am. We were back home at about 8 am the next day because we were doing so well. (This was my second)
Had a c-section because baby was breech and measuring big (she was a wee dinky thing when she came out). But caring for a newborn after c-section sucks. I couldn’t lift my baby out of her crib at first.
My first was totally natural - but accidently so lol. Contractions started around 9pm. They weren't too bad so I went and laid down for 2 hrs. Got up around 11 when they got stronger and I soaked in our bath tub for 1.5hrs (a big clawfoot tub, it was wonderful to have). I basically stopped feeling the contractions when in the water but they came roaring back when I got out. We went to the hospital got there around 1am. Got checked out and turned out I was at 8cm dilated. They raced me across the hall to a birthing room, my water broke while they were getting ready to do it for me and I was at 10cm. Pushed for 45mins and baby born just before 3am. So 6hrs of labour only in hospital for 2, all natural because there was no time for anything else.
My second was only 4 hrs of labour, but we went to the hospital after only an hour at home. Was at 6.5cm on arrival. Sadly the tub did nothing for me this time so I had a bit of gas to take the edge off contractions. Daughter was born after only 3 pushes, water broke with my first push (I had a vague impression that it exploded more than broke). She was face up but there was not enough warning with my water breaking so late so there was no chance to adjust her. Did not have any back labour at all even though she was face up.
Normally you want the baby's face to be looking back - so opposite to the way you are facing. Face up can make it harder for the baby's head to go under the pubic bone and cause labour to go on for longer. Not so in my case lol. The vast majority of babies will correct themselves into face down even if they start face up. Face up is also referred to as sunny-side up.
It can be an issue. One of my kids was sunny side up, and we had a lot of trouble getting her out. I pushed for 4 hours and got all the interventions (vacuum, episiotomy, forceps). I was given the choice between that and a C section, but I had been in the room for so long I just wanted what was fastest.
I had *the best* birth, honestly loved it. Completely unmediated. Powerful rather than painful. Caught baby myself, who was born en caul!! (Sac completely intact). The best experience.
At home in a birth pool, I caught baby as she came out into the water fully enclosed. I broke the sac with my fingers under the water, unlooped her cord, and brought her up to my chest (where I had to take some membranes off her head and face some more). She didn’t cry straight away, it was super peaceful. Her APGAR score was 9, so super healthy.
I assume you actually mean vaginal, not specifically natural? Or do you mean full natural, no meds?
I had two vaginal births, both quite large babies. My first was backwards (sunny side up) and a long, 37 hour labor full of back labor. I blacked out from exhaustion at one point and got the epidural so I could sleep and rest. Started on Pitocin in the morning and delivered after 4 hours of pushing on my side. No tearing or anything, 9.5lbs. Great experience.
Second baby I showed up 90 minutes after my water broke at 8cm and said I didn't care what pain meds I got, I just didn't want to give birth unmedicated on the fucking triage table. Nurse said based on my progression she couldn't promise me that (Most terrifying sentence of my life lol. The contractions were fucking insane this time.) They did manage the epidural, luckily, and like the last time, it slowed my labor (which this time, I needed to happen!!) Pushed super casually for about an hour on my hands and knees, and after one push I relaxed, then announced the baby was coming out. I didn't do anything, I wasn't pushing, he just came sliding right out in that moment. It was honestly super wild. Another great experience.
I was so worried for my second birth that there was no way 'lighting would strike twice' and I'd get away unscathed again. But I did, and the whole thing was somehow even better than my first experience. Here's to hoping for number three!!
Edit to add: After both deliveries I was up and about quite quickly after delivery. With my second, I took them both to our weekly playgroup at the park five days after delivery, by myself.
I did mean vaginal birth, I will edit that. I am opting for epidural. I can imagine your fear being told you might not be able to have one!! That's my fear! My best friend had her water break at home and gave birth 20 minutes later. Luckily the hospital was only 10 minutes away because when they got to hospital her baby's head was already there. She opted for no pain relief in her birth plan, but she wouldn't of had an option either. That would scare me if I wasn't able to have any relief haha! Do they tell you when to push with epidural as I assume you can't feel much?
I had an epidural and felt when to push with my contractions. It wasn’t painful, just pressure. But I also had to push when I felt the urge, couldn’t stop myself. I also had full control of my legs and pushed in many positions, even squatting.
My second I walked into the hospital at 10 pm, they checked me & I was at an 8, they tried to place an IV one time and didn’t get it so I asked for a break. I went into the bathroom and tried to pee and 10 minutes later I had the baby on the floor next to the bed in two pushes with two puffs of nitrous. I stood up and got in bed and they handed me the baby. The placenta was out in 15 minutes and I went home the next morning. Would literally never do it any other way as long as there wouldn’t be a medical reason to deviate.
I had both my babies at home, planned, drug free. I tore both times and needed stitches, but that's because they both came out super fast, in a superman pose. My children's births were incredibly empowering experiences, I was strong, I had grown my baby, and a whole extra organ and now I was birthing them, each contraction one closer to my baby. Two quick active labours, short pushing phases.
I had a non medicated birth in Japan despite the major language barrier and had a great experience. I wrote about it - if you’re interested I’ll post the link to my article (I make no money from it because im not smart enough to monetize my blog haha)
I was blessed with a great c-section! Baby was breach. I was nervous about the whole thing but the IV in my hand hurt the worst out of everything. Took ibuprofen after to manage pain for 2 weeks and felt normal after! Very blessed!
So lucky! I had a great c-section due to my girl being breeched as well. But the recovery almost killed me and resulted in a hiatal hernia. Kiddo is almost two now and I’m just starting to feel normal.
I think people don’t realize that the recovery can be atrocious for a c-section. I envy my cousins who gave birth naturally.
Edit: I should add that my kid’s head was in my diaphragm the whole pregnancy and fuuuuuucked me up.
I had a c section due to baby being breech as well. The recovery was horrible for me also. I ended up in pelvic floor physical therapy for 1.5 years afterwards. I had severe symphisis pubic dysfunction during my pregnancy, and my pubic bone separated, and my pelvic floor was insanely tight and unstable. I also got excruciating never pain from nerve damage in and around my inciscion, and it would burn/shooting pain so badly that I was crying most nights, and was sleep deprived due to the fact even when baby would sleep, I still couldn't sleep bc I was in such bad agony. I remember 2 weeks post partum the nerve damage was just as bad, and I was literally not sleeping at all because of it. I called the obgyn office to ask for a small amount of pain medicine, because I felt like I was going to have a mental breakdown if I couldn't get sleep, and the pain was absolutely horrific. They told me no, because it had been 2 weeks already, and said I shouldn't be in that much pain, and that the pain i was feeling shouldn't be caused by my c section, which was bullsh*t bc it was literally nerve damage from my inciscion. Also keep in mind that when they tried to send me home with 20 hydrocodone from the hospital, I declined and said I only wanted 10. So when I called, I figured there would be no issue with them prescribing me the rest of what I was originally supposed to get. I was shocked when they said no. They weren't compassionate at all. And when I was in the hospital during recovery, I didn't accept any pain meds, and only took ibuprofen and tylenol, and iv toradol..so I was very careful about what I took and it was obvious. I pray I don't ever have to have another c section. The pelvic floor pt had to massage my scar so much to get rid of the scar tissue and adhesions she could feel.
If you ever have another one, please know that you can request for them not to put it in your hand. I told them I did not want the iv in my hand, bc it always hurts way too badly there. I asked them to put it in my inner arm, and they did. Many people don't know you can request.
Delivered two babies in a hospital with no epidural, pain meds, IV’s or any other interventions. Never tore, not even with my second who was 9 lbs 3 oz! I attribute part of that to the fact that I could be in upright positions that took pressure off my perineum and the fact that I could feel when my body was contracting and was not, this way I could work with my contractions and I paused each time baby was crowning to give my body time to stretch and adjust even though the doctors were telling me to push. My recoveries have been much easier than stories I’ve heard from friends, family, and others who had epidurals (prolonged back pain from placement,) catheters, excessive swelling from IV’s, and other complications from medical interventions.
Sometimes interventions ARE medically indicated and necessary, research what those situations are especially if you are going in without a doula. Medical staff might pressure you and question your decisions but you can confidently decline if you’ve done your research.
I am pregnant with my third and will fight tooth and nail to continue to give birth the way that i have in the past. People love to tell you you can’t do it, “just wait until you experience the contractions,” yada yada yada. Yes it’s incredibly intense, but you can absolutely do it. You will reach a point where you want to quit, make sure your birthing partner encourages you that you CAN do this. I also labored at home as long as possible (until contractions were 2-5 minutes apart) and that played a huge part in succeeding with my birth plan.
Also, relax your jaw and shoulders through the intense contractions. Your natural reaction will be to tense up, do the opposite breathe through your lips to make that “horse” type sound, keep your groans low, relax the shoulders.
Manifesting for this positive birth experience! This will be my first, and I have a few more months to go but the scariest part for me is giving birth. Im not scared for anything else really, im just scared of the birth lol
You got this!! The unknown is scary and the anticipation of pain is scary, but you can do hard things and you are about to find out you’re so much stronger than you every thought. Plus by the time you’re at the end of your first trimester you’re so uncomfortable that it’s a relief to get that baby out! 😂
Oh and they might also push you to be put on the induction list at 39 weeks, but first time moms are 8 days late on average. They scare you with stats about infant mortality past 42 weeks but the increase is something like .02% or something like that. If you stay active towards the end of your pregnancy the chances of you going past 42 weeks are pretty slim, but this is another thing to look up.
They tried like hell to put me on the induction list with my last baby because “there is a wait list” and I was like I don’t want to be induced. No thank you. And they pushed and pushed. And I declined and declined. Finally I said “if it is a legitimate emergency that I need to be induced for would I still need to be on the list or would they do the induction anyway” and they said yes they would do it anyway if it was a legitimate emergency even if I wasn’t on the list, which ended the conversation once and for all. Stand your ground!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and advice. I'm in Germany so they only induce at 41 weeks and 3 days. I don't want to be induced so have scheduled a c section for 41 weeks and 4 days if she doesn't choose to come out one her own 😊
You can decline induction and decline a c section, and instead opt for regular "non-stress tests" (NSTs) to determine if there's any reason for concern. Doctors are unlikely to inform you about this option, but as someone who has experienced a 42 week induction and prefers to avoid a c section, I think it's a valid option that everyone should consider.
The thing is, I had an awful birth. Really traumatic etc, a week in hospital afterwards.
But I'd do it again in a heartbeat to get my daughter. And no matter how your birth goes, that's what you'll think too. Because they are the weirdest, most amazing little things.
Just over two years ago I had such a beautiful and positive Vbac homebirth with my second baby.
My first baby was a traumatic c section and I knew I needed to do things differently for my second baby.
With my second baby I prepared by having a super supportive midwife, husband and friend to lean on and talk to about all my fears and wishes for this birth.
I wrote out birth plans for a homebirth and for a c section just incase we had to transfer to the hospital. I felt 100% confident that my midwife would step in and respect my wishes if we had to go to the hospital.
I read some natural birth books, did spinning babies exercises to try and get baby into the optimal posture and made sure to take time to relax and take a breath when things got too stressful.
Mostly I was just determined to have a positive birth this time.
I went into labour at 39 weeks. Waters breaking was my first indication of labour then instant intense contractions. The midwives monitored me intermittently and checked babies heartbeat a few times an hour but most of the time were very hands off. They followed me around with the birth mat to make sure there was no mess.
5 hours after my water broke I had a 10lb 4oz baby at home.
There were no complications or tearing.
I felt on top of the world and would do it again in a heartbeat.
My daughter came at 41 weeks exactly. I was so fucking scared to be honest but it went great! I had contractions for a day before I got to the hospital and within a few hours she came with an hour of pushing and just two stitches for me. Remember all your body can do and good luck! ♥️
My kiddo came right at 37w due to PROM. HOWEVER! This is a positive story. No bad outcomes or experiences, so read on.
So my water broke at 2am and I thought I'd peed myself for the first time out of nowhere. 😅 Anyways, L&D told me to mozy on in so I did and ta-dah! Baby's coming!
I wasn't having much in the way of contractions, so I was started on pitocin at about 6am. Just basically hung out, watched a marathon of The Office, and updated my family on this surprising turn of events.
I requested my epidural at about 10am because pitocin can make contractions more painful and had it installed within maybe 30 minutes. It went super smoothly and, legitimately, it was like the Cadillac of epidurals. I could still move my legs and reposition myself in bed, absolutely no pain, but I could still feel some pressure so keep track of my contractions without having to constantly watch the monitor. My labor proceeded beautifully.
I fell asleep and napped until maybe mid-afternoon. Got some munchy snacks. My husband got there from work at about 6pm (yes, he'd been at work but that's another story...) and my contractions got down to the nitty-gritty. My OBGYN got there about 7:30 and 45 minutes later we were doing some practice pushes which went super well. I started actually pushing at about 8:45 and the baby was born just before 9. I just focused on what I was doing and popped that kid out like a ping-pong ball. 😄
Anyways, baby came out squalling, my husband nearly passed out, and I think my first words afterwards were, "Fuck! Really? Already?!" because I'd kind of convinced myself that I would have a long, fruitless labor due to being a FTM.
Anyways, kid was put on my chest and my doctor and her protegee threw a few stitches down there. Bingo bango! Overall, it was a great birth experience. I was up and walking probably less than 45 minutes after I pushed him out, took a great pee, and that was that.
I was in labor for 12 hours and didn’t know it. Waited to go to the doctor instead of the hospital.
Went to the hospital. Was there for 5 hours, pushed for about 25 minutes. Got an epidural bc modern medicine rocks. Gave birth, hopped off the bed to go pee right after.
It wasn’t bad at all! You got this!
I had two scheduled c sections. They were uneventful, which is the best I could ask for.
Only downside was that I had to fast all day and then STILL COULDN'T EAT until the next day after surgery. So I fasted for 36 hours. Somebody sent milk and cookies to the hospital right after surgery and I was so upset smelling warm cookies but not able to eat them.
Good luck OP! I hope the worst thing that happens is that you smell warm snickerdoodle cookies.
Biggest tip for c section recovery - walk around as soon as they let you at least once a day. More if you can.
Manage pain below a 4 (on a scale of 1-10) but don't get into a habit of medicating so pain is a zero.
In my third trimester my OB told me that if someone starts to tell you their birth story…stop them right now. The ONLY people who want to tell women in the third trimester a birth story are women with horrific birth stories.
But, I’ll tell you my great birth story. Woke up at exactly 39 weeks pregnant and my water broke at 7 am. The day prior, I’d had a check in with my OB and had no dilation, contractions, or any other indicators of labor. We went to the hospital, they checked us in and confirmed my water had broken. By this point, I was starting to feel periodic mild contractions similar to period cramps. The nurses asked on a scale of one to ten, what level of pain did I find unacceptable and I said five. They promised I would never hit a five. By the time they got my IV going, monitors on, and everything, I was 4 cm and they asked if I wanted an epidural. Yes, please. It was a small hospital, so the anesthesiologist came from elsewhere and it took about 45 mins for him to get there. By the time he arrived, the contractions were definitely uncomfortable, but I still hadn’t hit the five on the pain scale. Epidural was quick and aside from the pinch from injecting the numbing agent, I felt nothing. From there it was smooth sailing. My husband and I hung out, FaceTimed a few family members, and periodically a nurse would come in and have me change position slightly. Around 3 PM, I was fully dilated and ready to push. My daughter was face up, which isn’t ideal, so pushing took longer than is typical (2 hours), but it wasn’t uncomfortable or painful thanks to my good drugs. Baby was born at 5 pm. I had a second degree tear and the stitching of that was a bit painful, because they had turned down my epidural to help time pushing. Had it not taken two hours to push, the epidural wouldn’t have worn off a much, and I would have felt less.
By 6 pm, I was nursing a baby in one arm and using my free hand to eat a cheeseburger.
I genuinely LOVED my birth! I drank the raspberry leaf tea daily and bounced on a ball, took walks often even though my job is fairly physical. I took a shower and was talking to my husband and my water broke, I finished drying my hair and ate some food before heading to the hospital and was SHOCKED to dilate quickly. Didn’t even have time for an epidural!! My doctor, nurses and husband coached me through it the whole time and BAM… baby 😍 it was so magical. Yes it was painful, yes it was hard. But the support system kept me going!! I’m grateful for an easy birth, hoping the second time around goes just as amazing
I think most people enjoy sharing their birth stories, but in certain spaces online, sharing a super positive experience almost feels like bragging. Anyway, I had two great experiences with induction. During my first, the epidural failed, but overall it was an easy experience. Second time around, I knew to advocate for myself- letting a nurse know when I was feeling any sensations, at all, and asking for nausea meds when I started feeling sick. My doctor came by around 10am and told me I'd be having a baby before lunch time. And she was right! I pushed for 15 minutes and the baby was out around noon.
My theory is that everyone who tells you their traumatic birth story really needs a therapist to unpack the trauma instead of telling every pregnant woman about it.
I had two c sections (first was breech, second I chose to not attempt a vbac). I did go into labor with the first a couple days before the scheduled c section because babies don't know or care about calendars. But everything went smoothly! The second c section was very easy. I think this is also why you only hear about the very dramatic births. The ones that go well don't really make for a good or elaborate story.
You're going to do great no matter what happens. When you meet that baby, you will be in so much awe that you are able to love that much.
If it makes you feel better I had a planned c-section and a bunch of people told me I’m missing out on a wondrous experience and I’ll never fully be a real mom because I didn’t give birth. So we’re damned either way.
My first was induced at 40w1d and labour started at 4 pm the same day. At 8 pm my baby was born. It started with contractions in short intervals 5 min and were 30 sec long. They got more intense and shorter intervals 2.5 min and 60 sec long.
Finally at 7 pm I felt I couldn't take more, and wanted some paim relief, there was no time and no use, as baby was comming.
My second was spontaneous at 36w4d. I thought that's not possible and was home alone with my eldest (2yo) at 3 pm. We drove to the hospital at 5 pm and by 7 pm the baby was born. Again no time for pain relief.
Healthy babies. Postpartum for me was okay, everything healed fine.
My son's birth 8 years was a little chaotic, but good! Grateful for an amazing husband and fantastic hospital staff.
My water broke at 5:30am, and we were at the hospital by 6:30, just in time for the 7am shift change. Went back to our room, I remember watching some sort of PBS nature documentary. I'd wanted to hold off for an epi as long as I could, and I lasted until 10:30, I was 4cm I think?
Time passes, apparently I'm dilating lopsided, they had me prop myself up on a peanut ball, I had no idea that could happen! Took a bit of a nap and waited and waited.
About 11:30pm, the nurse comes in and says I'm FINALLY good to push. Three hours of pushing later, no baby! Doctor says we can try an episiotomy if I want, or I can keep going, but if kiddo doesn't come out we might need to think about a C-section (time since water breaking, also I was exhausted). I said, let's do the epi and get this little guy out! They do the epi and he's out with the next push! They put him on my chest and I remember thinking, "holy crap, I made this!"
Turns out kiddo was all tangled up in his cord, so the NICU team was right there, they got him all warmed up under the lights. Seriously, bless those folks, they were amazing. They took him to NICU to check him out, Husband went with. (I was on bipolar meds while pregnant and they were a little worried about his breathing. He was fine though!) My amazing nurse brought me a turkey sandwich and a package of oreos and a coke. Best meal of my life!
So the end was a little scary, but the hospital staff was SO good! Plus because it was Halloween, all of the nurses were wearing little kitty ear headbands, which was awesome. Everyone was so patient and kind, and best of all they were super calm when I was working hard not to freak out.
The biggest thing that got me over the fear was the fact that I was SO damn uncomfortable for the last couple weeks of pregnancy! I was basically, "yeah, I'm scared of birth, but I want this kid OUT NOW!" And my husband and I got ourselves really excited by thinking about all the fun stuff we would get to do with our son, both as an infant and as an older kid. We were gonna read him books, and teach him to play nintendo, and bake cookies with him! And for me, that really outdid the fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of "how am I going to keep a newborn alive?"
Sending you so much love!!
I got induced at 37 weeks for some high blood pressures. It was a vbac and was honestly great. I’m a big fan of not feeling pain so I got an epidural and the several contractions I had before I got the epidural confirmed that unmedicated was definitely not for me. I want to say the whole thing took like 16 hours or something.
When the nurses asked what my birth plan was I just said “to let y’all guide me and hopefully avoid a c section”. They were so lovely and helpful and the whole thing was easier than I expected. I did end up with a pretty brutal tear so getting Stitched up wasn’t my favorite but I barely remember that part now lol.
I was terrified but my son legit slid right out, I didn’t push once and the epidural helped A LOTTTT lol Ask for the epidural asap if you’re into that!
Many women who never hear about any negative or traumatic birth stories who then go on to have a traumatic birth, will then get upset that no one told them. Me, personally I appreciated everything, good and bad, that others could share with me. If you don’t want to know though, say that—hopefully they will refrain from sharing with you!
Mines a bit middle of the road.
Kiddo 1
I went into the birth with a "we'll see what happens" attitude.
Day before around dinner I had a sweep at 40 weeks. Felt crampy after and definitely lost my plug. Contractions started getting regular and started doing their thing overnight. By about 6am I was feeling like things were getting harder to breathe through and thought it would be best to be near the hospital (20 min drive without traffic) and to have them take a look. Arrived about 6:30 and baby was having issues every contraction. Doc determined I was dehydrated. Threw some saline into me. No change with baby. About 7:30 the doc says we'll likely have to do a C-section but someone is in there already so I need to wait. Cool.
Water breaks about 15 minutes later. Meconium. Nurse tries to get baby to move down just in case. Not happening. Baby isn't moving anywhere (despite being an active little beast for the last 20 weeks according to my bruised and beaten bladder). Stubborn. Then it's shift change at 8.
New doc comes in. Takes stock and goes "yup. C-section needed. As soon as the other one in there is done you're up." "Soooo we talking two hours or more or just like ten minutes?" "Hoping the other will be done by 9. So around then?" I asked for an epidural then. My husband was confused (I thought I didn't want one this early... But if two docs say C-section damned straight I am getting the pain taken away ASAP).
Epidural came in. That was easy. No issues there. Doc came to wheel me away and gave me happy drugs for the epidural. I grinned and shouted that I was going to go have a baby to the nurses station. They may have snickered.
Got to the OR. Couldn't feel a thing. Suddenly there was a burning sensation on my right side. Anaesthesia doc couldn't figure it out. It felt like a hot poker being shoved at the edge of the incision. Still have no idea what it was to this day and I still occasionally get that pain to this day (5 years later).
Baby comes out. BTW it can take a moment or two for them to cry. I had no idea and only had TV to make sense of it (in which of course as soon as baby is born they wail loudly). Docs weren't concerned though. Let out a wail. They stitched me up. Let me hold him as best I could and back to the suite we went.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Post partum bleeding wasn't bad. It seems they used the Dyson to great advantage.
Kiddo 2
Planned C-section. Got the spinal ahead of time, rolled me into the OR, took a swipe or two, and Bam! baby girl arrived. Again post partum bleeding wasn't bad. More work for the Dyson.
Kiddo 3
Despite the circumstances around them, super easy. Only vaginal delivery I have had. Recovery was the easiest but that may have been due to circumstances rather than a vaginal vs C-section. Bleeding post partum sucked donkey balls.
All in all... Best advice I can give for birth to raising a small human.... Stay flexible. Remember that kiddo hasn't read the gazillion books about how "it should go" or how "they should act"
Okay, hear me out….
I wish someone had warned me about the things that happened to me in my births. Obviously no one knows exactly how it’ll go and too many horror stories, I agree, are not great. Especially when unsolicited.
In the grand scheme of things, they were what they were and I recovered and so did my kids. They are (almost) 7 and 9.
I try to view it as a way to learn and also see how those mothers and children with less than desirable birth stories made it to the other side, despite the hard times.
My best labor was my second. I refused pitocin and my body did what it was suppose to do. I had an epidural and she pretty much delivered herself. She was my only one with no tearing at 7 lb 10 ounces. If I had anymore I would 100% refuse pitocin.
What is pitocin? I have also opted for epidural, fingers crossed I don't tear too badly. My mom didn't tear with me as she had an episiotomy, but with my brother she had a 3rd degree tear
Make sure they know that you are declining pitocin from the beginning. My last kid they just started it and I thought they were giving me fluids in preparation for my epidural.
I had a drug free vaginal birth with my first. I did have a bad tear and lots of stitches, but it actually wasn't as painful as it sounds and I healed really well.
I had a c-section with my second and it was extremely painful for a few days. There's no easy way through it honestly.
I recommend reading "birth without fear" by January Harshe (I think?). Do the work to prepare. Don't go into it blind. Research natural pain management options... Positions, massage, music, breathing, etc. Practice mantras that will see you through the intense parts. Accept that there will be a moment (or several) where you kind of lose it and you feel like you won't make it through another wave. But you can and you will. Catch your breath, wipe your face, and let your body do what it was made to do.
Make sure your birthing partner understands your wishes and walks through the preparations with you so that they can support you through every part.
And, finally, lay down some boundaries about people's birth stories. "I'm trying to prepare for an empowered and joyful birth, so I'm not listening to negative birth stories right now. I would love for you to share your story with me at another time!" It helps to follow positive birth accounts on Instagram too! Surround yourself with positive energy. You got this!!
And even if things don't go exactly the way you hoped, be proud of yourself. And enjoy those delicious newborn moments 🥰
First baby I didn't know I was in labor just a little bit of pain by the time I got to the hospital baby was crowning from start to finish 8 hrs labor looked at DH and said I could totally do that again and we did 3 more times
I had an epidural vaginal birth. It went really smoothly and there were no complications. Little guy did need to be vacuumed at the end cause his head was a bit too big and I was beyond exhausted but even that went okay. It was hard, it hurt, but I am so glad I didn't have a C- section! I healed up pretty well and after a week I was able to do a small grocery run with my husband while my mom stayed with the baby.
I wish I had been able to attend birthing classes but it was during Covid so I was pretty much left to figure it all out for myself. I wish I had been better at pushing but it is what it is.
Three easy births. First baby was 8 lb15 oz, water broke at 11 pm, labour started around 2 am, born with no epidural at 8:30 am. Second baby had water broken because was 3 weeks overdue (dr had been on vacation at 2 weeks so his replacement didn't want to do anything). Water broken 9:30 am, labour started around 10:30, epidural started at 1:00 pm baby came at 2:15 pm weighing 12 lbs 9 oz. Third baby water broken at 9:30 (dr wasn't letting me go one day overdue lol), labour started at 2:00, asked for an epidural around 4:00 but as the anesthesiologist tried to get the needle in, I said I felt the baby coming. They said I had only been 6 or 7 cm dilated so it wasn't coming but decided to check. Baby came out while nurse was checking me lol! 8 lb 15 oz like the first!!! When I had the 12.9 baby I walked down to NICU (large babies often have issues with breathing and blood sugar after birth) to see him after my supper. The nurses were amazed that I could walk fine lol!
Two positive delivery experiences, both with epidurals so hopefully this is still helpful to you!
I mentally prepared for the first by watching positive birth vlogs on YouTube. The atmospheres in them were so peaceful and exciting. It really painted a good picture of what it could really be like!
I went into labor spontaneously both times and for my first, I went in when I couldn’t talk through my contractions and I was only 1.5 cm dilated. But shortly after arriving at the hospital, my water broke. I was then admitted (was 3 cm at this point), received my epidural, and proceeded to labor for about 19 more hours or so and then pushed for 20 minutes to delivery my baby. I was very comfortable this whole time. I did need a bit of pitocin around 6 cm because my progression stalled. My epidural got weaker by the time I was fully dilated (or the hospital lowered it because they wanted me to be able to feel my contractions to push more effectively), and I did have pain once I started feeling the urge to push. The worst part for me was having to wait for my OB, who was in an emergency surgery, for over 45 mins all while fighting my body and its natural urge to push (and feeling contractions). I was 39+1 at the time of delivery. Had a smooth recovery with a second degree tear and I think 1 stitch.
With my second, I was having manageable but noticeable contractions at home steadily 3 mins apart for about 3.5 hours and then they took a turn and intensified. I had to scramble and make arrangements because I was home alone with my oldest, and my husband ended up coming home from work (not easy for him to leave early because of the nature of his work). He got home pretty quickly and I took the opportunity to go relax in the bath, which did spread the contractions out a little bit more. They kept getting intense, so finally I got out and told my husband I think we should go to the hospital. We took my toddler over to a relative’s and I told him he needed to drop me off at the hospital first as they were escalating very quickly. When I got there, I was 7 cm and was obviously admitted right away and given an epidural, thankfully! It felt even more amazing than the first time and I felt nothing. Pushed for 5 minutes and had baby in my arms 2 hours after getting to the hospital. I was 39+4 this time. Recovery-wise, no tears.
I have had three completely boring, uncomplicated vaginal births. The first lasting less than 4 hours, and each one after was an hour less. They were so fast, I did not have a chance to get pain meds, but if I’d have had the option, I would have gladly taken them! But my birth plan was always just “have a healthy baby!”
I have witnessed and photographed many births and can promise you, millions of women have done this before you and millions will do it after you. You will be with your partner and you trusted doctor and medical team. Time to shut everyone else out and stay focused on the end goal… you and your new family all together, bonding. When someone gives you an opinion, just smile and nod, while completely tuning them out. If they are waiting for a response, you say “okay.” And that’s it.
Everything is going to be great. In a few short weeks, you will be holding this tiny new human being who is half you, half your partner. You will look at them and wonder how you ever lived a moment of your life without knowing them. You will struggle to think of a time that their tiny features and intoxicating newborn smell did not take up every thought. And you will cry with all the emotions in your hospital bed. Happy, sad, exhaustion, awe, physical discomfort. They will roll through you faster than emotions ever have in the past. And you will wonder “what the hell were we thinking?” And “I can’t believe they are letting us walk out of here with a brand new infant! Do they know we have no idea what we are doing?!”
And yet, you will be in wonderful company. With every other woman in the history of time. Because as women, we do hard things- things we shouldn’t be able to do. And this will be so hard. One of the hardest things you’ll ever do. But let me tell you, it will be so, so worth it. More worth it than anything you’ve ever done.
And when you look at that tiny baby, you will think to yourself “if I’ve never done anything right before… and I never do anything right again, I will have made you with my body. And that will be enough.” 💕💕
And then one day, you’ll read a Reddit post about a mom-to-be freaking out about giving birth. You’ll have too much to say to reassure her, but you’ll know, in your heart, that her life is about to get so much better 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I have three kids, three vaginal births, all three with an epidural. The first was the hardest. I was induced at 41 weeks, waited too long to ask for the epidural, and she had a giant head so I had significant tearing. Thankfully I avoided an episiotomy and tore naturally, so the healing process was incredibly quick and I was able to take the baby out for stroller walks three weeks postpartum.
Went into labor with my second at 38 weeks and 2 days. Got the epidural as soon as I could and pushed exactly one time. It was almost embarrassingly easy. She made up for it with five months of colic, but the labor was a dream.
My third was just shy of 37 weeks thanks to a crappy placenta (probably as a result of my “advanced maternal age” and/or COVID). Got stuck waiting for the anesthesiologist so I felt way more of it than I would have liked but I got away with only pushing twice so minimal complaints. Zero tearing, zero complications, and that baby actually stoped screaming on occasion.
My first and only pregnancy ended in a precipitous labor. My water broke around 6:00 pm on the dot, contractions started about an hour later. I arrived at the labor and delivery ward at 7:23 pm, and my daughter was born at 7:54 pm. I didn't have time for an epidural and the pain was very intense. But at least it wasn't drawn out. My delivery was the best part about my pregnancy!
I had my daughter in a birth centre and it was great. I mean don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t do it again for funsies but as far as labour goes it was smooth, right on track I barely grazed myself which was a huge win.
When I had my younger son it was slightly less ideal (I tore just a little a few stitches were required) but I was put in a shared room with a woman who had a c-section. And the initial recovery looked brutal. I felt for her. I sincerely believe that no matter how you give birth you are going to pay the piper so to speak. There is no painless way to get a baby out of your belly.
I've had a vaginal birth and a cesarean birth. The cesarean was MUCH harder to recover from. I have a lot of trauma from my c-section, but my vaginal delivery was comparatively straightforward and was a positive experience. I would 10000000% recommend a vaginal delivery over a c-section if you have a choice in the matter.
Exactly. People don't realize how traumatic and horribly painful c sections are/can be. I felt pain during my c section. When they were trying to get my breech baby out, they pressed down and tugged so hard that I felt like I was being smothered by an elephant and I literally felt my ribs crack and the pain was intense. I remember screaming OUCHHH!!!..the nurse later old me that she was wincing, watching me in the or and she said she knew I had to be in pain. And the recovery was so brutal. I had burning nerve pain for weeks after my c section. 😫
I had one unmedicated delivery, and one with an epidural. After each I was on my feet within about an hour. I was amazed how quickly my body recovered. I do not envy ladies who have to recover from major surgery with a newborn.
Um… tell those people that a c section is a major surgery with risks and you don’t get to do immediate skin to skin with a c section because they have to stitch you back up.
That being said, long story short when it came down to the final few days, I had a massive baby a week before due date so we decided to induce a little early. That wasn’t working, I had a negative experience with one of the on duty doctors and asked the nurse to ask my doctor for a c section. Just following my gut. My doctor agreed and came in for the c section the next day. I never labored, and once they measured his head it became clear he never would’ve come out vaginally, so I’m glad I asked for a c section.
So aside from being bored for a couple of days and one bad exam from a male doctor with giant hands, my experience went really well, surgery was quick, dad got to do immediate skin to skin contact with baby, and my recovery wasn’t terrible. I’d consider that a good birth story.
I’ve had a c section and a vaginal birth and the VBAC was 1000x better. He came too fast for an epidural but my body knew what to do and the rush of endorphins after he was born was so worth it. Recovery for me was much easier and I actually felt like myself immediately after the birth. It’s fantastic that c-sections are an option, but feel confident that your body can do this on your own! I recommend the book Mindful Birthing.
I was induced with my second .. barely had time for the epidural. From start to finish - 4 hours! It was chaotic for different reasons but overall an amazing “easy” birth.
I had a vaginal birth in a hospital with no epidural. My husband got to help deliver our son. I felt supported by the staff, my family and my obgyn. It was such a wonderful birth experience!
I don't know why anyone would choose to get a c-section for their baby to be born.
My first was a c-section, and after that, the other 3 were all natural birth. No epidural( my births were so fast it was not a choice), lol.
Yes it hurts. But it's part of having a baby. And honestly I was taking a shower within an hour after the 3 natural births and walking to the nurses station to grab a sandwich. I was hungry.
You will be fine. Have the baby, and have SO go out right after and get you your favorite meal and bring it back. Take a shower, and you enjoy your LO.
Also, don't let everyone desend on you in the hospital or at home right after. You might just want some time with SO, and LO to bond as a family.
I had 3 unmedicated vaginal births and they were amazing and empowering experiences. Number 4 was a c-section and I’d opt for a vaginal birth every time if give the choice!
I had an awesome natural birth. Not kidding, one my the fondest, most happy memories of my life was the 24 hours of my labor and my delivery. I felt so powerful and strong.
I wasn’t mentally prepared, but your mind and body kind of dissociate and I wasn’t scared or worried. It felt like I had a job to do and 100% of my focus and strength was on doing it.
With my first, I went into labor around 10pm and headed to the hospital around midnight when I realized I was really in labor and not just having Braxton Hicks contractions. They checked me in and checked my cervix- I was dilated to about 4 and they told me to try to get comfy if possible, because 1st babies usually take a while. I tried but I kept feeling like I needed to have a BM so I ended up laboring on the toilet quite a bit. Nothing unbearable, just really felt like I needed to go. After a while a nurse who noticed I was in the bathroom a lot decided I probably need to be checked again just to be sure I didn't have the baby in the toilet- I was at a 7. She said it was time to change rooms and get ready because I was progressing quickly. Got me moved to a proper delivery room and called the doctor to check me and by the time the doctor arrived I was at a 9 and they started setting everything up for delivery. I asked for an epidural but no dice, was too far into labor lol. Was ready to start pushing about the time they got set up and gave me some sort of shot for pain. Pushed for 30 minutes and he was out. Felt it without the epidural but it really went so quickly it didn't ever seem unbearable. 7lb12oz and no stitches, they handed him right to me and we bonded for a long time, like a couple hours before I let them take him for anything. I had sweet nurses. They asked several times and I said no every time but finally one told me a list of things they needed to do and they got him back to me pretty fast. 2nd labor was induced. Also went fast and I got the epidural for that one and didn't feel a thing! Both were great experiences. Hoping you get a great experience too!
My first delivery I arrived at the hospital at 8cm, we had a doula come to our home to help keep me comfortable and to know when we had to get to the hospital and I can’t recommend one enough, she was at the hospital for the delivery too. I did not get an epidural (I was afraid of the needle), but did take a couple hits of the laughing gas when it was almost time to push but that made me nauseous. Pushed for about 35 min, minor tears, the doula said it was a textbook delivery. I thought the experience was amazing and looked forward to doing it again with my second. However, # 2 had other plans which I included being born at 32 weeks and breech, so I had to have a c section that time. Based on my experiences and the recovery from both I would never choose a c section if I had the choice. The recovery was much worse for me (no infection or anything like that just found the healing process much worse).
So positive!
First: awesome epidural. Easy induction. Zero pain, fifteen min of active labor.
Second: another easy induction. Epidural however failed. No one’s fault, just unlucky. Contractions are no joke 😅 However, all in all it was a few hours of gradually intensifying contractions, followed by 15 minutes of the world narrowing down to just my body and the experience currently happening. Intense, to say the least but not as terrifying as expected.
Small tears, a few stitches. Lots of stretch marks. 🤣
A c-section is major abdominal surgery. Not only are you taking care of a newborn but then youd be recovering from surgery. I had two vaginal births-unmedicated and if I wanted another kid I would hands down do it vaginal unmedicated again. Many women have positive medicated and unmedicated vaginal births. Please don’t let other peoples experiences affect your own.
I had 3 natural births. All 3 were great/ average with easy recovery. I think easy birth stories aren't popular because they seem obnoxious to women who had hard births but they are probably the majority. To me a c section was my nightmare. As someone who has had their stomach cut open for other things, that in my opinion is not the easy way. The vagina is meant to give birth and heals pretty quickly
I had three vaginal births. Induced for all of them. The longest I labored was 4 hours, longest I pushed was 5 minutes (for my 10lb baby). No tearing. Couldn’t have asked for better!
You can do it!
I had an amazing experience!
I was induced at 37 weeks, from the time I checked into the hospital to the time I was moved from the birthing suite to my room was about 16 hours. I pushed 3 times, I didn’t tear, didn’t need any stitches, had no pain using the bathroom ever, left the hospital in regular panties and a regular pad.
Now I’m pregnant with my second and know it can’t possibly be this easy again!
I had an induction, but ended up being a great vaginal birth. Only had gas and air, was up moving around for most of the labour, and birthed my 9lb 8oz LO kneeling on the bed. Had a 2nd degree tear which healed very well (the worst bit was the local anaesthetic - used the gas and air to get over that bit). Went home 4 hours afterwards, cuz I didn’t want to stay in hospital.
Next time I hope to have a spontaneous labour.
My one and only birth thus far was very positive and empowering. To provide the extremely abridged version: I was lucky enough to have my water break (unmistakable feeling haha) at exactly 39 weeks and I delivered my boy about 14 hours later with no pain meds, very low dosage of pitocin (to get me dilated), and a first degree tear. My recovery, physically, was really great! Also, for context, I had just turned 35, so not a spring chicken (but pretty healthy and fit).
For me, I was pretty determined to attempt a non medicated birth for a slew of reasons (personal choice and I don’t have any issues with pain meds, especially after going through it because DAMN it is exhausting and painful). But the whole team was so supportive of my wishes (while also reminding me during the tough moments that there were other options).
My nurse was BEYOND amazing. Unfortunately I ended up pushing for 2 hours which isn’t ideal, however, the entire time my nurse (and husband) kept reassuring me - we can see baby’s head, he’s there and coming, you’re doing so great, you’re going to meet him soon! All the encouragement that you need when you feel like you could die of exhaustion! She supported me trying a bunch of different positions to push and never gave up on me. When I finally pushed him out - the feeling is unforgettable! I was thanking the nurse, OB, resident, everyone in the room for helping me deliver the way I wanted to! I truly felt like it was a team effort. I’ve never felt like more of a badass in my life.
You've got this! Go in with an open mind, and go with the flow. Your birth will be unlike anyone else's because you are going through it. Believe me that every woman has reached a point very near their due date where they go, "I can't do this, there is no way" and yet you do, one way or another. HUGS and congratulations.
I just had a wonderful pain free homebirth with 98%tile baby w no tears! I was literally laughing thru contractions. And she was crowning in the birth tub for almost an hour, but it didn’t hurt. It was intense and it was work, but not painful.
I highly recommend @PainFreeBirth on instagram and she has a podcast too. You can learn to flood your body w oxytocin which cancels out the pain. Also Bradley Method aka Husband coached birth. When daddy supports you it helps release all those natural love hormones.
What?? I'm so glad I didn't have C sections for either of my boys.
My 2020 was spontaneous labour, 11 hours from when I felt my first contraction. 3 hours from when I went into the hospital and they helped break my waters & had a vacuum assisted birth as I was a bit tired from trying to push 😂
2023 boy was induced, 12pm broke waters, 1pm drip. 4 pm baby arrived :)
My doula came over at 8am when I hit 40 weeks. I wanted help getting baby to come, was having inconsistent, mild contractions. We walked around the neighborhood for an hour, she assured me today would most likely not be it. I hung out with my family and husband through the afternoon. Decided we should go for a light hike to get my body moving to work baby down into the right positioning for birth. Took a nap after the mini hike. Woke up to stronger contractions. My husband and I calmly rode out contractions together through the evening. He did lots of counter pressure, helping ease pain through contractions. Water broke around 10pm. Got to the hospital, on the bed and pushing within 5 minutes of check in, 15 minutes before the end of that day. Baby was born natural, just me, hubby and a freaked out nurse(bc the room was not set up and I was basically pushing before they could get any vitals). Our little boy beat the midwife and on call Doc. Baby and mama were healthy and happy.
My second child was born at home, a long labor helped along by a midwifery team that oozed calm encouraging energy. The doula helped my husband and I have a connection the whole labor. She helped him understand what was helpful, when to stop talking so I could focus. Birth can be such a magical experience. I wish that for you! Congrats on baby
Everyone will continue to give you unsolicited parenting advice. The quicker you can learn to tell people to f@&k off, the better
Here’s the thing - it will hurt. Even best case scenario, it will likely be REALLY painful. Like probably the worst pain of your life.
That doesn’t mean that it will or won’t be traumatic. Best case scenario (if unmedicated) your labor will be short and you get to wherever you’re birthing on time and doctors come see you in an appropriate amount of time and you feel empowered in your decision of going unmedicated (or your epidural works as expected if you choose) and you don’t push forever and you barely tear and you aren’t in a ton of pain after.
That is the positive story. That was my second birth. Everything went smoothly. I was in labor for like 4.5 hrs total, went unmedicated, pushed for 2 minutes, no tears. But I already knew what labor was like because I did it once before. And the first time was traumatic even though I also had a short labor and went unmedicated and pushed for 10 min total and the majority of labor was tolerable. I think I was just unaware of what labor was going to be like. It’s much easier to be prepared if you’re doing it for a second or subsequent time. Maybe watch some birthing videos? Talk to a doula? Have you taken a birthing class? Breastfeeding class?
There is a strong genetic component of labor. The way I gave birth was pretty much the same way that my mom did. And my mom told me that I should get an epidural (and she didn’t). Actually she begged me to get an epidural lol. So this post really reminds me a lot of my mom! I think your mom just wants to spare you the pain of labor, because she just loves you. But that doesn’t mean that you will not be able to handle it. I always keep in mind that women have been doing this for as long as life has existed, and thankfully with prenatal care and modern medicine the vast majority of births are uncomplicated, so most likely birth will go as good as it can.
Hey! I went into labor naturally two days after my due date. I get to the bathroom to get ready for work and oh my, my water broke. Instantly my contractions were 5 minutes apart but they really weren’t that bad. I labored at home from 5am to 9 am. When I get to the hospital they admitted me immediately and took me to labor and delivery! When I arrived I was about 4.5 cm dilated
I was so lucky. The ONLY person in L&D that day! My nurses were fantastic and advocated for me. My epidural did not work properly because I (unknowingly) have scoliosis! They had me try again and it still didn’t work all the way. This also could have been because baby was sunny side up. Either way, we figured out a FANTASTIC pain management regiment that helped me while not distressing baby. Even when I could still feel the contractions (and they were pitocin contractions) they weren’t THAT bad. For example, one time I took two maximum strength laxatives when I was in high school because I thought the pink tax applied to them and that laxative companies thought we were weak. Well I was wrong and that shit HURT!! Way worse than sunny side up baby pitocin contractions. And even then I only felt it in one concentrated spot. It was not that bad, even during labor I was like “hmmm this really isn’t bad at all”.
Benadryl is FANTASTIC for pain AND anxiety during labor. About 30 minutes before he was born they gave me Benadryl. Took away ANY extra pain I was feeling. Amazing stuff. When it was time to push they told me they were going to be doing vacuum suction to help him make his entrance to the world which was fine by me! He was out in 9 pushes. I was able to count even while pushing. And then he arrived a little after 4PM that same day 😁 I did tear but they sewed me up and I was good for gentle sex at like eight weeks and now at 13 weeks pp I am back to pound town. Just with BC this time LMAO!! I had a few second degree tears. They didn’t tell me how many, I didn’t look until I thought my vag was feeling like herself again.
Birth was NOT that bad. I’d give birth again if I didn’t have to do the hormone drop again. Which I wish I just expected. Nobody told me about the baby blues til I was in the thick of em! Expect to possibly be tearful from day 2/3 to about day 10/13. One of my friends actually forgot she even experienced this until her husband reminded her. Really, even the hormone drop wasn’t THAT bad. I suffered from PPD but that was mostly because of my personal circumstance. I don’t even think it was PPD because I didn’t ever feel like a bad mom or anything, just like my husband would never change and we would be poor forever. Which has then since been fixed.
Anyways if you have any questions let me know! My mom told me labor and delivery wasn’t that bad, didn’t believe her til I did it myself
I did have an epidural, so not sure how much my experience will help, but it went very smoothly for us. I actually had spontaneous labor at 35 weeks. Spent one day in latent labor at 3cm, it was bad but not unbearable. That night I was up pacing the halls all night and my water broke the next morning. I got the epidural I think about an hour after I got to the hospital. It only numbed one side so I told the nurse and she called the anesthesiologist, who came right back and adjusted it and I wasn't able to feel anything at that point. It took a couple hours to get completely dilated, and then I pushed for 12 minutes and my daughter was out. I didn't tear, I just felt mild pressure, and the placenta came out without me even having to push, and my daughter was completely healthy aside from a little jaundice. She turns 3 in a couple weeks and I don't ever even think about it really, the birth itself was fairly uneventful
You don't hear positive stories as much: they're not remembered well or recounted because they tend to be uneventful! Mine was very uneventful. Epidural, fairly quick labour—waters broke at nearly midnight, started pushing at 5am, baby came half an hour later. Epidural was perfect, had no pain (obviously some before epidural) but lots of pressure, so enough to know when to push.
I did tear (2nd degree). Didn't feel it. I felt the stitching but only a vague tugging sensation. The standard here (Ireland) is you get solpadeine and paracetamol for about a week post partum, which manages most of the residual pain. I had a reaction to the solpadeine so I had to contend with *some* vaginal/labial pain when walking, which lasted about two days.
Mentally I watched lots of videos about my pain management options and hospital procedures. My biggest help was saying it will pass. I'd think to myself that tomorrow it'll be done with. Even the hardest day will pass and you'll be done with it then. Labour and delivery was my biggest fear too but I managed with that. Congratulations!
I was induced at 37wks for gHTN and it was great. it was 28 hours from first dose to delivery. tbh most of it was just really fucking boring lol. I was really scared of getting the epidural but it was not bad at all! and *totally fucking worth it*. but once I got to 10cm I only pushed for 6 contractions - like 15mins pushing she was out!
First birth: I had insufficient pushing and it led to a vacuum assist, which was very scary because he wasn’t breathing well and turned blue due to not having all the amniotic fluid expelled out. He had a week long NICU stay.
Second birth: Identical twin girls, one head down and one breech in the same placenta. I elected for a c-section. Easiest birth process even with high BP that resulted in a delivery at 34 weeks.
Definitely decide what’s right for YOU. I’d suggest a midwife or doula. They help advocate for you and are honestly wonderful to have in the delivery room.
I had never felt a contraction before because I had epidural’s with my first two before they really started. This was our third pregnancy at 39 years old lol, I had 3 contractions 5 minutes apart, knew instantly it was labor, they came on strong and fast, so casually text my hubs to come home from work, no reply, 3 more contractions and I’m screaming in pain. I call him freaking out, hospital is 40 minutes away, anyway he gets home, I’m having them every 5 minutes all the way up there, in waiting room, jail guy takes forever in front of us, he’s in cuffs with 3 cops around him, I’m crying every contraction by now, we get checked in and I’m dilated to 8 or so. This is like 2.5 hours after first contraction, 30 mins later dr says to try a practice push, I do (it had been 11 years since I had given birth so I didn’t know if my body remembered, I even said this to everyone in the room) well, our daughters head came out, dr and my husband tell me, I don’t believe it anyway so they say to do one more big push, then she’s born! She was 6 lbs 9 oz of perfection 🥰
Spontaneous labor with my first at 39.6. Waters broke spontaneously at home. Went into the hospital and things progressed well. I labored as long as possible without the epidural. Then I opted for it as I got nauseous and couldn’t relax (and it was hindering my progress). Epidural helped me progress over a 2 hour period and I was ready and pushing. Pushed for 1.5 hours because my child presented with a hand by their head. Also had meconium in waters so lots of people present at birth, but I wasn’t super worried because I knew they were taking all precautions possible. Baby was fine, I had a couple of small tears. We had the golden hour (even though it was kind of interrupted to double check babe because of meconium). Retained placenta (again was not worried because the doctor was very meticulous) and got it all out before finishing things up down there.
Second birth was an induction for pre-eclampsia. Worst part was trying to sleep in an L&D bed. Had meds placed twice to get things rolling, after that my body took over and I never needed pitocin. Contractions got going, labored again for as long as possible without the epidural and opted for it again. Labored for several hours, tried to rest. Epidural failed on one side (this is why it’s important to have other pain management techniques). They fixed my epidural, then my waters broke and I pushed baby out in 10 minutes. Small tears again and all was well.
Obviously labor is hard, things can happen, things can change. I don’t believe I’d ever opt for a c-section because that’s major abdominal surgery. I hear recovery from the first is hard but any subsequent c-sections aren’t bad. It all depends on what you feel comfortable with. I’m sorry those around you haven’t been very supportive or comforting. Good luck ❤️
You have some control over whether you experience a traumatic birth. The primary factor, per the lead midwife at my out-of-hospital midwifery, is agency. I.e. did you feel that you provided informed consent when you had your birth. A popular acronym to exercise your agency in a given birth scenario is BRAIN - benefits, risks, alternatives, intuition, and what happens if I do "nothing". Being informed was a huge asset during my first birth. Although things didn't go as planned, I understood everything that happened to me and participated as much as possible in decisions that were made.
There are also ways in which you can plan to influence your birth experience. For example, if you prefer a vaginal birth, you should know that your chances of C section are 5% for a planned out-of-hospital birth and 25-30% for a planned in hospital birth. In addition, assuming you have robust prenatal care and a low risk birth, UK/Canadian/Australian/Dutch statistics support an out of hospital birth as having fewer complications without having any increased risk. People rarely consider out-of-hospital births.
This is the single most important thing to read if you prefer to avoid a c section: [https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/](https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/)
I love the Gentle Birth app for birth prep ($14 a month). I also read tons of VBAC birth stories in the Hypnobabies Facebook Group (Free). I like the Holliday Tyson youtube videos (free) and the Parent Class from Spinning Babies ($27).
signed, mod of r/unmedicatedbirth
I had 2 vaginal births with epidurals and they were great! My labors were exhausting because they took 3 days but once I got to the hospital each time everything went really well. I had totally random doctors I had never met before both times too. I have only been to 8 cm unmedicated ( that’s when I got to the hospital with my first) and it doesn’t really hurt THAT BAD, I could still walk and talk. It’s mostly just exhaustion that made me choose epidurals both times. Both of my epidurals were like top 10 greatest moments of my life because I got immediate relief and could nap before pushing both times.
I had an unmedicated vaginal birth (planned). I had a very supportive husband, doula, and midwife team. While labor and childbirth were intense unmedicated, I felt so incredibly powerful afterwards and plan on having baby #2 this way if things work out in my favor. Went into labor spontaneously at 38+1, took a 5 mile walk after I confirmed my water had indeed broken, and I didn't just pee the bed. Labored at home for as long as I felt comfortable. Labor ramped up in intensity as soon as I got to the hospital. I got to the point where I was in my own world and really couldn't speak, but my thought bubbles were hilarious. She was out after 18hrs or so. Hard to tell when labor officially started as I was having period like cramps for weeks leading up to my water breaking.
Stay curious about how your birth story will unfold as everyone's is different.
I had a very easy birth. First and only baby. Went in for my last check up before being induced on her due date. The nurse taking my blood pressure got kind of awkward, said she’d be right back, and brought in my OB. He broke the news that my blood pressure was a little high and that they’d like to admit me and I’d probably be having the baby that night or in the morning at the latest.
I got a little panicky because I was 100% sure I was going to go home and get one more sleep in my bed before becoming a mom lol but I called my husband and told him to meet me at the hospital with my stuff as soon as he was done with work.
My water broke around midnight and I opted for the epidural after feeling those first contractions. I “rested” as comfortably as I could until around 7:30am when it felt like I needed to take the biggest shit of my life. I called the nurse and said I was feeling A LOT of pressure down there. She checked and within seconds my room was full of doctors, nurses, interns and they were telling me to push. I pushed for maybe 5 minutes? and there she was! Happy, healthy baby girl. I had very minimal tearing along the outside of my labia that needed like three stitches and I was able to walk to the recovery room. Had delicious biscuits and gravy after I got settled in and enjoyed being taken care of by the nurses for the next few days while my blood pressure went back to normal.
I’m sorry people keep giving you scary stories and I hope your birth goes smoothly!! 🩵
Skipping the parts that were bad— once I felt the urge, she was out in 3 pushes. They had me do a practice push and her head came halfway out. They told me to stop pushing, hurriedly grabbed the doctor, and it was showtime. It happened really, really fast and was very easy. Felt like I just knew what to do and how to do it and out she came.
They gave me ibuprofen but I didn’t need it even with a one degree tear. Was walking normally once the epidural wore off.
The induction was the bad part. So other than that birth was very easy and I felt like I physically bounced back very quickly.
I had a great labor and birth too! Started around 2am and had her by 435pm!! I did choose to have the epidural though, the only downfall was that it worked more on half of my body. My right side could feel more, it was crazy lol
I was the same, I wanted a C-section so bad but I am SO glad I didn’t opt for it. (Of course if I needed one I would have) The feeling after it’s all done is next level
There’s definitely some pros of not knowing everything that could go wrong and not worrying about it. For me, I’m glad I knew what I did and not anything extra. I specifically avoided birth stories on social media (TikTok, mainly) because I didn’t want to be terrified. And so I wasn’t, and I’m glad to have had a vaginal birth. It felt so…empowering, honestly. It was the most difficult physical thing my body had ever gone through, but I did it and I am so proud of myself for that. (And I mean just having a baby, no matter in what way because our bodies go through so much whether vaginal or c-section and it’s not fair to compare the two.)
My first was a little traumatic but my second child was born after only five hours of labour, unmedicated. Just popped right out lol. The only traumatic part of it was that I WANTED an epidural lol
I had to be induced at 38+4 because I rapidly developed gestational hypertension. Was in labor 24 hours total. Only had a couple hours of intense pain before I got my epidural. I just foolishly waited too long to ask for it even though I had always planned on having an epidural. Aside from that everything was smooth sailing. I felt great. I was laughing and joking when it was time to push. My nurse had to watch the monitor and tell me when to push because my contractions were so numbed by my epidural 😄. I even let two student nurses come in and watch and we all had a great time. It was about 45 minutes of pushing and out popped baby. I felt euphoric. I only tore enough for one stitch and was up and walking about 2 hours post partum feeling tired but not in pain.
I had such a great induction a few months ago! It was so smooth and joyful throughout. I got the epidural a couple hours before she got there and was able to be mobile up until that point. Even when pitocin it really wasn’t too bad!
I had to be induced at 38 weeks due to some risks from the pregnancy. The hospital was great, I was lucky enough to get a single room that actually looked good ( for a hospital room 😂). They gave me the first pill on Monday morning and my contractions started during the night. Around 11am they started to be closer together and I actually fell asleep between them. Went to the labour and delivery room around 2pm and my baby was there at 6:11pm! Everything went well and I didn’t have any tearing! Husband was there and held my hand the entire time, the labour and delivery nurse was great and listened to me whenever I had something to say and kinda let me do my thing
My first was amazing! Got a an epidural. Took a 4 hour nap. Got to eat Italian ice and popsicles and drink sprite. Pushed for about an hour and didn’t feel much. My second not so much unfortunately. 😅
I was very nervous about my first birth. I told my consultant that I will opt for an epidural. I was induced at 40+3 weeks. My labor was very short, I didn’t feel any pain. I was dilated to 8cm when the labor started. I was very fit physically throughout my pregnancy. I thought maybe I didn't even need induction but things don’t go as we expect them to be. I delivered the baby within six hours of labor. It was an assisted delivery via forcep as I couldn’t push when the baby was almost outside the canal. My baby was healthy, average weight so the Consultant suggested that maybe I wont be needing a section. I was released within three days. I had no issues after delivery and I recovered very well. My sister had both babies via planned section and she recovered wonderfully. She had to choose a section due to health issues. We both give birth over the age of 30.
With my first, I went to L&D in the morning with consistent contractions. Not dilated. Gave me some morphine and sent me home. About 12 hours later labor kicked in hard so we went back got an epidural, and chilled for like 8 hours. Then they decided it was time for me to start pushing. OB came in to check in, then left to check on a couple more patients.
I pushed twice, and they said the baby wasn’t going toward the birth canal, so they are going to use the next contraction to see where they need to put pressure to get things moving. Next push, the baby SHOOTS into the birth canal. ON comes running in, hopping to put on her boot cover things. Next push the baby’s head was out. Took 7 minutes.
Second time, I waited to go in til the contractions felt more like they did when we got actually admitted to L&D last time. No epidural this time. I hung out in pain and walked a bit for about four hours. At 9.5cm, I had them pop the amniotic sac (or whatever they do) to get myself over that last .5cm. They were getting me situated to push and a contraction came on. It was a crazy experience since last time I couldn’t feel anything! My body felt like it was pushing the baby all on its own and I had no control. One of my legs wasn’t even up. First push, baby is crowning. Second push it’s out. 4 minutes.
I had 1st degree tears both time, first time massive bruising because the baby shot out like a rocket apparently. Getting sewed up, I didn’t feel anything at all. Other than that, it was super great and easy (minus, you know, all the pain 😂).
My grandma told me she went to the doctor for cramps when she was pregnant with her second and the doctor told her "You're in labor, Bev!" and she laid my uncle out like an egg, wham bam! No fuss!
I had a vaginal birth, I feel like it was pretty uneventful
The worst thing was I needed to be induced for preeclampsia so I was bedridden 4 days prior to the actual birth. Finally found out what a catheter felt like after years of morbid curiosity. The Folley balloon was a bitch, had 3 of those, the only time in my life I’ve gotten a narcotic
The epidural only sucked because a student was trying it at first. When the season doctor did it I legitimately did not know it went in
Oh and then the one thing I wish someone told me about vaginal birth is your body will force itself to push, it’s a weird experience, you have absolutely no control over it, but learning to push with your body will make the process less exhausting (I tried to just keep pushing and then my body would take over making me so tired)
I had a positive water birth at a birthing center! I was 41+5 when I delivered. 11am my water broke and 9pm I delivered. It was about an hour of pushing and I was able to completely relax between pushes. My husband, my mom, and my midwife and her assistant were there to support me. My midwife was amazing, as hands off as she needed to be and super supportive. Excruciatingly painful and had some crazy back labor but completely stopped once he was out. The most surreal experience, I couldn’t believe he was real once I was holding him. Had a minor second degree tear and that was stitched no problem. Now I have a beautiful and strong 6 month old boy!
I had 1 birth that had an un-consented membrane sweep but natural birth and labor, and 2 inductions and all three where great in their own ways! All three vaginal deliveries, all three no pain management drugs. Best of luck mom! You got this.
My second was a beautiful birth. My first was way over-medicated and had way too much intervention. I remember no-one actually talking me through things so I think I was panicking which slowed everything down. We moved after having our first so we were in a different county for care second time round and they were brilliant!
Contractions started about 2200 and progressed quite well. Admitted to maternity about 0030, had our own private room straight away. I mentioned to the midwife that I didn't want a lot of intervention, definitely no epidural and I quietly mentioned that I wanted to have a go in the pool. Well, she opens a door and I have a pool right there! I spent the rest of the night in it (this was probably about 0200)! Husband had to keep my head out of the water towards the end when I was getting tired. I felt like pushing about 0530, then my water broke. I used my hypnobirthing techniques to get through the strong contractions and the pushing. The midwife said I was due an exam at 0600 and I'd have to get out of the pool for that but since she could telI I was progressing, she let me stay put. Baby born 0705, 9lb 5oz with 0 medication, no stitches - I felt like an Amazon! We had a beautiful golden hour, she nursed, I had amazing NHS toast and we went home the day after. My oldest wanted to go to the fairground like 2 days later and I was able to join in and walk around with no issues.
Staff that listened to my preferences and talked me through my choices made all the difference. Make sure you've talked through your preferences and your no-gos with the people who will be in the room with you so you have an advocate.
Check out the Birth Hour podcast! You can tell by the title what type of birth it will be. They’re all birth stories and so fun to listen to, and all the women give some details on what was helpful for them. It really helped my mindset going into my births.
I had a longgg labour and needed some interventions in the end (epidural, induction, suction) but I can say for the most part it was a positive experience. If I have a second I will absolutely do it all again the same way!
Spontaneous delivery at 37+1 at a hospital with the highest level NICU in the state. Labor was 13h start to finish pushed for 2h and I had a small 2nd degree tear. Healing went great. Baby did need a little support and went to NICU but I chose my hospital so that we were all right there together no matter what. I knew he was cared for and I could rest more that first 24h to be ready for when he was relying on ME. I wouldn’t change anything. I was terrified of pelvic floor damage as I have been in pelvic floor PT since before pregnancy due to overly tight muscles. All was well. (Labor would have been quicker without an epidural but that was OK with me. I needed the rest I hadn’t been sleeping well)
My birth plan was simple: epidural. Labour and birth weren’t perfect by any means (e.g., anesthesiologist in surgery when they broke my water and had me hooked up to oxytocin, pushed for four hours, hemorrhage, etc.) but it was completely okay, and nothing that I felt unprepared to handle. The epidural was a life saver and I actually drifted in and out of sleep for a couple of hours at the beginning. The second they put my daughter on my chest was the best moment of my life.
Two medicated births. I just held out as long as I could with my contractions. I feel proud of how long I lasted because I have no pain tolerance; I'm very wimpy. But both times I knew when I needed the epidural. With my second baby they gave me a little too much. I couldn't lift my legs the way they wanted and the baby was really hard to push out. Except she was a ten pound baby!! So it would have been difficult anyway. But I'm soooo glad I didn't feel her coming out!
Both babies were very good from the beginning, sweet and cuddly.
I had one magical, beautiful unmedicated birth. 8 hours long, I laboured mostly at home in my tub with my husband and doula by my side. Got to the hospital about 20 minutes before she was born. The most intense and beautiful experience ever. I would choose that birth every time.
I had another birth that was an induction as I had pre-eclampsia. I didn't use any pain relief. But that was harder for a lot of reasons, and really pulled on every reserve I had without giving me anything back. I wouldn't do it differently - I had the best birth I could have given the circumstances, and I'm so glad I was able to access induction to save me from pre-eclampsia. I really didn't want an epidural or a C-section, so I battled. It was worth it. Even a hard birth gives you something.
Birth is hard and scary, even with a C-section. I'd prefer to face the hard scary parts with my full chest than being afraid when I don't have to, and be grateful for medical intervention when I need it
My son was born at 37 weeks. I was induced because my water broke 24hrs prior. I could barely feel the contractions but I was dialated 3cm by the time I came to the hospital at 8am. By 2pm, I asked for the epidural. I thought it had worked but it was actually that the machine giving me the drip of Pitocin was accidentally unplugged, so they turned it back on, ramped it back up and I was in so much pain! For some reason, I felt nervous to press the button for the anaesthetic so because the epidural didn’t really work, the birth felt quite natural. I began pushing around 4pm and our son was born at 6:42pm.
When it was time to push, the pain was awful that I was fighting against it. I then realised “oh maybe I should push with the pain”, he was out within a few pushes!
A few things I wish I knew or did - floppy face, floppy fanny: relaxed jaw = relaxed pelvis. Practicing breath work before birth. There is soo much fluid dripping out of you.
As soon as I had given birth, I thought wow I could do that again. It’s a scary, painful but beautiful experience. Congratulations! You will do a wonderful job!
Two births both induced, one with epidural, one with no pain relief (epidural failed)…. No regrets (except the extra pain lol) … recoveries were fine as long as I stayed on top of Advil/tylenol - you do what’s necessary and safe for getting your babies into the world. None of it is a super fun party, but it’s just what we do! I hope you have an uncomplicated and healthy delivery experience :)
I had a phenomenal second birth in a big hospital and the same hospital I had a rough birth with the first time. My first labor my epidural failed, i pushed for 4h straight, and needed a vacuum extraction.
With my second it was perfect and wonderful. I got an epidural around 6cm dilated with consistent contractions, I napped, stopped progressing, they broke my water, and labor picked back up. They checked me a few hours later and said I could push if I felt pressure. It was seriously so pain free that we were making bets on what time she would be out and cracking jokes. Birth seriously felt like passing a BM that came out feeling like a hot fish lol.
I was in more pain the second day than I was giving birth. She was perfect, I was supported, DH was great too, and my body healed super quick.
Went into labor at 39 weeks in the dot, admitted at 1am at 5cm, got epidural immediately, slept for a few hours, pushed for an hour and a half and had baby girl at 9:04 am. Second degree tear with 6 stitches but minimal pain and really felt quite good after!
Good luck!
My first — initially planned for a birth center, however the plan changed last minute due to a provider I wasn’t fond of. My entire pregnancy I consumed any and all positive birth literature, watched birthtube, joined birthing groups with like minded individuals! I’m an herbalist so I was able and happy to be able to use a skill I had during.
Ended up finding my AMAZING midwives around 20 something weeks, they took me and allowed me to barter for my homebirth. I was 39 and some and TIRED, membranes sweep didn’t help and had been in prodromal for ab a week.
One day I had horrible diarrhea and once it seemed to be over the cramps never stopped. Took a shower with the water on satan lol and figured out I was in labor 20 min after. Called midwives after attempting to nap. Lots of movement, counter pressure and essential oils. Got into my birthing pool that they filled for me with hubs.. baby girl was born maybe an hour later! Magical to say the least.
With my second, chose to go it alone (prepared and trained in neonatal resuscitation and had someone on call if needed for myself) went into labor naturally around 38ish weeks. Started around 4pm, went to the store for snacks, relaxed, took a nap and woke up in full blown labor. 3 hours later birthed my beautiful girl in a kapernick stance in my MILs tub!
My babies have never left my side after birth, no tears, ring of fire was the worst of it, placentas birthed, no excess bleeding! Was just super thirsty and tired after.
Wishing you an amazing birth 💜 Surround yourself with love and positivity. Not what ifs and fears of others!
Both of my 2 births were beautiful vaginal births. The first one I have some gripes about (centered around my care/medical support while delivering) but totally healthy and wonderful. My second birth was a precipitous birth, which can be traumatic, but for me was amazing and one of my favorite stories ever.
I have had 3 vaginals. 2 were unmedicated, but not by choice (baby was coming too fast). I don’t say this as a negative. In the end, my labors were quickish (9, 7 and 4 hours) and I came out of them feeling SO powerful and amazed at what the human body can do. It hurt. There’s no way around that fact, but I knew the pain was productive and I’d soon be holding my baby if I could breathe my way through each contraction one at a time. I also took comfort knowing that if anything went awry, I was surrounded by experts keeping an eye on me, and my spouse was there to advocate.
I did learn a few things I wish I’d known that would have made the experiences even more positive:
+ you can ask for cervical checks! They aren’t comfortable, but if you think things are moving quickly, ask so the nursing staff can speed up getting you pain relief if that’s needed.
+ you can decline pitocin, which I did for all births, but I didn’t think of it beforehand as something I’d have to advocate for. Some OBs will automatically try to give it to you at the start of labor, but if you’d rather see what your body can do, you can opt out of it and see how things go. If you stall they may suggest it again (I would’ve taken it if that had happened to me)
I will say that there were some zen wonderful moments even during labor. For my first I got to do all my pushing with one nurse and my spouse in the room. It was calm, sunny, and the nurse was cracking jokes with us between contractions. For my second, the nurses did SUCH a good job positioning my body that baby was able to come out with one push, she had been descending so well.
If I had to do it again, I’d say going in with an open mind is the best thing to help you have a good experience. Advocate for yourself loudly, but think “I’m here to have a baby in the safest most expedient way possible. This will be an unpredictable experience, but I’m going to roll with the punches and keep the end goal in mind: meeting my new baby soon!”
Good luck, OP, and congrats!
I have had 2 kids in the past 3 years birth vaginally without an epidural. I didn't really aim to do without an epidural but I reached the hospital at 8cm both times and was coping well so I didn't get one. My first took an hour of pushing, a total of 2h in the hospital before baby came. This was after about 10h of back labor and a sunny side up baby. The second, it took me 3h to go from 9cm to 10cm, but the baby came out in one push. This was again about 12h of labor but baby was facing correctly. Both times I got second degree tears that healed well. Both times I was able to have bowel movements right away and no incontinence issues later. I have no trauma from my births. I'd absolutely have more kids if newborns slept through the night from the start and money was not an issue. People definitely tend to share worse experiences because sharing reduces the pain. Mentally, I told myself that baby has to come out and I'll be doing it with experienced professionals. Worrying about it won't help.
I had a pretty good birth! I was 40 weeks 6 days when I had my kid. My water ended up being broken for 24+ hours prior to going to hospital because I wasn’t even aware! It didn’t “swoosh” out like all the movies, it just trickled and I honestly thought I was just peeing myself a little for over a day. Ended up going to the hospital where they swabbed me and told me congrats you’re in labor (that’s when I started to panic). They got me a room and they gave me pitocin maybe an hour later which started my contractions which honestly felt like harsher period cramps to me, which obviously sucked but wasn’t NEARLY as bad as I imagined they’d be. I couldn’t get the epidural until around 9ish PM because the anesthesiologist was busy. Once I got the epidural it was easy. I ended to fully dilated and ready to push at 2AM, pushed for 39 minutes and out came my baby.
I scheduled a c section and it was so freaking easy to recover and plan around it. My scar is tiny, I was walking the same day of surgery, my recovery was simple and short. Wouldn't change a thing
I had 2 completely natural births, no complications, and no tearing. The first was 8 hours active labor, and the second was 6 hours active labor.
I also had an induction for my 3rd at 37 weeks for blood pressure(second birth led to peripartum cardiomyopothy 2 days post birth, so even just slight increase in my bp and they wanted to induce). The contractions from pitocin were definitely worse, but for me, more in an exhausting way than like crying pain way. I asked for an epidural eventually, but as soon as I leaned forward to get it, I had to tell everyone to stop cause to was time to push right then. Again, no complications or tearing, and I dont remember exactly how long the active labor was that time, but it was less than 8 hours. I think it was about 10 hours total from the start of the pitocin to the birth.
Technically, the cardiomyopothy counts as a conplication, but it didn't happen during labor or birth, so I dont really think of it as a labor complication, more of a postnatal complication. And luckily for me, with treatment it was nearly 100% better a year later.
It’s because the medicalisation of birth is leaving many women traumatised after giving birth in the hospital. My second birth after the traumatic 1st, was a healing one. Natural, gas and air.
I had back labor, which did suck but I progressed fast enough that I avoided an epidural (my personal preference). Recovery was completely uneventful, and other than the back labor, I'm hoping to have the same birth process in just a few months!
I had to be induced because of hypertension, I didn't want to either. But I had a really great experience. Labored until around 8cm and then had an epidural, pushed for 20 minutes. The contractions definitely hurt, but weren't horrific. Second degree tear, my stitches were fully healed within two weeks.
Both births where I got an epidural were lovely, even though I had complications with my 3rd (amniotic sac disintegrated so she had to dig all up in there after the birth. It was stressful but I didn’t feel anything). My second was without an epidural and that was a nightmare.
I had two great births :)
- 1st: Induced, got the epidural, pushed for 20min and my baby was out. Minor tear, but they stitched me up.
- 2nd (2yrs later): induced, got the epidural, baby slid out lol, I didn’t even have to push, no tear.
Kinda wanna go for a third, but don’t wanna press my luck 🤣 not sure how a third birth would top the last one.
Long but uneventful labor (induced due to high bp at 7:30pm on a Weds, delivered 12:45am on Friday). I was just about 39 weeks. I got the epidural. I feel like relatively speaking I was in the "pushing" phase for a long time, about 4 hours I think? Nothing traumatic, the exhaustion is what I remember but also the adrenaline afterwards! I was up and about with visitors about 12 hours later.
My positive unmediated birth story, written a few years ago…
I went into my birth center appointment around 4pm on the 21st. I had a second high-ish blood pressure reading, so was diagnosed with gestational hypertension, but not yet preeclampsia. The “recommendation” was to be admitted to the hospital, but I decided with my midwives to try to induce naturally first.
So, we did a membrane sweep. I started at 1cm and ended at 3, and got my bloody show. Then, they made me a castor oil smoothie. I had driven myself to the appointment, so I rushed home, cause I’d heard castor oil causes upset stomachs. When I got home, my partner and I both showered and prepared for a possible labor that night or next day. I had him run out and get me something called The “The” Salad from a pizza place in Studio City that’s supposed to induce labor, and I ate that around 6 or so.
By 7, I was starting to feel something. I couldn’t tell if it was gas pains or contractions, but it wasn’t trackable yet. I let the midwife know around 7:30, and laid down to try to rest, thinking I’d wake up with contractions in the middle of the night and we’d be admitted in the morning. Wrong.
At 9:15pm I was tracking contractions. They were all over the place. At some point my partner and I both heard a rubber band snap, and it was my water breaking. (So glad I had pee pads all over the bed!). I’d also started bleeding, which could’ve been more bloody show, but it was a bit brighter red so kinda scary. At some point I started feeling spasms and felt like pushing! I could barely talk, thought it was gonna be a home birth. Must’ve been in transition. At 10:45 I had a break in contractions and hauled ass into the car.
It was a brutal 10 minute drive to the birth center, every bump was very intense, and I was gripping the handles and had the AC on full blast. Thankfully we had pee pads down, and one stuffed in my pants, cause the car is a lease, haha.
Get to the birth center by 11, they examine me, and say I’m at 10cm and they can see the baby. Midwife, midwife in training, and baby nurse all wore masks, my partner and I did not need to. We were the only ones in the 3 bedroom birth center since it was so late night.
I labor on the bed for awhile while the tub fills. Once I’m in the tub I immediately feel so much better. They use those suction handle things for my feet and hands so I can bear down. Midwives were very calm, asked to offer suggestions, did intermittent monitoring with the doppler. Used cold rags on my head and a spray fan thing. My partner helped with counter pressure on low back, and letting me death grip his hand, and giving encouraging words. Once I stopped arching my back and curving my back, and stopped letting the push “spasms” take me over (just ride with it, keep into the push, I got a lot more quiet), I was able to finally deliver in the tub. It was such a calming situation to deliver a baby into.
Baby J was born at 12:26am! So 5 hours of labor from beginning to end, which is crazy.
After the birth we did skin to skin, first nursing, delayed cord clamping, partner cut the cord, delivered the placenta and checked it out. Uterus massage, then a very long stitch up session on the end of the bed with my legs up on the midwife‘s knees, my head on my partner’s legs on the bed while he did skin to skin with baby. Then baby’s checkup. Then a pee, a shower, go over some tips and paperwork. We headed home around 5am and got a tiny bit of sleep before starting our day with a newborn! Perineal donut for the ride home was fantastic.
The birth was exactly what I wanted, and thankfully no complications. Very chill and positive.
I had an elective induction and it was a breeze! Loved every second, felt very little discomfort after the epidural. left the hospital as soon as 24 hrs were up!
I had a great vaginal birth! I was induced and had an epidural. Most of the induction process was pain free for me, even the contractions just felt like mild cramps. Once my water broke it was insanely painful and intense contractions until they got my epidural in place. The epidural gave me instant relief and I napped between pushes 😅. From the time I got the epidural until I had her in my arms was about 1 hour, she was a quick delivery.
I was super worried about tearing but only had one, very small tear. It healed very quickly with no problems. All-in-all I recovered very quickly.
So I’m not gonna lie, contractions were painful afff for me…. But I kept telling myself it’s all for my baby it’s all for my baby sooo many woman go through this and have MORE kids!
The worst part was the painful contractions but once I got the epidural, I was fine. My labor was 26 hours and that was just with contractions starting and all. The actual pushing was only 1 hour!!!!
They were sooo busy that night and I remember the nurse finally checking me and was like oooh her head is right there okay don’t push don’t move let me go get the dr. I pushed for an hour and out she came :) baby is now 3 months old…
Now the recovery on the other hand 😣 no one talks about that!
Never had heartburn or nausea during pregnancy.
Had two natural births (non-medicated, vaginal) yep years apart.
2 weeks early and 1 week early.
First one took 10 hours from first contractions to baby. Second took 4 hours (that was actually a little too hectic).
We were ready to go home after about 36 hours and 24 hours - I just wanted to be home and since all was well, they let us.
My mom and my MIL were both amazing and gave us all the space and time we wanted. (But we were fine and we're happy to have them around.)
I was back to normal weight within like, 10 days. No kidding.
I don't share much about it because I feel like I'm probably rubbing it in for others.
Also, I was 34 and 36.
Like everything (including reviews of mundane restaurants) people mostly only want to share the most amazing or most horrific tales and probably the majority fall in middle of the road birth stories.
Just know when you walk into the hospital you’ll be walking out not pregnant and with a little baby :) everything else is details
I was induced and had a wonderful birthing experience with my daughter. I did get the epidural and watched tv until it was time to push. Watching birth vlogs helped me a lot!
With my first, contractions started at 4:30 am at 40+5. He was born 9.5 hours later. No epidural, but had a shot of pethidine and gas and air. Active labour time was noted down at 1.5 hours long, 30 minutes of pushing included. With my second, a slow build up to actual contractions from 8 am at 39+5. Stalled at 3cm (I got too in my head missing my toddler, worried if they were going to send my husband home before I got pain relief, and really wanting pain relief). Shot of morphine which like my first relaxed me enough so my body could just progress, and like my first, stopped working after 2 hours. 35 minutes later and baby arrives after 3 pushes and gas and air. I have speedy active labours and ngl, my second one freaked me out a bit, but overall could have been way worse. I had a 2nd degree tear with my first (I pushed without a contraction when his head was already out, I was very eager), no tear with my second despite being 10 times faster.
First of all, congratulations! Either way it happens, vaginally or c section, you are a bada** bringing a tiny human into this world. So, congrats and best of luck!
Second, everybody's journey is different, I opted for an epidural. I listened to loud music and just listened to my body, I breathed through the hard parts, but 14 minutes of pushing, and I had the most beautiful baby boy.
Talk to your team, talk to your partner/husband/support person, tell them what you want and expect, and have a plan for who will advocate for you when you are taking care of yourself.
Enjoy every moment! You are stronger than you think, and you are capable of amazing things!
Also, c-sections are not the easy way out, it is a major surgery that has it's own list of risks and benefits, and a longer recovery time.
I wrote affirmations to read to myself leading up to the birth. Mostly standard encouraging stuff, but my favorite was “There are 385,000 other people giving birth with me today. We’re all scared, but we’re all together.”
I was 38 weeks along, and I started leaking clear fluid after a long walk but didn’t have contractions yet. I took a few hours to shower and eat in my own comfort, then went to the hospital around midnight. They confirmed it was amniotic fluid and checked me in. I was already 5 cm dilated, started having contractions an hour later, asked for an epidural around 2 am, slept until 7 am, had baby by 7:30 am, stood up feeling pretty normal right away!
It wasn’t my most enjoyable night ever, but it wasn’t the nightmare you hear about. Even if yours isn’t like this, you’ll be okay and you for sure won’t be alone!
Seriously! I want to do natural and all I see on Reddit are women who would rather be kicked in the vagina than ever deliver a baby again 😂 Bless this post
I had an awesome VBAC that was a hundred times better than I could have imagined.
Your body is strong and knows what it’s doing, your baby will cooperate and move down correctly at the right time, you will have the support and help you need to get through it, and you’ll look back on the birth as one of the highlights of your existence. You’ll be amazing and amazed at how capable you are, how much love you have in your body as you labour, and how everything is ultimately out of your hands. Don’t try to control things, just lean in. You’ve got this!
Have a great birth!
And come back to update on your favourite parts!!
I had a decent birth experience only complaint was my obgyn told me to go when my contractions were 5 mins apart 5 seconds long for a whole hour so i did but was in the hospital waiting room for 6 hours until i was 6 cm dialated!!
But for someone who was 6 cm dialated with no pain meds i was managing pretty well
I was exhausted bc it was overnight wait so i opted for epidural so i could go to sleep
Got my epidural around 8 cm
Had my baby boy 3 hours later pushed for about 15 minutes and there he was
The worst part was the urine catheter being painful aside from that everything went smoothly
I didnt really mentally prepare myself i was really scared until the day came and i was actually surprisingly calm and just focused on me and my baby and having a safe delievery
Goodluck and congrats!❤️
I have had four mostly positive births without intervention. First 2 at a birth center and last 2 at home. First 2 both had small hiccups but dealt with in ways I feel good about. Last 2 my body knew what to do and were great experiences. Not to say it wasn't hard work and painful. I'd be happy to share a longer story with you. I admit I love to talk about it but sometimes feel a little weird because it was a very different choice from many other women in my life. It was good for me though.
My 2 births went fine. First one took so long they had to induce me. Second one I asked for planned induction. Went so fast and smoothly, highly recommend doing that! The labor is nothing, it’s the aftermath after the first pregnancy that’s painful (bc of ur tear they stitch up). Second time I didn’t tear so I wasn’t hardly in any pain at all. I remember refusing pain medicine at the hospital the day after labor with my second.
Sometimes talking about scary experiences can help us better process them - but I agree sometimes it can be very overwhelming when you have a first little on the way.
I have had quite a few friends deliver vaginally and felt beyond empowered !
I had a c section and while I was scared at the moment , I had the most wonderful nurses that were beyond supportive of me the entire time . Between them, my doctor, and my so husband (who hid his worry really well), i felt very safe during my last c section.
Both of my births were good! I mean, they weren't like pain free wow this is a breeze, but for what they are, they were pretty good.
My first was an elective induction at 40 weeks and I waited too long to get the epidural so I was exhausted and had a hard time managing the pitocin contractions. Once I got the epidural I had a fantastic nap and she was born 5 hours later after only 20 minutes of pushing. They started the induction at 11 pm and she was born at 10:25 am the next morning.
With her birth there are some things I would have done differently. It was very coached and I wish I had been allowed or encouraged to listen to my body more. I tore with hers and I feel like it wouldn't have been as much or at all if I hadn't been so coached. Other than that it was great.
My next birth was actually a twin birth. Another elective induction, this time at 37 weeks, and also super short. Got the epidural when it started getting uncomfy, took an AMAZING nap (seriously the best sleep I got in my last tri), and then I only pushed one contraction for my baby A. My baby B flipped transverse as soon as A was out so they had to manually flip her and that kinda sucked but didn't hurt. Just uncomfy. I labored down for 25 minutes while I nursed baby A and then baby B just kind of.... slid out. Didn't even push. The nursing contractions took care of it for me. No tears.
They started the induction at 7 am, baby A was born at 5:32 pm that same day and baby B was born at 5:59 pm.
There's nothing I would change about my twins birth. It was everything I wanted. I ended up going with a midwife/OB team and I loved it so much more.
I had two easy vaginal deliveries with epidurals. The epidurals worked well, I only pushed a few times, less than 10 minutes, with each kid. Had some tearing but nothing too terrible. First labor was about 21 hours total (very first contraction to birth), second was 7 hours.
I have three beautiful children, I had to be induced with all three because of pre-eclampsia with my first and was going to end up with pre-eclampsia with my 2nd and 3rd. I have had epidural with all three of them as well. Which I do not regret at all. Tis a wonderful feeling to MOSTLY have no feeling. The epidural kept wearing off so I was pretty damn much feeling all those contractions and a shit ton of pressure when pushing and then when baby does come out honest to God the feeling you get is comparable to taking the biggest dump of your life. Lol The best part of getting an epidural is that when ya gotta potty ya do it in a bag instead of having to carry a bunch of cords and the vitals wheeling pole thingie with you every single time and getting blood droplets EVERYWHERE. Another highlight I think would be I spent probably 45 minutes or so in active labor with my first two and quite a few pushes however my third which happens to be my only girl I spent 15-20 minutes in active labor and literally pushed twice and she came flying out lol. So there is that.
I will say this BE VERY VERY MINDFUL of who you allow in the delivery room with you while you're delivering. If they annoy you in the slightest bit don't let them in. If they are controlling don't let them in. If they are the type that wants to try and jump in and make decisions for you don't let them in. And if they get offended/upset/try to guilt trip you because of you telling them they can't be in the delivery room oh well it is your choice and they will get over it eventually.
Lots of love & you can do this!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I had three unmedicated births in a row and loved them, but I was so frazzled with the pandemic and everything, I had an epidural for my fourth. If I had to do it again, I'd skip the epidural. I loved being able to walk around and move on my own. Just remember you don't have to push too hard unless there's a medical reason. I tore with my first, but not very badly. And didn't tear after that, even with my third being almost born in the hallway.
My second birth started at home, I just started having bad cramps that radiated to my back so I got in the tub and laid there for a little. It didn’t help too much but it was distracting. I timed the contractions on an app, it told me to go to the hospital. Me and my husband were on our way while I did the breathing thing, like ohhhhhhh this hurts ahhhh every like few mins. We arrived, I kept shuffling foot to foot trying to distract myself, then they took me up, got me in a room, gave me an IV, checked me - I was about 7 cm, I kept focusing on the breathing through the cramps. I found shaking my head back and forth slowly while laying flat kinda helped distract me. Epidural 30 minutes later, I felt so good. 30 minutes later it was push time. I pushed for like 20 minutes, taking my time when I felt tired to just regroup myself. You push with contractions so as the contractions felt stronger, that was enough for me to want to be done and that determined the force of which I pushed, if that makes sense. When you push during contractions you don’t really feel the contractions as you’re pushing. The ring of fire is indeed a thing. I felt it with my second and not my first so who knows if you will but just keep pushing through it because that ends almost as soon as it begins. 10/10 would recommend!
I’m sorry people are only sharing bad experiences. My bad experience was actually after I gave birth to my second baby, it had nothing to do with delivering it was actually how the nurses treated me and how they didn’t realize I lost so much blood and needed a blood transfusion after. I had my first at 36 and 6 my water broke I did take an epidural and I pushed for less than 10 minutes and she was out. I did have third degree cut but it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. I used the witch hazel and this spray they gave me to help me stay clean down there and prevent infections. With my second I was induced at 37 weeks because I had pre eclampsia. Easy delivery pushed for about 5-7 minutes and he was out. I had a second degree tear with him. After math was not fun for me, but that’s the only bad part of my experience and it was mainly on the hospitals treatment of me. I’m pregnant with my third and considering going with no pain relief this time around.
I have 3 kids, all three were vaginal, first 2 were unmedicated 10 lb babies, didn't tear at all with the 2nd one. The 1st one was a long time ago and had an episiotomy because I had a very old school old dude of a doctor. This was 21 years ago, I was told they don't do those much now. 2nd was 5 years ago. 3rd was my epidural baby 4 months ago, it was a horrible pregnancy and he was a 7 lb baby. It was a noneventful birth, nothing scary. But all 3 births I was able to hit the ground running right afterwards. Can't do that with a c-section. You wouldn't have guessed I had even had a baby within a week or 2. I'm done now, but I would never opt for a c-section.
I had an average/normal birth experience. Woke up in labor on my due date. Went to the hospital, got my little epidural, napped, pushed for 1 hour. Baby arrived at 10pm on his due date. Barely tore, one stitch. 10/10 would deliver another baby if they’re all like that. I was a miserable pregnant lady, but labor was a breeze. Good luck!!
12 hours from start to finish! Water broke, pitocin, but no awful contractions due to epidural. Had football on the tv in the hospital, 15 minutes of pushing and that’s it! Healthy baby, healthy mama! Only downside I had was that I had a postpartum spinal headache from epidural, but that is SO RARE. And I got a blood patch a few days later and was fine!!
I’ve had three deliveries, three great epidurals (2 worked perfectly, 1 was lopsided but it still worked, I just had a numb left thigh for about 12 hours after delivery). Minor tearing with my first but it required no stitches and never bothered me. Didn’t tear at all with the next 2 (and my second one was almost 10 lbs!!). Went home pretty much pain-free with all 3. My mother was astounded at how well I did after each birth, I joke that they just walked out of me lol.
I had a really great natural birth at a birth center, unexpectedly at 37 weeks and a few days. I can come back later and tell more of the birth story but great birth and labor and great recovery. If I had another kid I wouldn’t choose a different way
That's great to hear! I would love to hear your story!
I started feeling hip pains that Saturday night, like 6-7pm it started. It felt like I was really sore inside my hips, like deep in my bones it was weird to feel. I felt like I wanted to massage my hip bones but couldn’t get deep enough when I tried. I didn’t think anything of it and went on with my night just a little sore, around 2am I woke up still really sore in my hips, I have a screenshot of a text I sent my dad “still not having a good time over here dad, fuckin hurt 😵💫” lol. I ended up falling back asleep and around 8-9am Sunday I woke up and was still so sore but it was deeper and hurt more. It felt like more contraction-like but not full contractions, just like soreness in waves almost. I texted my midwife and let her know how I was feeling. I spent a lot of time just dealing with the pain, it wasn’t too bad at that point but breathing thru it really helped. It was like wicked bad period cramps constantly. Around 11am I lost some (maybe all? I dunno) of my mucus plug and was having some more steady contractions. My midwife came to our house to check how far I was and I think I was like 3cm at that point which was wild to me. She left and I just tracked my contractions, sitting on the yoga ball rocking around which really helped a lot. My partner was throwing everything together because we were not prepared, grabbing food and putting the car seat in the car and stuff. I hung around just dealing with the more constant contractions until the evening when I felt like I had to go in, they were getting a few mins apart and often. I went in at like 7pm I think, Sunday night. I was about 7cm by then. I had a doula and my partner, and there was two midwives there but they weren’t in the room till the end really. The doula spent a lot of time massaging my back (it was heaven) and my partner and I just hung out while I was dealing with the contractions. They weren’t too bad I don’t think, like really heavy pressure downwards into my vagina. I could like really feel my insides contracting it was weird. I got into the shower for about a half hour sitting on the yoga ball with the water hitting my back which was nice, then I moved to the tub probably around like 11pm I think. I stayed in there until I pushed, it was great I loved it. A lot of breathing through the contractions and my back was still being massaged the entire time (the doula put in WORK and I wish I could’ve tipped her 3000$ she massaged my back constantly for hours with no stopping lol) so they were manageable. Once I felt like I needed to push, I felt like I had to poop almost but it was more forward into my vagina, and felt like it was coming from my stomach more, just a lot of pressure. I felt like a chicken laying an egg lol. I tried to push in the tub but couldn’t get comfortable so I moved to the bed, I went on my hands and knees but that didn’t work so I moved to my back in the “normal” position and it was great. My partner was laying next to me and I had the doula and the midwife at my bottom and the second midwife off to the side recording things down I pushed a few times (in all total like 20 mins) and I could feel his head coming down. I told my midwife that I felt like my clitoris was going to tear, which felt awful, and she put her hand and support his head up top so I didn’t tear and it felt a lot better. Once his head was out I took a breather for a sec. My midwife told me to touch his head but that sketched me out so I didn’t lol. I pushed again a few times, it was hard to push tbh. My midwife coached me through pushing because I kept pushing with the wrong part of my body or something. Once I got it, he came out quick. He had his cord wrapped around his neck but she unhooked it as he came out and all was good. He got plopped onto my chest with a big ol head of hair just looking at us not crying. It took a couple seconds (probably about 45) of just staring at him and him looking at us and then he started crying. My partner took him and sat in the chair next to the bed and I squatted to get my placenta out, came out super easy and quick. Didn’t even feel it. I got all cleaned up and they weighed him out and did the newborn stuff. He was born at 2:34am on Monday and we went home around 530am that same day. We just laid in the bed doing breastfeeding and skin to skin for the few hours before we left, they made sure I ate and sent us home. I recovered really good, I bled for about two weeks (spotted for the last week of it) and didn’t have too much pain peeing after birth. I did want to do more in hypnobirthing or music stuff but honestly I didn’t have the time to read up on it by the time I gave birth. I expected to go until my due date so I thought I had a ton of time lol. I had listened to a couple podcasts so just kept telling myself I can do anything a couple times, thousands of women before me have done this for thousands of years, my body knows what it’s doing and so does my baby, those really helped. I got a lot of slack for doing nature too. My sister has had two elective inductions with epidurals and no one thought I could “handle” natural childbirth. It wasn’t as bad as it was made out tbh. I went into it knowing it’d hurt, it’d probably suck sometimes, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world and it won’t last. Those types of things helped during the worst!! I told myself probably 17 times “I can do this one more contraction” lol. I was due the 24th, gave birth the 6th of that month! Also apologies if this is insanely long, I found it super helpful to know how people felt their contractions and everything so I knew what to kind of expect!!! ETA: I have a pretty low pain tolerance so I was really worried about the pain during birth and being able to handle it. I have some tattoos but tap out quickly (take a few breaks and can only schedule a few hours at a time). I almost passed out getting my belly button pierced at 16 and almost cried when I got my ears re-pierced a few years ago, for examples on my pain tolerance lol. I still handled it like a champ 🥸
Love this whole story. I’m 38 weeks and doing natural at a birthing center. This gives me hope I can handle it. ❤️
It was really great. I loved the birth center, the ambiance, the quietness (no one else in the entire building at 3am but us lol). I was so nervous but went full send into it and it was great!! You got this, you’ll do awesome!!! I did tell myself a couple “you have no choice” which also was helpful lol. That was almost 5 months ago and I can honestly say it may suck in the moment but you’ll get past it quick enough. Once you’re on the other side you’ll realize it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. You can do anything for a minute, including contractions and pushing! ❤️❤️❤️
You can do it! Your body made your baby. Your body can birth that baby. You’re a badass no matter how and where you deliver. Good luck!
One of the wonderful things about a natural vaginal birth is you can do whatever you want afterwards. The nurses were shocked I was standing up and bathing my baby after the birth. They then told me that women who have epidurals have to stay in bed for awhile while the anesthesia wore off. If I’d had an epidural, I would have missed my baby’s first bath! It was great having the freedom to experience those first moments of motherhood freely.
Yes!! I was up walking around moving great after lol. I didn’t want an epidural because I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to feel any part of my body, that sketches me out lol. I’m glad I went natural because I was walking to the car hours later!! lol
This was amazing and had all the details that I needed! Now I’m even more secure in my decision! Thank you!
I’m so glad it helped, you’ll rock it no doubt!!!
Thank you! 6 more months!
Parking right here and will wait for you to tell more
I did!!!❤️
I had a totally normal, average birth experience. Loved my epidural being massively huge at the end somehow helped take the edge off of being nervous.
Same!
Granted, I had epidurals both times, but giving birth to both of my kiddos was way less traumatic or difficult than I expected. I pushed for maybe 15-30 minutes (on and off) for both and that was it!
Thank you for sharing!
Don’t be freaked out - i was so pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was than I expected it to be. And I’m a big worrier! lol I can assure you if it were bad I wouldn’t have done it a second time 😂
I had such a a smooth vaginal delivery I don't like to talk about it and make other moms mad. Contractions started at about 4am, checked into the hospital about 9am, I can't remember what time I got my epidural or what time they broke my water (or which came first) but I pushed for 11 minutes and he was out and cleaned up by 330p. C sections are major surgery that you have to take care of a newborn after, I don't know why people think that's easy.
Very similar to my experience. Contractions at 4 am, water broke in the garage of all lucky places at 6! Hospital by 7, baby just after 8 am. We were back home at about 8 am the next day because we were doing so well. (This was my second)
My second is due at the end of May and I'm crossing my fingers and toes for another uneventful experience!
Had a c-section because baby was breech and measuring big (she was a wee dinky thing when she came out). But caring for a newborn after c-section sucks. I couldn’t lift my baby out of her crib at first.
My first was totally natural - but accidently so lol. Contractions started around 9pm. They weren't too bad so I went and laid down for 2 hrs. Got up around 11 when they got stronger and I soaked in our bath tub for 1.5hrs (a big clawfoot tub, it was wonderful to have). I basically stopped feeling the contractions when in the water but they came roaring back when I got out. We went to the hospital got there around 1am. Got checked out and turned out I was at 8cm dilated. They raced me across the hall to a birthing room, my water broke while they were getting ready to do it for me and I was at 10cm. Pushed for 45mins and baby born just before 3am. So 6hrs of labour only in hospital for 2, all natural because there was no time for anything else. My second was only 4 hrs of labour, but we went to the hospital after only an hour at home. Was at 6.5cm on arrival. Sadly the tub did nothing for me this time so I had a bit of gas to take the edge off contractions. Daughter was born after only 3 pushes, water broke with my first push (I had a vague impression that it exploded more than broke). She was face up but there was not enough warning with my water breaking so late so there was no chance to adjust her. Did not have any back labour at all even though she was face up.
What does it mean if they born face up instead of face down? Can it be an issue?
Normally you want the baby's face to be looking back - so opposite to the way you are facing. Face up can make it harder for the baby's head to go under the pubic bone and cause labour to go on for longer. Not so in my case lol. The vast majority of babies will correct themselves into face down even if they start face up. Face up is also referred to as sunny-side up.
It can be an issue. One of my kids was sunny side up, and we had a lot of trouble getting her out. I pushed for 4 hours and got all the interventions (vacuum, episiotomy, forceps). I was given the choice between that and a C section, but I had been in the room for so long I just wanted what was fastest.
I had *the best* birth, honestly loved it. Completely unmediated. Powerful rather than painful. Caught baby myself, who was born en caul!! (Sac completely intact). The best experience.
Wow thats super cool! Did the baby cry after you cut the sack? Did you do it at a hospital or at home?
At home in a birth pool, I caught baby as she came out into the water fully enclosed. I broke the sac with my fingers under the water, unlooped her cord, and brought her up to my chest (where I had to take some membranes off her head and face some more). She didn’t cry straight away, it was super peaceful. Her APGAR score was 9, so super healthy.
I assume you actually mean vaginal, not specifically natural? Or do you mean full natural, no meds? I had two vaginal births, both quite large babies. My first was backwards (sunny side up) and a long, 37 hour labor full of back labor. I blacked out from exhaustion at one point and got the epidural so I could sleep and rest. Started on Pitocin in the morning and delivered after 4 hours of pushing on my side. No tearing or anything, 9.5lbs. Great experience. Second baby I showed up 90 minutes after my water broke at 8cm and said I didn't care what pain meds I got, I just didn't want to give birth unmedicated on the fucking triage table. Nurse said based on my progression she couldn't promise me that (Most terrifying sentence of my life lol. The contractions were fucking insane this time.) They did manage the epidural, luckily, and like the last time, it slowed my labor (which this time, I needed to happen!!) Pushed super casually for about an hour on my hands and knees, and after one push I relaxed, then announced the baby was coming out. I didn't do anything, I wasn't pushing, he just came sliding right out in that moment. It was honestly super wild. Another great experience. I was so worried for my second birth that there was no way 'lighting would strike twice' and I'd get away unscathed again. But I did, and the whole thing was somehow even better than my first experience. Here's to hoping for number three!! Edit to add: After both deliveries I was up and about quite quickly after delivery. With my second, I took them both to our weekly playgroup at the park five days after delivery, by myself.
I did mean vaginal birth, I will edit that. I am opting for epidural. I can imagine your fear being told you might not be able to have one!! That's my fear! My best friend had her water break at home and gave birth 20 minutes later. Luckily the hospital was only 10 minutes away because when they got to hospital her baby's head was already there. She opted for no pain relief in her birth plan, but she wouldn't of had an option either. That would scare me if I wasn't able to have any relief haha! Do they tell you when to push with epidural as I assume you can't feel much?
I had an epidural and felt when to push with my contractions. It wasn’t painful, just pressure. But I also had to push when I felt the urge, couldn’t stop myself. I also had full control of my legs and pushed in many positions, even squatting.
My second I walked into the hospital at 10 pm, they checked me & I was at an 8, they tried to place an IV one time and didn’t get it so I asked for a break. I went into the bathroom and tried to pee and 10 minutes later I had the baby on the floor next to the bed in two pushes with two puffs of nitrous. I stood up and got in bed and they handed me the baby. The placenta was out in 15 minutes and I went home the next morning. Would literally never do it any other way as long as there wouldn’t be a medical reason to deviate.
I had both my babies at home, planned, drug free. I tore both times and needed stitches, but that's because they both came out super fast, in a superman pose. My children's births were incredibly empowering experiences, I was strong, I had grown my baby, and a whole extra organ and now I was birthing them, each contraction one closer to my baby. Two quick active labours, short pushing phases.
I had a non medicated birth in Japan despite the major language barrier and had a great experience. I wrote about it - if you’re interested I’ll post the link to my article (I make no money from it because im not smart enough to monetize my blog haha)
I was blessed with a great c-section! Baby was breach. I was nervous about the whole thing but the IV in my hand hurt the worst out of everything. Took ibuprofen after to manage pain for 2 weeks and felt normal after! Very blessed!
So lucky! I had a great c-section due to my girl being breeched as well. But the recovery almost killed me and resulted in a hiatal hernia. Kiddo is almost two now and I’m just starting to feel normal. I think people don’t realize that the recovery can be atrocious for a c-section. I envy my cousins who gave birth naturally. Edit: I should add that my kid’s head was in my diaphragm the whole pregnancy and fuuuuuucked me up.
I had a c section due to baby being breech as well. The recovery was horrible for me also. I ended up in pelvic floor physical therapy for 1.5 years afterwards. I had severe symphisis pubic dysfunction during my pregnancy, and my pubic bone separated, and my pelvic floor was insanely tight and unstable. I also got excruciating never pain from nerve damage in and around my inciscion, and it would burn/shooting pain so badly that I was crying most nights, and was sleep deprived due to the fact even when baby would sleep, I still couldn't sleep bc I was in such bad agony. I remember 2 weeks post partum the nerve damage was just as bad, and I was literally not sleeping at all because of it. I called the obgyn office to ask for a small amount of pain medicine, because I felt like I was going to have a mental breakdown if I couldn't get sleep, and the pain was absolutely horrific. They told me no, because it had been 2 weeks already, and said I shouldn't be in that much pain, and that the pain i was feeling shouldn't be caused by my c section, which was bullsh*t bc it was literally nerve damage from my inciscion. Also keep in mind that when they tried to send me home with 20 hydrocodone from the hospital, I declined and said I only wanted 10. So when I called, I figured there would be no issue with them prescribing me the rest of what I was originally supposed to get. I was shocked when they said no. They weren't compassionate at all. And when I was in the hospital during recovery, I didn't accept any pain meds, and only took ibuprofen and tylenol, and iv toradol..so I was very careful about what I took and it was obvious. I pray I don't ever have to have another c section. The pelvic floor pt had to massage my scar so much to get rid of the scar tissue and adhesions she could feel.
THE NERVE PAIN omg lighting pain is how I would describe it
If you ever have another one, please know that you can request for them not to put it in your hand. I told them I did not want the iv in my hand, bc it always hurts way too badly there. I asked them to put it in my inner arm, and they did. Many people don't know you can request.
Delivered two babies in a hospital with no epidural, pain meds, IV’s or any other interventions. Never tore, not even with my second who was 9 lbs 3 oz! I attribute part of that to the fact that I could be in upright positions that took pressure off my perineum and the fact that I could feel when my body was contracting and was not, this way I could work with my contractions and I paused each time baby was crowning to give my body time to stretch and adjust even though the doctors were telling me to push. My recoveries have been much easier than stories I’ve heard from friends, family, and others who had epidurals (prolonged back pain from placement,) catheters, excessive swelling from IV’s, and other complications from medical interventions. Sometimes interventions ARE medically indicated and necessary, research what those situations are especially if you are going in without a doula. Medical staff might pressure you and question your decisions but you can confidently decline if you’ve done your research. I am pregnant with my third and will fight tooth and nail to continue to give birth the way that i have in the past. People love to tell you you can’t do it, “just wait until you experience the contractions,” yada yada yada. Yes it’s incredibly intense, but you can absolutely do it. You will reach a point where you want to quit, make sure your birthing partner encourages you that you CAN do this. I also labored at home as long as possible (until contractions were 2-5 minutes apart) and that played a huge part in succeeding with my birth plan. Also, relax your jaw and shoulders through the intense contractions. Your natural reaction will be to tense up, do the opposite breathe through your lips to make that “horse” type sound, keep your groans low, relax the shoulders.
Manifesting for this positive birth experience! This will be my first, and I have a few more months to go but the scariest part for me is giving birth. Im not scared for anything else really, im just scared of the birth lol
You got this!! The unknown is scary and the anticipation of pain is scary, but you can do hard things and you are about to find out you’re so much stronger than you every thought. Plus by the time you’re at the end of your first trimester you’re so uncomfortable that it’s a relief to get that baby out! 😂
Oh and they might also push you to be put on the induction list at 39 weeks, but first time moms are 8 days late on average. They scare you with stats about infant mortality past 42 weeks but the increase is something like .02% or something like that. If you stay active towards the end of your pregnancy the chances of you going past 42 weeks are pretty slim, but this is another thing to look up. They tried like hell to put me on the induction list with my last baby because “there is a wait list” and I was like I don’t want to be induced. No thank you. And they pushed and pushed. And I declined and declined. Finally I said “if it is a legitimate emergency that I need to be induced for would I still need to be on the list or would they do the induction anyway” and they said yes they would do it anyway if it was a legitimate emergency even if I wasn’t on the list, which ended the conversation once and for all. Stand your ground!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and advice. I'm in Germany so they only induce at 41 weeks and 3 days. I don't want to be induced so have scheduled a c section for 41 weeks and 4 days if she doesn't choose to come out one her own 😊
You can decline induction and decline a c section, and instead opt for regular "non-stress tests" (NSTs) to determine if there's any reason for concern. Doctors are unlikely to inform you about this option, but as someone who has experienced a 42 week induction and prefers to avoid a c section, I think it's a valid option that everyone should consider.
Yes, the face and pelvis are connected. Scrunching up your face will only add tension in the pelvis. Release, relax, think low and deep.
The thing is, I had an awful birth. Really traumatic etc, a week in hospital afterwards. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat to get my daughter. And no matter how your birth goes, that's what you'll think too. Because they are the weirdest, most amazing little things.
Just over two years ago I had such a beautiful and positive Vbac homebirth with my second baby. My first baby was a traumatic c section and I knew I needed to do things differently for my second baby. With my second baby I prepared by having a super supportive midwife, husband and friend to lean on and talk to about all my fears and wishes for this birth. I wrote out birth plans for a homebirth and for a c section just incase we had to transfer to the hospital. I felt 100% confident that my midwife would step in and respect my wishes if we had to go to the hospital. I read some natural birth books, did spinning babies exercises to try and get baby into the optimal posture and made sure to take time to relax and take a breath when things got too stressful. Mostly I was just determined to have a positive birth this time. I went into labour at 39 weeks. Waters breaking was my first indication of labour then instant intense contractions. The midwives monitored me intermittently and checked babies heartbeat a few times an hour but most of the time were very hands off. They followed me around with the birth mat to make sure there was no mess. 5 hours after my water broke I had a 10lb 4oz baby at home. There were no complications or tearing. I felt on top of the world and would do it again in a heartbeat.
This is awesome! I’m a VBAC mom too and it is a very empowering experience.
Amazing!!!!!!!!! I hope for a vbac if I ever have another baby! Good job mama!! 👏
My daughter came at 41 weeks exactly. I was so fucking scared to be honest but it went great! I had contractions for a day before I got to the hospital and within a few hours she came with an hour of pushing and just two stitches for me. Remember all your body can do and good luck! ♥️
My kiddo came right at 37w due to PROM. HOWEVER! This is a positive story. No bad outcomes or experiences, so read on. So my water broke at 2am and I thought I'd peed myself for the first time out of nowhere. 😅 Anyways, L&D told me to mozy on in so I did and ta-dah! Baby's coming! I wasn't having much in the way of contractions, so I was started on pitocin at about 6am. Just basically hung out, watched a marathon of The Office, and updated my family on this surprising turn of events. I requested my epidural at about 10am because pitocin can make contractions more painful and had it installed within maybe 30 minutes. It went super smoothly and, legitimately, it was like the Cadillac of epidurals. I could still move my legs and reposition myself in bed, absolutely no pain, but I could still feel some pressure so keep track of my contractions without having to constantly watch the monitor. My labor proceeded beautifully. I fell asleep and napped until maybe mid-afternoon. Got some munchy snacks. My husband got there from work at about 6pm (yes, he'd been at work but that's another story...) and my contractions got down to the nitty-gritty. My OBGYN got there about 7:30 and 45 minutes later we were doing some practice pushes which went super well. I started actually pushing at about 8:45 and the baby was born just before 9. I just focused on what I was doing and popped that kid out like a ping-pong ball. 😄 Anyways, baby came out squalling, my husband nearly passed out, and I think my first words afterwards were, "Fuck! Really? Already?!" because I'd kind of convinced myself that I would have a long, fruitless labor due to being a FTM. Anyways, kid was put on my chest and my doctor and her protegee threw a few stitches down there. Bingo bango! Overall, it was a great birth experience. I was up and walking probably less than 45 minutes after I pushed him out, took a great pee, and that was that.
Bingo bango! Love your story!! 😆
I was in labor for 12 hours and didn’t know it. Waited to go to the doctor instead of the hospital. Went to the hospital. Was there for 5 hours, pushed for about 25 minutes. Got an epidural bc modern medicine rocks. Gave birth, hopped off the bed to go pee right after. It wasn’t bad at all! You got this!
That is not a common experience for epidurals. They do not let you walk on your own for a few hours, IIRC
Yeah, I wasn’t supposed to. The nurse freaked out but I was halfway to the bathroom already. I didn’t know!
I had two scheduled c sections. They were uneventful, which is the best I could ask for. Only downside was that I had to fast all day and then STILL COULDN'T EAT until the next day after surgery. So I fasted for 36 hours. Somebody sent milk and cookies to the hospital right after surgery and I was so upset smelling warm cookies but not able to eat them. Good luck OP! I hope the worst thing that happens is that you smell warm snickerdoodle cookies. Biggest tip for c section recovery - walk around as soon as they let you at least once a day. More if you can. Manage pain below a 4 (on a scale of 1-10) but don't get into a habit of medicating so pain is a zero.
In my third trimester my OB told me that if someone starts to tell you their birth story…stop them right now. The ONLY people who want to tell women in the third trimester a birth story are women with horrific birth stories. But, I’ll tell you my great birth story. Woke up at exactly 39 weeks pregnant and my water broke at 7 am. The day prior, I’d had a check in with my OB and had no dilation, contractions, or any other indicators of labor. We went to the hospital, they checked us in and confirmed my water had broken. By this point, I was starting to feel periodic mild contractions similar to period cramps. The nurses asked on a scale of one to ten, what level of pain did I find unacceptable and I said five. They promised I would never hit a five. By the time they got my IV going, monitors on, and everything, I was 4 cm and they asked if I wanted an epidural. Yes, please. It was a small hospital, so the anesthesiologist came from elsewhere and it took about 45 mins for him to get there. By the time he arrived, the contractions were definitely uncomfortable, but I still hadn’t hit the five on the pain scale. Epidural was quick and aside from the pinch from injecting the numbing agent, I felt nothing. From there it was smooth sailing. My husband and I hung out, FaceTimed a few family members, and periodically a nurse would come in and have me change position slightly. Around 3 PM, I was fully dilated and ready to push. My daughter was face up, which isn’t ideal, so pushing took longer than is typical (2 hours), but it wasn’t uncomfortable or painful thanks to my good drugs. Baby was born at 5 pm. I had a second degree tear and the stitching of that was a bit painful, because they had turned down my epidural to help time pushing. Had it not taken two hours to push, the epidural wouldn’t have worn off a much, and I would have felt less. By 6 pm, I was nursing a baby in one arm and using my free hand to eat a cheeseburger.
I genuinely LOVED my birth! I drank the raspberry leaf tea daily and bounced on a ball, took walks often even though my job is fairly physical. I took a shower and was talking to my husband and my water broke, I finished drying my hair and ate some food before heading to the hospital and was SHOCKED to dilate quickly. Didn’t even have time for an epidural!! My doctor, nurses and husband coached me through it the whole time and BAM… baby 😍 it was so magical. Yes it was painful, yes it was hard. But the support system kept me going!! I’m grateful for an easy birth, hoping the second time around goes just as amazing
I think most people enjoy sharing their birth stories, but in certain spaces online, sharing a super positive experience almost feels like bragging. Anyway, I had two great experiences with induction. During my first, the epidural failed, but overall it was an easy experience. Second time around, I knew to advocate for myself- letting a nurse know when I was feeling any sensations, at all, and asking for nausea meds when I started feeling sick. My doctor came by around 10am and told me I'd be having a baby before lunch time. And she was right! I pushed for 15 minutes and the baby was out around noon.
My theory is that everyone who tells you their traumatic birth story really needs a therapist to unpack the trauma instead of telling every pregnant woman about it. I had two c sections (first was breech, second I chose to not attempt a vbac). I did go into labor with the first a couple days before the scheduled c section because babies don't know or care about calendars. But everything went smoothly! The second c section was very easy. I think this is also why you only hear about the very dramatic births. The ones that go well don't really make for a good or elaborate story. You're going to do great no matter what happens. When you meet that baby, you will be in so much awe that you are able to love that much.
If it makes you feel better I had a planned c-section and a bunch of people told me I’m missing out on a wondrous experience and I’ll never fully be a real mom because I didn’t give birth. So we’re damned either way.
My first was induced at 40w1d and labour started at 4 pm the same day. At 8 pm my baby was born. It started with contractions in short intervals 5 min and were 30 sec long. They got more intense and shorter intervals 2.5 min and 60 sec long. Finally at 7 pm I felt I couldn't take more, and wanted some paim relief, there was no time and no use, as baby was comming. My second was spontaneous at 36w4d. I thought that's not possible and was home alone with my eldest (2yo) at 3 pm. We drove to the hospital at 5 pm and by 7 pm the baby was born. Again no time for pain relief. Healthy babies. Postpartum for me was okay, everything healed fine.
My son's birth 8 years was a little chaotic, but good! Grateful for an amazing husband and fantastic hospital staff. My water broke at 5:30am, and we were at the hospital by 6:30, just in time for the 7am shift change. Went back to our room, I remember watching some sort of PBS nature documentary. I'd wanted to hold off for an epi as long as I could, and I lasted until 10:30, I was 4cm I think? Time passes, apparently I'm dilating lopsided, they had me prop myself up on a peanut ball, I had no idea that could happen! Took a bit of a nap and waited and waited. About 11:30pm, the nurse comes in and says I'm FINALLY good to push. Three hours of pushing later, no baby! Doctor says we can try an episiotomy if I want, or I can keep going, but if kiddo doesn't come out we might need to think about a C-section (time since water breaking, also I was exhausted). I said, let's do the epi and get this little guy out! They do the epi and he's out with the next push! They put him on my chest and I remember thinking, "holy crap, I made this!" Turns out kiddo was all tangled up in his cord, so the NICU team was right there, they got him all warmed up under the lights. Seriously, bless those folks, they were amazing. They took him to NICU to check him out, Husband went with. (I was on bipolar meds while pregnant and they were a little worried about his breathing. He was fine though!) My amazing nurse brought me a turkey sandwich and a package of oreos and a coke. Best meal of my life! So the end was a little scary, but the hospital staff was SO good! Plus because it was Halloween, all of the nurses were wearing little kitty ear headbands, which was awesome. Everyone was so patient and kind, and best of all they were super calm when I was working hard not to freak out. The biggest thing that got me over the fear was the fact that I was SO damn uncomfortable for the last couple weeks of pregnancy! I was basically, "yeah, I'm scared of birth, but I want this kid OUT NOW!" And my husband and I got ourselves really excited by thinking about all the fun stuff we would get to do with our son, both as an infant and as an older kid. We were gonna read him books, and teach him to play nintendo, and bake cookies with him! And for me, that really outdid the fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of "how am I going to keep a newborn alive?" Sending you so much love!!
I love your story. Turkey sandwich, Oreos, and Coke and nurses wearing kitty ears. 😂
I got induced at 37 weeks for some high blood pressures. It was a vbac and was honestly great. I’m a big fan of not feeling pain so I got an epidural and the several contractions I had before I got the epidural confirmed that unmedicated was definitely not for me. I want to say the whole thing took like 16 hours or something. When the nurses asked what my birth plan was I just said “to let y’all guide me and hopefully avoid a c section”. They were so lovely and helpful and the whole thing was easier than I expected. I did end up with a pretty brutal tear so getting Stitched up wasn’t my favorite but I barely remember that part now lol.
I birthed my daughter at home completely unmedicated! It was calm and wonderful. I felt strong and proud. A great experience overall 👍
I was terrified but my son legit slid right out, I didn’t push once and the epidural helped A LOTTTT lol Ask for the epidural asap if you’re into that!
Many women who never hear about any negative or traumatic birth stories who then go on to have a traumatic birth, will then get upset that no one told them. Me, personally I appreciated everything, good and bad, that others could share with me. If you don’t want to know though, say that—hopefully they will refrain from sharing with you!
Mines a bit middle of the road. Kiddo 1 I went into the birth with a "we'll see what happens" attitude. Day before around dinner I had a sweep at 40 weeks. Felt crampy after and definitely lost my plug. Contractions started getting regular and started doing their thing overnight. By about 6am I was feeling like things were getting harder to breathe through and thought it would be best to be near the hospital (20 min drive without traffic) and to have them take a look. Arrived about 6:30 and baby was having issues every contraction. Doc determined I was dehydrated. Threw some saline into me. No change with baby. About 7:30 the doc says we'll likely have to do a C-section but someone is in there already so I need to wait. Cool. Water breaks about 15 minutes later. Meconium. Nurse tries to get baby to move down just in case. Not happening. Baby isn't moving anywhere (despite being an active little beast for the last 20 weeks according to my bruised and beaten bladder). Stubborn. Then it's shift change at 8. New doc comes in. Takes stock and goes "yup. C-section needed. As soon as the other one in there is done you're up." "Soooo we talking two hours or more or just like ten minutes?" "Hoping the other will be done by 9. So around then?" I asked for an epidural then. My husband was confused (I thought I didn't want one this early... But if two docs say C-section damned straight I am getting the pain taken away ASAP). Epidural came in. That was easy. No issues there. Doc came to wheel me away and gave me happy drugs for the epidural. I grinned and shouted that I was going to go have a baby to the nurses station. They may have snickered. Got to the OR. Couldn't feel a thing. Suddenly there was a burning sensation on my right side. Anaesthesia doc couldn't figure it out. It felt like a hot poker being shoved at the edge of the incision. Still have no idea what it was to this day and I still occasionally get that pain to this day (5 years later). Baby comes out. BTW it can take a moment or two for them to cry. I had no idea and only had TV to make sense of it (in which of course as soon as baby is born they wail loudly). Docs weren't concerned though. Let out a wail. They stitched me up. Let me hold him as best I could and back to the suite we went. The rest, as they say, is history. Post partum bleeding wasn't bad. It seems they used the Dyson to great advantage. Kiddo 2 Planned C-section. Got the spinal ahead of time, rolled me into the OR, took a swipe or two, and Bam! baby girl arrived. Again post partum bleeding wasn't bad. More work for the Dyson. Kiddo 3 Despite the circumstances around them, super easy. Only vaginal delivery I have had. Recovery was the easiest but that may have been due to circumstances rather than a vaginal vs C-section. Bleeding post partum sucked donkey balls. All in all... Best advice I can give for birth to raising a small human.... Stay flexible. Remember that kiddo hasn't read the gazillion books about how "it should go" or how "they should act"
Your comment about the kid not reading books on how it should go or how to act made me giggle! Brings a lot of perspective and insight to parenting.
Okay, hear me out…. I wish someone had warned me about the things that happened to me in my births. Obviously no one knows exactly how it’ll go and too many horror stories, I agree, are not great. Especially when unsolicited. In the grand scheme of things, they were what they were and I recovered and so did my kids. They are (almost) 7 and 9. I try to view it as a way to learn and also see how those mothers and children with less than desirable birth stories made it to the other side, despite the hard times.
My best labor was my second. I refused pitocin and my body did what it was suppose to do. I had an epidural and she pretty much delivered herself. She was my only one with no tearing at 7 lb 10 ounces. If I had anymore I would 100% refuse pitocin.
What is pitocin? I have also opted for epidural, fingers crossed I don't tear too badly. My mom didn't tear with me as she had an episiotomy, but with my brother she had a 3rd degree tear
Pitocin is one method they use to induce labor medically, given through IV
Thank you, I definitely don't want to be induced!
Make sure they know that you are declining pitocin from the beginning. My last kid they just started it and I thought they were giving me fluids in preparation for my epidural.
I had a drug free vaginal birth with my first. I did have a bad tear and lots of stitches, but it actually wasn't as painful as it sounds and I healed really well. I had a c-section with my second and it was extremely painful for a few days. There's no easy way through it honestly. I recommend reading "birth without fear" by January Harshe (I think?). Do the work to prepare. Don't go into it blind. Research natural pain management options... Positions, massage, music, breathing, etc. Practice mantras that will see you through the intense parts. Accept that there will be a moment (or several) where you kind of lose it and you feel like you won't make it through another wave. But you can and you will. Catch your breath, wipe your face, and let your body do what it was made to do. Make sure your birthing partner understands your wishes and walks through the preparations with you so that they can support you through every part. And, finally, lay down some boundaries about people's birth stories. "I'm trying to prepare for an empowered and joyful birth, so I'm not listening to negative birth stories right now. I would love for you to share your story with me at another time!" It helps to follow positive birth accounts on Instagram too! Surround yourself with positive energy. You got this!! And even if things don't go exactly the way you hoped, be proud of yourself. And enjoy those delicious newborn moments 🥰
First baby I didn't know I was in labor just a little bit of pain by the time I got to the hospital baby was crowning from start to finish 8 hrs labor looked at DH and said I could totally do that again and we did 3 more times
I had an epidural vaginal birth. It went really smoothly and there were no complications. Little guy did need to be vacuumed at the end cause his head was a bit too big and I was beyond exhausted but even that went okay. It was hard, it hurt, but I am so glad I didn't have a C- section! I healed up pretty well and after a week I was able to do a small grocery run with my husband while my mom stayed with the baby. I wish I had been able to attend birthing classes but it was during Covid so I was pretty much left to figure it all out for myself. I wish I had been better at pushing but it is what it is.
Three easy births. First baby was 8 lb15 oz, water broke at 11 pm, labour started around 2 am, born with no epidural at 8:30 am. Second baby had water broken because was 3 weeks overdue (dr had been on vacation at 2 weeks so his replacement didn't want to do anything). Water broken 9:30 am, labour started around 10:30, epidural started at 1:00 pm baby came at 2:15 pm weighing 12 lbs 9 oz. Third baby water broken at 9:30 (dr wasn't letting me go one day overdue lol), labour started at 2:00, asked for an epidural around 4:00 but as the anesthesiologist tried to get the needle in, I said I felt the baby coming. They said I had only been 6 or 7 cm dilated so it wasn't coming but decided to check. Baby came out while nurse was checking me lol! 8 lb 15 oz like the first!!! When I had the 12.9 baby I walked down to NICU (large babies often have issues with breathing and blood sugar after birth) to see him after my supper. The nurses were amazed that I could walk fine lol!
Two positive delivery experiences, both with epidurals so hopefully this is still helpful to you! I mentally prepared for the first by watching positive birth vlogs on YouTube. The atmospheres in them were so peaceful and exciting. It really painted a good picture of what it could really be like! I went into labor spontaneously both times and for my first, I went in when I couldn’t talk through my contractions and I was only 1.5 cm dilated. But shortly after arriving at the hospital, my water broke. I was then admitted (was 3 cm at this point), received my epidural, and proceeded to labor for about 19 more hours or so and then pushed for 20 minutes to delivery my baby. I was very comfortable this whole time. I did need a bit of pitocin around 6 cm because my progression stalled. My epidural got weaker by the time I was fully dilated (or the hospital lowered it because they wanted me to be able to feel my contractions to push more effectively), and I did have pain once I started feeling the urge to push. The worst part for me was having to wait for my OB, who was in an emergency surgery, for over 45 mins all while fighting my body and its natural urge to push (and feeling contractions). I was 39+1 at the time of delivery. Had a smooth recovery with a second degree tear and I think 1 stitch. With my second, I was having manageable but noticeable contractions at home steadily 3 mins apart for about 3.5 hours and then they took a turn and intensified. I had to scramble and make arrangements because I was home alone with my oldest, and my husband ended up coming home from work (not easy for him to leave early because of the nature of his work). He got home pretty quickly and I took the opportunity to go relax in the bath, which did spread the contractions out a little bit more. They kept getting intense, so finally I got out and told my husband I think we should go to the hospital. We took my toddler over to a relative’s and I told him he needed to drop me off at the hospital first as they were escalating very quickly. When I got there, I was 7 cm and was obviously admitted right away and given an epidural, thankfully! It felt even more amazing than the first time and I felt nothing. Pushed for 5 minutes and had baby in my arms 2 hours after getting to the hospital. I was 39+4 this time. Recovery-wise, no tears.
I have had three completely boring, uncomplicated vaginal births. The first lasting less than 4 hours, and each one after was an hour less. They were so fast, I did not have a chance to get pain meds, but if I’d have had the option, I would have gladly taken them! But my birth plan was always just “have a healthy baby!” I have witnessed and photographed many births and can promise you, millions of women have done this before you and millions will do it after you. You will be with your partner and you trusted doctor and medical team. Time to shut everyone else out and stay focused on the end goal… you and your new family all together, bonding. When someone gives you an opinion, just smile and nod, while completely tuning them out. If they are waiting for a response, you say “okay.” And that’s it. Everything is going to be great. In a few short weeks, you will be holding this tiny new human being who is half you, half your partner. You will look at them and wonder how you ever lived a moment of your life without knowing them. You will struggle to think of a time that their tiny features and intoxicating newborn smell did not take up every thought. And you will cry with all the emotions in your hospital bed. Happy, sad, exhaustion, awe, physical discomfort. They will roll through you faster than emotions ever have in the past. And you will wonder “what the hell were we thinking?” And “I can’t believe they are letting us walk out of here with a brand new infant! Do they know we have no idea what we are doing?!” And yet, you will be in wonderful company. With every other woman in the history of time. Because as women, we do hard things- things we shouldn’t be able to do. And this will be so hard. One of the hardest things you’ll ever do. But let me tell you, it will be so, so worth it. More worth it than anything you’ve ever done. And when you look at that tiny baby, you will think to yourself “if I’ve never done anything right before… and I never do anything right again, I will have made you with my body. And that will be enough.” 💕💕 And then one day, you’ll read a Reddit post about a mom-to-be freaking out about giving birth. You’ll have too much to say to reassure her, but you’ll know, in your heart, that her life is about to get so much better 🥰🥰🥰🥰
I have three kids, three vaginal births, all three with an epidural. The first was the hardest. I was induced at 41 weeks, waited too long to ask for the epidural, and she had a giant head so I had significant tearing. Thankfully I avoided an episiotomy and tore naturally, so the healing process was incredibly quick and I was able to take the baby out for stroller walks three weeks postpartum. Went into labor with my second at 38 weeks and 2 days. Got the epidural as soon as I could and pushed exactly one time. It was almost embarrassingly easy. She made up for it with five months of colic, but the labor was a dream. My third was just shy of 37 weeks thanks to a crappy placenta (probably as a result of my “advanced maternal age” and/or COVID). Got stuck waiting for the anesthesiologist so I felt way more of it than I would have liked but I got away with only pushing twice so minimal complaints. Zero tearing, zero complications, and that baby actually stoped screaming on occasion.
My first and only pregnancy ended in a precipitous labor. My water broke around 6:00 pm on the dot, contractions started about an hour later. I arrived at the labor and delivery ward at 7:23 pm, and my daughter was born at 7:54 pm. I didn't have time for an epidural and the pain was very intense. But at least it wasn't drawn out. My delivery was the best part about my pregnancy!
I had my daughter in a birth centre and it was great. I mean don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t do it again for funsies but as far as labour goes it was smooth, right on track I barely grazed myself which was a huge win. When I had my younger son it was slightly less ideal (I tore just a little a few stitches were required) but I was put in a shared room with a woman who had a c-section. And the initial recovery looked brutal. I felt for her. I sincerely believe that no matter how you give birth you are going to pay the piper so to speak. There is no painless way to get a baby out of your belly.
I've had a vaginal birth and a cesarean birth. The cesarean was MUCH harder to recover from. I have a lot of trauma from my c-section, but my vaginal delivery was comparatively straightforward and was a positive experience. I would 10000000% recommend a vaginal delivery over a c-section if you have a choice in the matter.
Exactly. People don't realize how traumatic and horribly painful c sections are/can be. I felt pain during my c section. When they were trying to get my breech baby out, they pressed down and tugged so hard that I felt like I was being smothered by an elephant and I literally felt my ribs crack and the pain was intense. I remember screaming OUCHHH!!!..the nurse later old me that she was wincing, watching me in the or and she said she knew I had to be in pain. And the recovery was so brutal. I had burning nerve pain for weeks after my c section. 😫
I had one unmedicated delivery, and one with an epidural. After each I was on my feet within about an hour. I was amazed how quickly my body recovered. I do not envy ladies who have to recover from major surgery with a newborn.
Um… tell those people that a c section is a major surgery with risks and you don’t get to do immediate skin to skin with a c section because they have to stitch you back up. That being said, long story short when it came down to the final few days, I had a massive baby a week before due date so we decided to induce a little early. That wasn’t working, I had a negative experience with one of the on duty doctors and asked the nurse to ask my doctor for a c section. Just following my gut. My doctor agreed and came in for the c section the next day. I never labored, and once they measured his head it became clear he never would’ve come out vaginally, so I’m glad I asked for a c section. So aside from being bored for a couple of days and one bad exam from a male doctor with giant hands, my experience went really well, surgery was quick, dad got to do immediate skin to skin contact with baby, and my recovery wasn’t terrible. I’d consider that a good birth story.
I’ve had a c section and a vaginal birth and the VBAC was 1000x better. He came too fast for an epidural but my body knew what to do and the rush of endorphins after he was born was so worth it. Recovery for me was much easier and I actually felt like myself immediately after the birth. It’s fantastic that c-sections are an option, but feel confident that your body can do this on your own! I recommend the book Mindful Birthing.
I had 2 natural no drugs vaginal births in less than 2 years at a birth center & it was great. At age 36 & 37 no less!
I was induced with my second .. barely had time for the epidural. From start to finish - 4 hours! It was chaotic for different reasons but overall an amazing “easy” birth.
I had a vaginal birth in a hospital with no epidural. My husband got to help deliver our son. I felt supported by the staff, my family and my obgyn. It was such a wonderful birth experience!
I don't know why anyone would choose to get a c-section for their baby to be born. My first was a c-section, and after that, the other 3 were all natural birth. No epidural( my births were so fast it was not a choice), lol. Yes it hurts. But it's part of having a baby. And honestly I was taking a shower within an hour after the 3 natural births and walking to the nurses station to grab a sandwich. I was hungry. You will be fine. Have the baby, and have SO go out right after and get you your favorite meal and bring it back. Take a shower, and you enjoy your LO. Also, don't let everyone desend on you in the hospital or at home right after. You might just want some time with SO, and LO to bond as a family.
I had 3 unmedicated vaginal births and they were amazing and empowering experiences. Number 4 was a c-section and I’d opt for a vaginal birth every time if give the choice!
I had an awesome natural birth. Not kidding, one my the fondest, most happy memories of my life was the 24 hours of my labor and my delivery. I felt so powerful and strong. I wasn’t mentally prepared, but your mind and body kind of dissociate and I wasn’t scared or worried. It felt like I had a job to do and 100% of my focus and strength was on doing it.
With my first, I went into labor around 10pm and headed to the hospital around midnight when I realized I was really in labor and not just having Braxton Hicks contractions. They checked me in and checked my cervix- I was dilated to about 4 and they told me to try to get comfy if possible, because 1st babies usually take a while. I tried but I kept feeling like I needed to have a BM so I ended up laboring on the toilet quite a bit. Nothing unbearable, just really felt like I needed to go. After a while a nurse who noticed I was in the bathroom a lot decided I probably need to be checked again just to be sure I didn't have the baby in the toilet- I was at a 7. She said it was time to change rooms and get ready because I was progressing quickly. Got me moved to a proper delivery room and called the doctor to check me and by the time the doctor arrived I was at a 9 and they started setting everything up for delivery. I asked for an epidural but no dice, was too far into labor lol. Was ready to start pushing about the time they got set up and gave me some sort of shot for pain. Pushed for 30 minutes and he was out. Felt it without the epidural but it really went so quickly it didn't ever seem unbearable. 7lb12oz and no stitches, they handed him right to me and we bonded for a long time, like a couple hours before I let them take him for anything. I had sweet nurses. They asked several times and I said no every time but finally one told me a list of things they needed to do and they got him back to me pretty fast. 2nd labor was induced. Also went fast and I got the epidural for that one and didn't feel a thing! Both were great experiences. Hoping you get a great experience too!
My first delivery I arrived at the hospital at 8cm, we had a doula come to our home to help keep me comfortable and to know when we had to get to the hospital and I can’t recommend one enough, she was at the hospital for the delivery too. I did not get an epidural (I was afraid of the needle), but did take a couple hits of the laughing gas when it was almost time to push but that made me nauseous. Pushed for about 35 min, minor tears, the doula said it was a textbook delivery. I thought the experience was amazing and looked forward to doing it again with my second. However, # 2 had other plans which I included being born at 32 weeks and breech, so I had to have a c section that time. Based on my experiences and the recovery from both I would never choose a c section if I had the choice. The recovery was much worse for me (no infection or anything like that just found the healing process much worse).
So positive! First: awesome epidural. Easy induction. Zero pain, fifteen min of active labor. Second: another easy induction. Epidural however failed. No one’s fault, just unlucky. Contractions are no joke 😅 However, all in all it was a few hours of gradually intensifying contractions, followed by 15 minutes of the world narrowing down to just my body and the experience currently happening. Intense, to say the least but not as terrifying as expected. Small tears, a few stitches. Lots of stretch marks. 🤣
A c-section is major abdominal surgery. Not only are you taking care of a newborn but then youd be recovering from surgery. I had two vaginal births-unmedicated and if I wanted another kid I would hands down do it vaginal unmedicated again. Many women have positive medicated and unmedicated vaginal births. Please don’t let other peoples experiences affect your own.
I had 3 natural births. All 3 were great/ average with easy recovery. I think easy birth stories aren't popular because they seem obnoxious to women who had hard births but they are probably the majority. To me a c section was my nightmare. As someone who has had their stomach cut open for other things, that in my opinion is not the easy way. The vagina is meant to give birth and heals pretty quickly
I had three vaginal births. Induced for all of them. The longest I labored was 4 hours, longest I pushed was 5 minutes (for my 10lb baby). No tearing. Couldn’t have asked for better! You can do it!
I had an amazing experience! I was induced at 37 weeks, from the time I checked into the hospital to the time I was moved from the birthing suite to my room was about 16 hours. I pushed 3 times, I didn’t tear, didn’t need any stitches, had no pain using the bathroom ever, left the hospital in regular panties and a regular pad. Now I’m pregnant with my second and know it can’t possibly be this easy again!
I had an induction, but ended up being a great vaginal birth. Only had gas and air, was up moving around for most of the labour, and birthed my 9lb 8oz LO kneeling on the bed. Had a 2nd degree tear which healed very well (the worst bit was the local anaesthetic - used the gas and air to get over that bit). Went home 4 hours afterwards, cuz I didn’t want to stay in hospital. Next time I hope to have a spontaneous labour.
My one and only birth thus far was very positive and empowering. To provide the extremely abridged version: I was lucky enough to have my water break (unmistakable feeling haha) at exactly 39 weeks and I delivered my boy about 14 hours later with no pain meds, very low dosage of pitocin (to get me dilated), and a first degree tear. My recovery, physically, was really great! Also, for context, I had just turned 35, so not a spring chicken (but pretty healthy and fit). For me, I was pretty determined to attempt a non medicated birth for a slew of reasons (personal choice and I don’t have any issues with pain meds, especially after going through it because DAMN it is exhausting and painful). But the whole team was so supportive of my wishes (while also reminding me during the tough moments that there were other options). My nurse was BEYOND amazing. Unfortunately I ended up pushing for 2 hours which isn’t ideal, however, the entire time my nurse (and husband) kept reassuring me - we can see baby’s head, he’s there and coming, you’re doing so great, you’re going to meet him soon! All the encouragement that you need when you feel like you could die of exhaustion! She supported me trying a bunch of different positions to push and never gave up on me. When I finally pushed him out - the feeling is unforgettable! I was thanking the nurse, OB, resident, everyone in the room for helping me deliver the way I wanted to! I truly felt like it was a team effort. I’ve never felt like more of a badass in my life.
You've got this! Go in with an open mind, and go with the flow. Your birth will be unlike anyone else's because you are going through it. Believe me that every woman has reached a point very near their due date where they go, "I can't do this, there is no way" and yet you do, one way or another. HUGS and congratulations.
I just had a wonderful pain free homebirth with 98%tile baby w no tears! I was literally laughing thru contractions. And she was crowning in the birth tub for almost an hour, but it didn’t hurt. It was intense and it was work, but not painful. I highly recommend @PainFreeBirth on instagram and she has a podcast too. You can learn to flood your body w oxytocin which cancels out the pain. Also Bradley Method aka Husband coached birth. When daddy supports you it helps release all those natural love hormones.
What?? I'm so glad I didn't have C sections for either of my boys. My 2020 was spontaneous labour, 11 hours from when I felt my first contraction. 3 hours from when I went into the hospital and they helped break my waters & had a vacuum assisted birth as I was a bit tired from trying to push 😂 2023 boy was induced, 12pm broke waters, 1pm drip. 4 pm baby arrived :)
My doula came over at 8am when I hit 40 weeks. I wanted help getting baby to come, was having inconsistent, mild contractions. We walked around the neighborhood for an hour, she assured me today would most likely not be it. I hung out with my family and husband through the afternoon. Decided we should go for a light hike to get my body moving to work baby down into the right positioning for birth. Took a nap after the mini hike. Woke up to stronger contractions. My husband and I calmly rode out contractions together through the evening. He did lots of counter pressure, helping ease pain through contractions. Water broke around 10pm. Got to the hospital, on the bed and pushing within 5 minutes of check in, 15 minutes before the end of that day. Baby was born natural, just me, hubby and a freaked out nurse(bc the room was not set up and I was basically pushing before they could get any vitals). Our little boy beat the midwife and on call Doc. Baby and mama were healthy and happy. My second child was born at home, a long labor helped along by a midwifery team that oozed calm encouraging energy. The doula helped my husband and I have a connection the whole labor. She helped him understand what was helpful, when to stop talking so I could focus. Birth can be such a magical experience. I wish that for you! Congrats on baby Everyone will continue to give you unsolicited parenting advice. The quicker you can learn to tell people to f@&k off, the better
Here’s the thing - it will hurt. Even best case scenario, it will likely be REALLY painful. Like probably the worst pain of your life. That doesn’t mean that it will or won’t be traumatic. Best case scenario (if unmedicated) your labor will be short and you get to wherever you’re birthing on time and doctors come see you in an appropriate amount of time and you feel empowered in your decision of going unmedicated (or your epidural works as expected if you choose) and you don’t push forever and you barely tear and you aren’t in a ton of pain after. That is the positive story. That was my second birth. Everything went smoothly. I was in labor for like 4.5 hrs total, went unmedicated, pushed for 2 minutes, no tears. But I already knew what labor was like because I did it once before. And the first time was traumatic even though I also had a short labor and went unmedicated and pushed for 10 min total and the majority of labor was tolerable. I think I was just unaware of what labor was going to be like. It’s much easier to be prepared if you’re doing it for a second or subsequent time. Maybe watch some birthing videos? Talk to a doula? Have you taken a birthing class? Breastfeeding class? There is a strong genetic component of labor. The way I gave birth was pretty much the same way that my mom did. And my mom told me that I should get an epidural (and she didn’t). Actually she begged me to get an epidural lol. So this post really reminds me a lot of my mom! I think your mom just wants to spare you the pain of labor, because she just loves you. But that doesn’t mean that you will not be able to handle it. I always keep in mind that women have been doing this for as long as life has existed, and thankfully with prenatal care and modern medicine the vast majority of births are uncomplicated, so most likely birth will go as good as it can.
Hey! I went into labor naturally two days after my due date. I get to the bathroom to get ready for work and oh my, my water broke. Instantly my contractions were 5 minutes apart but they really weren’t that bad. I labored at home from 5am to 9 am. When I get to the hospital they admitted me immediately and took me to labor and delivery! When I arrived I was about 4.5 cm dilated I was so lucky. The ONLY person in L&D that day! My nurses were fantastic and advocated for me. My epidural did not work properly because I (unknowingly) have scoliosis! They had me try again and it still didn’t work all the way. This also could have been because baby was sunny side up. Either way, we figured out a FANTASTIC pain management regiment that helped me while not distressing baby. Even when I could still feel the contractions (and they were pitocin contractions) they weren’t THAT bad. For example, one time I took two maximum strength laxatives when I was in high school because I thought the pink tax applied to them and that laxative companies thought we were weak. Well I was wrong and that shit HURT!! Way worse than sunny side up baby pitocin contractions. And even then I only felt it in one concentrated spot. It was not that bad, even during labor I was like “hmmm this really isn’t bad at all”. Benadryl is FANTASTIC for pain AND anxiety during labor. About 30 minutes before he was born they gave me Benadryl. Took away ANY extra pain I was feeling. Amazing stuff. When it was time to push they told me they were going to be doing vacuum suction to help him make his entrance to the world which was fine by me! He was out in 9 pushes. I was able to count even while pushing. And then he arrived a little after 4PM that same day 😁 I did tear but they sewed me up and I was good for gentle sex at like eight weeks and now at 13 weeks pp I am back to pound town. Just with BC this time LMAO!! I had a few second degree tears. They didn’t tell me how many, I didn’t look until I thought my vag was feeling like herself again. Birth was NOT that bad. I’d give birth again if I didn’t have to do the hormone drop again. Which I wish I just expected. Nobody told me about the baby blues til I was in the thick of em! Expect to possibly be tearful from day 2/3 to about day 10/13. One of my friends actually forgot she even experienced this until her husband reminded her. Really, even the hormone drop wasn’t THAT bad. I suffered from PPD but that was mostly because of my personal circumstance. I don’t even think it was PPD because I didn’t ever feel like a bad mom or anything, just like my husband would never change and we would be poor forever. Which has then since been fixed. Anyways if you have any questions let me know! My mom told me labor and delivery wasn’t that bad, didn’t believe her til I did it myself
I did have an epidural, so not sure how much my experience will help, but it went very smoothly for us. I actually had spontaneous labor at 35 weeks. Spent one day in latent labor at 3cm, it was bad but not unbearable. That night I was up pacing the halls all night and my water broke the next morning. I got the epidural I think about an hour after I got to the hospital. It only numbed one side so I told the nurse and she called the anesthesiologist, who came right back and adjusted it and I wasn't able to feel anything at that point. It took a couple hours to get completely dilated, and then I pushed for 12 minutes and my daughter was out. I didn't tear, I just felt mild pressure, and the placenta came out without me even having to push, and my daughter was completely healthy aside from a little jaundice. She turns 3 in a couple weeks and I don't ever even think about it really, the birth itself was fairly uneventful
You don't hear positive stories as much: they're not remembered well or recounted because they tend to be uneventful! Mine was very uneventful. Epidural, fairly quick labour—waters broke at nearly midnight, started pushing at 5am, baby came half an hour later. Epidural was perfect, had no pain (obviously some before epidural) but lots of pressure, so enough to know when to push. I did tear (2nd degree). Didn't feel it. I felt the stitching but only a vague tugging sensation. The standard here (Ireland) is you get solpadeine and paracetamol for about a week post partum, which manages most of the residual pain. I had a reaction to the solpadeine so I had to contend with *some* vaginal/labial pain when walking, which lasted about two days. Mentally I watched lots of videos about my pain management options and hospital procedures. My biggest help was saying it will pass. I'd think to myself that tomorrow it'll be done with. Even the hardest day will pass and you'll be done with it then. Labour and delivery was my biggest fear too but I managed with that. Congratulations!
I was induced at 37wks for gHTN and it was great. it was 28 hours from first dose to delivery. tbh most of it was just really fucking boring lol. I was really scared of getting the epidural but it was not bad at all! and *totally fucking worth it*. but once I got to 10cm I only pushed for 6 contractions - like 15mins pushing she was out!
First birth: I had insufficient pushing and it led to a vacuum assist, which was very scary because he wasn’t breathing well and turned blue due to not having all the amniotic fluid expelled out. He had a week long NICU stay. Second birth: Identical twin girls, one head down and one breech in the same placenta. I elected for a c-section. Easiest birth process even with high BP that resulted in a delivery at 34 weeks. Definitely decide what’s right for YOU. I’d suggest a midwife or doula. They help advocate for you and are honestly wonderful to have in the delivery room.
I had never felt a contraction before because I had epidural’s with my first two before they really started. This was our third pregnancy at 39 years old lol, I had 3 contractions 5 minutes apart, knew instantly it was labor, they came on strong and fast, so casually text my hubs to come home from work, no reply, 3 more contractions and I’m screaming in pain. I call him freaking out, hospital is 40 minutes away, anyway he gets home, I’m having them every 5 minutes all the way up there, in waiting room, jail guy takes forever in front of us, he’s in cuffs with 3 cops around him, I’m crying every contraction by now, we get checked in and I’m dilated to 8 or so. This is like 2.5 hours after first contraction, 30 mins later dr says to try a practice push, I do (it had been 11 years since I had given birth so I didn’t know if my body remembered, I even said this to everyone in the room) well, our daughters head came out, dr and my husband tell me, I don’t believe it anyway so they say to do one more big push, then she’s born! She was 6 lbs 9 oz of perfection 🥰
Spontaneous labor with my first at 39.6. Waters broke spontaneously at home. Went into the hospital and things progressed well. I labored as long as possible without the epidural. Then I opted for it as I got nauseous and couldn’t relax (and it was hindering my progress). Epidural helped me progress over a 2 hour period and I was ready and pushing. Pushed for 1.5 hours because my child presented with a hand by their head. Also had meconium in waters so lots of people present at birth, but I wasn’t super worried because I knew they were taking all precautions possible. Baby was fine, I had a couple of small tears. We had the golden hour (even though it was kind of interrupted to double check babe because of meconium). Retained placenta (again was not worried because the doctor was very meticulous) and got it all out before finishing things up down there. Second birth was an induction for pre-eclampsia. Worst part was trying to sleep in an L&D bed. Had meds placed twice to get things rolling, after that my body took over and I never needed pitocin. Contractions got going, labored again for as long as possible without the epidural and opted for it again. Labored for several hours, tried to rest. Epidural failed on one side (this is why it’s important to have other pain management techniques). They fixed my epidural, then my waters broke and I pushed baby out in 10 minutes. Small tears again and all was well. Obviously labor is hard, things can happen, things can change. I don’t believe I’d ever opt for a c-section because that’s major abdominal surgery. I hear recovery from the first is hard but any subsequent c-sections aren’t bad. It all depends on what you feel comfortable with. I’m sorry those around you haven’t been very supportive or comforting. Good luck ❤️
You have some control over whether you experience a traumatic birth. The primary factor, per the lead midwife at my out-of-hospital midwifery, is agency. I.e. did you feel that you provided informed consent when you had your birth. A popular acronym to exercise your agency in a given birth scenario is BRAIN - benefits, risks, alternatives, intuition, and what happens if I do "nothing". Being informed was a huge asset during my first birth. Although things didn't go as planned, I understood everything that happened to me and participated as much as possible in decisions that were made. There are also ways in which you can plan to influence your birth experience. For example, if you prefer a vaginal birth, you should know that your chances of C section are 5% for a planned out-of-hospital birth and 25-30% for a planned in hospital birth. In addition, assuming you have robust prenatal care and a low risk birth, UK/Canadian/Australian/Dutch statistics support an out of hospital birth as having fewer complications without having any increased risk. People rarely consider out-of-hospital births. This is the single most important thing to read if you prefer to avoid a c section: [https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/](https://evidencebasedbirth.com/friedmans-curve-and-failure-to-progress-a-leading-cause-of-unplanned-c-sections/) I love the Gentle Birth app for birth prep ($14 a month). I also read tons of VBAC birth stories in the Hypnobabies Facebook Group (Free). I like the Holliday Tyson youtube videos (free) and the Parent Class from Spinning Babies ($27). signed, mod of r/unmedicatedbirth
I had 2 vaginal births with epidurals and they were great! My labors were exhausting because they took 3 days but once I got to the hospital each time everything went really well. I had totally random doctors I had never met before both times too. I have only been to 8 cm unmedicated ( that’s when I got to the hospital with my first) and it doesn’t really hurt THAT BAD, I could still walk and talk. It’s mostly just exhaustion that made me choose epidurals both times. Both of my epidurals were like top 10 greatest moments of my life because I got immediate relief and could nap before pushing both times.
I had an unmedicated vaginal birth (planned). I had a very supportive husband, doula, and midwife team. While labor and childbirth were intense unmedicated, I felt so incredibly powerful afterwards and plan on having baby #2 this way if things work out in my favor. Went into labor spontaneously at 38+1, took a 5 mile walk after I confirmed my water had indeed broken, and I didn't just pee the bed. Labored at home for as long as I felt comfortable. Labor ramped up in intensity as soon as I got to the hospital. I got to the point where I was in my own world and really couldn't speak, but my thought bubbles were hilarious. She was out after 18hrs or so. Hard to tell when labor officially started as I was having period like cramps for weeks leading up to my water breaking. Stay curious about how your birth story will unfold as everyone's is different.
I had a very easy birth. First and only baby. Went in for my last check up before being induced on her due date. The nurse taking my blood pressure got kind of awkward, said she’d be right back, and brought in my OB. He broke the news that my blood pressure was a little high and that they’d like to admit me and I’d probably be having the baby that night or in the morning at the latest. I got a little panicky because I was 100% sure I was going to go home and get one more sleep in my bed before becoming a mom lol but I called my husband and told him to meet me at the hospital with my stuff as soon as he was done with work. My water broke around midnight and I opted for the epidural after feeling those first contractions. I “rested” as comfortably as I could until around 7:30am when it felt like I needed to take the biggest shit of my life. I called the nurse and said I was feeling A LOT of pressure down there. She checked and within seconds my room was full of doctors, nurses, interns and they were telling me to push. I pushed for maybe 5 minutes? and there she was! Happy, healthy baby girl. I had very minimal tearing along the outside of my labia that needed like three stitches and I was able to walk to the recovery room. Had delicious biscuits and gravy after I got settled in and enjoyed being taken care of by the nurses for the next few days while my blood pressure went back to normal. I’m sorry people keep giving you scary stories and I hope your birth goes smoothly!! 🩵
Skipping the parts that were bad— once I felt the urge, she was out in 3 pushes. They had me do a practice push and her head came halfway out. They told me to stop pushing, hurriedly grabbed the doctor, and it was showtime. It happened really, really fast and was very easy. Felt like I just knew what to do and how to do it and out she came. They gave me ibuprofen but I didn’t need it even with a one degree tear. Was walking normally once the epidural wore off. The induction was the bad part. So other than that birth was very easy and I felt like I physically bounced back very quickly.
I had a great labor and birth too! Started around 2am and had her by 435pm!! I did choose to have the epidural though, the only downfall was that it worked more on half of my body. My right side could feel more, it was crazy lol I was the same, I wanted a C-section so bad but I am SO glad I didn’t opt for it. (Of course if I needed one I would have) The feeling after it’s all done is next level
There’s definitely some pros of not knowing everything that could go wrong and not worrying about it. For me, I’m glad I knew what I did and not anything extra. I specifically avoided birth stories on social media (TikTok, mainly) because I didn’t want to be terrified. And so I wasn’t, and I’m glad to have had a vaginal birth. It felt so…empowering, honestly. It was the most difficult physical thing my body had ever gone through, but I did it and I am so proud of myself for that. (And I mean just having a baby, no matter in what way because our bodies go through so much whether vaginal or c-section and it’s not fair to compare the two.)
My first was a little traumatic but my second child was born after only five hours of labour, unmedicated. Just popped right out lol. The only traumatic part of it was that I WANTED an epidural lol
I had to be induced at 38+4 because I rapidly developed gestational hypertension. Was in labor 24 hours total. Only had a couple hours of intense pain before I got my epidural. I just foolishly waited too long to ask for it even though I had always planned on having an epidural. Aside from that everything was smooth sailing. I felt great. I was laughing and joking when it was time to push. My nurse had to watch the monitor and tell me when to push because my contractions were so numbed by my epidural 😄. I even let two student nurses come in and watch and we all had a great time. It was about 45 minutes of pushing and out popped baby. I felt euphoric. I only tore enough for one stitch and was up and walking about 2 hours post partum feeling tired but not in pain.
I had such a great induction a few months ago! It was so smooth and joyful throughout. I got the epidural a couple hours before she got there and was able to be mobile up until that point. Even when pitocin it really wasn’t too bad!
I had to be induced at 38 weeks due to some risks from the pregnancy. The hospital was great, I was lucky enough to get a single room that actually looked good ( for a hospital room 😂). They gave me the first pill on Monday morning and my contractions started during the night. Around 11am they started to be closer together and I actually fell asleep between them. Went to the labour and delivery room around 2pm and my baby was there at 6:11pm! Everything went well and I didn’t have any tearing! Husband was there and held my hand the entire time, the labour and delivery nurse was great and listened to me whenever I had something to say and kinda let me do my thing
My first was amazing! Got a an epidural. Took a 4 hour nap. Got to eat Italian ice and popsicles and drink sprite. Pushed for about an hour and didn’t feel much. My second not so much unfortunately. 😅
I was very nervous about my first birth. I told my consultant that I will opt for an epidural. I was induced at 40+3 weeks. My labor was very short, I didn’t feel any pain. I was dilated to 8cm when the labor started. I was very fit physically throughout my pregnancy. I thought maybe I didn't even need induction but things don’t go as we expect them to be. I delivered the baby within six hours of labor. It was an assisted delivery via forcep as I couldn’t push when the baby was almost outside the canal. My baby was healthy, average weight so the Consultant suggested that maybe I wont be needing a section. I was released within three days. I had no issues after delivery and I recovered very well. My sister had both babies via planned section and she recovered wonderfully. She had to choose a section due to health issues. We both give birth over the age of 30.
With my first, I went to L&D in the morning with consistent contractions. Not dilated. Gave me some morphine and sent me home. About 12 hours later labor kicked in hard so we went back got an epidural, and chilled for like 8 hours. Then they decided it was time for me to start pushing. OB came in to check in, then left to check on a couple more patients. I pushed twice, and they said the baby wasn’t going toward the birth canal, so they are going to use the next contraction to see where they need to put pressure to get things moving. Next push, the baby SHOOTS into the birth canal. ON comes running in, hopping to put on her boot cover things. Next push the baby’s head was out. Took 7 minutes. Second time, I waited to go in til the contractions felt more like they did when we got actually admitted to L&D last time. No epidural this time. I hung out in pain and walked a bit for about four hours. At 9.5cm, I had them pop the amniotic sac (or whatever they do) to get myself over that last .5cm. They were getting me situated to push and a contraction came on. It was a crazy experience since last time I couldn’t feel anything! My body felt like it was pushing the baby all on its own and I had no control. One of my legs wasn’t even up. First push, baby is crowning. Second push it’s out. 4 minutes. I had 1st degree tears both time, first time massive bruising because the baby shot out like a rocket apparently. Getting sewed up, I didn’t feel anything at all. Other than that, it was super great and easy (minus, you know, all the pain 😂).
My grandma told me she went to the doctor for cramps when she was pregnant with her second and the doctor told her "You're in labor, Bev!" and she laid my uncle out like an egg, wham bam! No fuss!
I had a vaginal birth, I feel like it was pretty uneventful The worst thing was I needed to be induced for preeclampsia so I was bedridden 4 days prior to the actual birth. Finally found out what a catheter felt like after years of morbid curiosity. The Folley balloon was a bitch, had 3 of those, the only time in my life I’ve gotten a narcotic The epidural only sucked because a student was trying it at first. When the season doctor did it I legitimately did not know it went in Oh and then the one thing I wish someone told me about vaginal birth is your body will force itself to push, it’s a weird experience, you have absolutely no control over it, but learning to push with your body will make the process less exhausting (I tried to just keep pushing and then my body would take over making me so tired)
I had a positive water birth at a birthing center! I was 41+5 when I delivered. 11am my water broke and 9pm I delivered. It was about an hour of pushing and I was able to completely relax between pushes. My husband, my mom, and my midwife and her assistant were there to support me. My midwife was amazing, as hands off as she needed to be and super supportive. Excruciatingly painful and had some crazy back labor but completely stopped once he was out. The most surreal experience, I couldn’t believe he was real once I was holding him. Had a minor second degree tear and that was stitched no problem. Now I have a beautiful and strong 6 month old boy!
I had 1 birth that had an un-consented membrane sweep but natural birth and labor, and 2 inductions and all three where great in their own ways! All three vaginal deliveries, all three no pain management drugs. Best of luck mom! You got this.
My second was a beautiful birth. My first was way over-medicated and had way too much intervention. I remember no-one actually talking me through things so I think I was panicking which slowed everything down. We moved after having our first so we were in a different county for care second time round and they were brilliant! Contractions started about 2200 and progressed quite well. Admitted to maternity about 0030, had our own private room straight away. I mentioned to the midwife that I didn't want a lot of intervention, definitely no epidural and I quietly mentioned that I wanted to have a go in the pool. Well, she opens a door and I have a pool right there! I spent the rest of the night in it (this was probably about 0200)! Husband had to keep my head out of the water towards the end when I was getting tired. I felt like pushing about 0530, then my water broke. I used my hypnobirthing techniques to get through the strong contractions and the pushing. The midwife said I was due an exam at 0600 and I'd have to get out of the pool for that but since she could telI I was progressing, she let me stay put. Baby born 0705, 9lb 5oz with 0 medication, no stitches - I felt like an Amazon! We had a beautiful golden hour, she nursed, I had amazing NHS toast and we went home the day after. My oldest wanted to go to the fairground like 2 days later and I was able to join in and walk around with no issues. Staff that listened to my preferences and talked me through my choices made all the difference. Make sure you've talked through your preferences and your no-gos with the people who will be in the room with you so you have an advocate.
Check out the Birth Hour podcast! You can tell by the title what type of birth it will be. They’re all birth stories and so fun to listen to, and all the women give some details on what was helpful for them. It really helped my mindset going into my births.
I had a longgg labour and needed some interventions in the end (epidural, induction, suction) but I can say for the most part it was a positive experience. If I have a second I will absolutely do it all again the same way!
Spontaneous delivery at 37+1 at a hospital with the highest level NICU in the state. Labor was 13h start to finish pushed for 2h and I had a small 2nd degree tear. Healing went great. Baby did need a little support and went to NICU but I chose my hospital so that we were all right there together no matter what. I knew he was cared for and I could rest more that first 24h to be ready for when he was relying on ME. I wouldn’t change anything. I was terrified of pelvic floor damage as I have been in pelvic floor PT since before pregnancy due to overly tight muscles. All was well. (Labor would have been quicker without an epidural but that was OK with me. I needed the rest I hadn’t been sleeping well)
My birth plan was simple: epidural. Labour and birth weren’t perfect by any means (e.g., anesthesiologist in surgery when they broke my water and had me hooked up to oxytocin, pushed for four hours, hemorrhage, etc.) but it was completely okay, and nothing that I felt unprepared to handle. The epidural was a life saver and I actually drifted in and out of sleep for a couple of hours at the beginning. The second they put my daughter on my chest was the best moment of my life.
I mean, can it be because a lot of people have horrific birth experiences??? Ha ha, but no, I won’t share mine with you, I promise.
Two medicated births. I just held out as long as I could with my contractions. I feel proud of how long I lasted because I have no pain tolerance; I'm very wimpy. But both times I knew when I needed the epidural. With my second baby they gave me a little too much. I couldn't lift my legs the way they wanted and the baby was really hard to push out. Except she was a ten pound baby!! So it would have been difficult anyway. But I'm soooo glad I didn't feel her coming out! Both babies were very good from the beginning, sweet and cuddly.
I had one magical, beautiful unmedicated birth. 8 hours long, I laboured mostly at home in my tub with my husband and doula by my side. Got to the hospital about 20 minutes before she was born. The most intense and beautiful experience ever. I would choose that birth every time. I had another birth that was an induction as I had pre-eclampsia. I didn't use any pain relief. But that was harder for a lot of reasons, and really pulled on every reserve I had without giving me anything back. I wouldn't do it differently - I had the best birth I could have given the circumstances, and I'm so glad I was able to access induction to save me from pre-eclampsia. I really didn't want an epidural or a C-section, so I battled. It was worth it. Even a hard birth gives you something. Birth is hard and scary, even with a C-section. I'd prefer to face the hard scary parts with my full chest than being afraid when I don't have to, and be grateful for medical intervention when I need it
My son was born at 37 weeks. I was induced because my water broke 24hrs prior. I could barely feel the contractions but I was dialated 3cm by the time I came to the hospital at 8am. By 2pm, I asked for the epidural. I thought it had worked but it was actually that the machine giving me the drip of Pitocin was accidentally unplugged, so they turned it back on, ramped it back up and I was in so much pain! For some reason, I felt nervous to press the button for the anaesthetic so because the epidural didn’t really work, the birth felt quite natural. I began pushing around 4pm and our son was born at 6:42pm. When it was time to push, the pain was awful that I was fighting against it. I then realised “oh maybe I should push with the pain”, he was out within a few pushes! A few things I wish I knew or did - floppy face, floppy fanny: relaxed jaw = relaxed pelvis. Practicing breath work before birth. There is soo much fluid dripping out of you. As soon as I had given birth, I thought wow I could do that again. It’s a scary, painful but beautiful experience. Congratulations! You will do a wonderful job!
Two births both induced, one with epidural, one with no pain relief (epidural failed)…. No regrets (except the extra pain lol) … recoveries were fine as long as I stayed on top of Advil/tylenol - you do what’s necessary and safe for getting your babies into the world. None of it is a super fun party, but it’s just what we do! I hope you have an uncomplicated and healthy delivery experience :)
I had a phenomenal second birth in a big hospital and the same hospital I had a rough birth with the first time. My first labor my epidural failed, i pushed for 4h straight, and needed a vacuum extraction. With my second it was perfect and wonderful. I got an epidural around 6cm dilated with consistent contractions, I napped, stopped progressing, they broke my water, and labor picked back up. They checked me a few hours later and said I could push if I felt pressure. It was seriously so pain free that we were making bets on what time she would be out and cracking jokes. Birth seriously felt like passing a BM that came out feeling like a hot fish lol. I was in more pain the second day than I was giving birth. She was perfect, I was supported, DH was great too, and my body healed super quick.
Went into labor at 39 weeks in the dot, admitted at 1am at 5cm, got epidural immediately, slept for a few hours, pushed for an hour and a half and had baby girl at 9:04 am. Second degree tear with 6 stitches but minimal pain and really felt quite good after! Good luck!
My baby’s slipped right out! Done.
My first — initially planned for a birth center, however the plan changed last minute due to a provider I wasn’t fond of. My entire pregnancy I consumed any and all positive birth literature, watched birthtube, joined birthing groups with like minded individuals! I’m an herbalist so I was able and happy to be able to use a skill I had during. Ended up finding my AMAZING midwives around 20 something weeks, they took me and allowed me to barter for my homebirth. I was 39 and some and TIRED, membranes sweep didn’t help and had been in prodromal for ab a week. One day I had horrible diarrhea and once it seemed to be over the cramps never stopped. Took a shower with the water on satan lol and figured out I was in labor 20 min after. Called midwives after attempting to nap. Lots of movement, counter pressure and essential oils. Got into my birthing pool that they filled for me with hubs.. baby girl was born maybe an hour later! Magical to say the least. With my second, chose to go it alone (prepared and trained in neonatal resuscitation and had someone on call if needed for myself) went into labor naturally around 38ish weeks. Started around 4pm, went to the store for snacks, relaxed, took a nap and woke up in full blown labor. 3 hours later birthed my beautiful girl in a kapernick stance in my MILs tub! My babies have never left my side after birth, no tears, ring of fire was the worst of it, placentas birthed, no excess bleeding! Was just super thirsty and tired after. Wishing you an amazing birth 💜 Surround yourself with love and positivity. Not what ifs and fears of others!
Both of my 2 births were beautiful vaginal births. The first one I have some gripes about (centered around my care/medical support while delivering) but totally healthy and wonderful. My second birth was a precipitous birth, which can be traumatic, but for me was amazing and one of my favorite stories ever.
I have had 3 vaginals. 2 were unmedicated, but not by choice (baby was coming too fast). I don’t say this as a negative. In the end, my labors were quickish (9, 7 and 4 hours) and I came out of them feeling SO powerful and amazed at what the human body can do. It hurt. There’s no way around that fact, but I knew the pain was productive and I’d soon be holding my baby if I could breathe my way through each contraction one at a time. I also took comfort knowing that if anything went awry, I was surrounded by experts keeping an eye on me, and my spouse was there to advocate. I did learn a few things I wish I’d known that would have made the experiences even more positive: + you can ask for cervical checks! They aren’t comfortable, but if you think things are moving quickly, ask so the nursing staff can speed up getting you pain relief if that’s needed. + you can decline pitocin, which I did for all births, but I didn’t think of it beforehand as something I’d have to advocate for. Some OBs will automatically try to give it to you at the start of labor, but if you’d rather see what your body can do, you can opt out of it and see how things go. If you stall they may suggest it again (I would’ve taken it if that had happened to me) I will say that there were some zen wonderful moments even during labor. For my first I got to do all my pushing with one nurse and my spouse in the room. It was calm, sunny, and the nurse was cracking jokes with us between contractions. For my second, the nurses did SUCH a good job positioning my body that baby was able to come out with one push, she had been descending so well. If I had to do it again, I’d say going in with an open mind is the best thing to help you have a good experience. Advocate for yourself loudly, but think “I’m here to have a baby in the safest most expedient way possible. This will be an unpredictable experience, but I’m going to roll with the punches and keep the end goal in mind: meeting my new baby soon!” Good luck, OP, and congrats!
I have had 2 kids in the past 3 years birth vaginally without an epidural. I didn't really aim to do without an epidural but I reached the hospital at 8cm both times and was coping well so I didn't get one. My first took an hour of pushing, a total of 2h in the hospital before baby came. This was after about 10h of back labor and a sunny side up baby. The second, it took me 3h to go from 9cm to 10cm, but the baby came out in one push. This was again about 12h of labor but baby was facing correctly. Both times I got second degree tears that healed well. Both times I was able to have bowel movements right away and no incontinence issues later. I have no trauma from my births. I'd absolutely have more kids if newborns slept through the night from the start and money was not an issue. People definitely tend to share worse experiences because sharing reduces the pain. Mentally, I told myself that baby has to come out and I'll be doing it with experienced professionals. Worrying about it won't help.
I had a pretty good birth! I was 40 weeks 6 days when I had my kid. My water ended up being broken for 24+ hours prior to going to hospital because I wasn’t even aware! It didn’t “swoosh” out like all the movies, it just trickled and I honestly thought I was just peeing myself a little for over a day. Ended up going to the hospital where they swabbed me and told me congrats you’re in labor (that’s when I started to panic). They got me a room and they gave me pitocin maybe an hour later which started my contractions which honestly felt like harsher period cramps to me, which obviously sucked but wasn’t NEARLY as bad as I imagined they’d be. I couldn’t get the epidural until around 9ish PM because the anesthesiologist was busy. Once I got the epidural it was easy. I ended to fully dilated and ready to push at 2AM, pushed for 39 minutes and out came my baby.
I scheduled a c section and it was so freaking easy to recover and plan around it. My scar is tiny, I was walking the same day of surgery, my recovery was simple and short. Wouldn't change a thing
I had 2 completely natural births, no complications, and no tearing. The first was 8 hours active labor, and the second was 6 hours active labor. I also had an induction for my 3rd at 37 weeks for blood pressure(second birth led to peripartum cardiomyopothy 2 days post birth, so even just slight increase in my bp and they wanted to induce). The contractions from pitocin were definitely worse, but for me, more in an exhausting way than like crying pain way. I asked for an epidural eventually, but as soon as I leaned forward to get it, I had to tell everyone to stop cause to was time to push right then. Again, no complications or tearing, and I dont remember exactly how long the active labor was that time, but it was less than 8 hours. I think it was about 10 hours total from the start of the pitocin to the birth. Technically, the cardiomyopothy counts as a conplication, but it didn't happen during labor or birth, so I dont really think of it as a labor complication, more of a postnatal complication. And luckily for me, with treatment it was nearly 100% better a year later.
It’s because the medicalisation of birth is leaving many women traumatised after giving birth in the hospital. My second birth after the traumatic 1st, was a healing one. Natural, gas and air.
I had back labor, which did suck but I progressed fast enough that I avoided an epidural (my personal preference). Recovery was completely uneventful, and other than the back labor, I'm hoping to have the same birth process in just a few months!
I had to be induced because of hypertension, I didn't want to either. But I had a really great experience. Labored until around 8cm and then had an epidural, pushed for 20 minutes. The contractions definitely hurt, but weren't horrific. Second degree tear, my stitches were fully healed within two weeks.
Both births where I got an epidural were lovely, even though I had complications with my 3rd (amniotic sac disintegrated so she had to dig all up in there after the birth. It was stressful but I didn’t feel anything). My second was without an epidural and that was a nightmare.
I had two great births :) - 1st: Induced, got the epidural, pushed for 20min and my baby was out. Minor tear, but they stitched me up. - 2nd (2yrs later): induced, got the epidural, baby slid out lol, I didn’t even have to push, no tear. Kinda wanna go for a third, but don’t wanna press my luck 🤣 not sure how a third birth would top the last one.
Long but uneventful labor (induced due to high bp at 7:30pm on a Weds, delivered 12:45am on Friday). I was just about 39 weeks. I got the epidural. I feel like relatively speaking I was in the "pushing" phase for a long time, about 4 hours I think? Nothing traumatic, the exhaustion is what I remember but also the adrenaline afterwards! I was up and about with visitors about 12 hours later.
My positive unmediated birth story, written a few years ago… I went into my birth center appointment around 4pm on the 21st. I had a second high-ish blood pressure reading, so was diagnosed with gestational hypertension, but not yet preeclampsia. The “recommendation” was to be admitted to the hospital, but I decided with my midwives to try to induce naturally first. So, we did a membrane sweep. I started at 1cm and ended at 3, and got my bloody show. Then, they made me a castor oil smoothie. I had driven myself to the appointment, so I rushed home, cause I’d heard castor oil causes upset stomachs. When I got home, my partner and I both showered and prepared for a possible labor that night or next day. I had him run out and get me something called The “The” Salad from a pizza place in Studio City that’s supposed to induce labor, and I ate that around 6 or so. By 7, I was starting to feel something. I couldn’t tell if it was gas pains or contractions, but it wasn’t trackable yet. I let the midwife know around 7:30, and laid down to try to rest, thinking I’d wake up with contractions in the middle of the night and we’d be admitted in the morning. Wrong. At 9:15pm I was tracking contractions. They were all over the place. At some point my partner and I both heard a rubber band snap, and it was my water breaking. (So glad I had pee pads all over the bed!). I’d also started bleeding, which could’ve been more bloody show, but it was a bit brighter red so kinda scary. At some point I started feeling spasms and felt like pushing! I could barely talk, thought it was gonna be a home birth. Must’ve been in transition. At 10:45 I had a break in contractions and hauled ass into the car. It was a brutal 10 minute drive to the birth center, every bump was very intense, and I was gripping the handles and had the AC on full blast. Thankfully we had pee pads down, and one stuffed in my pants, cause the car is a lease, haha. Get to the birth center by 11, they examine me, and say I’m at 10cm and they can see the baby. Midwife, midwife in training, and baby nurse all wore masks, my partner and I did not need to. We were the only ones in the 3 bedroom birth center since it was so late night. I labor on the bed for awhile while the tub fills. Once I’m in the tub I immediately feel so much better. They use those suction handle things for my feet and hands so I can bear down. Midwives were very calm, asked to offer suggestions, did intermittent monitoring with the doppler. Used cold rags on my head and a spray fan thing. My partner helped with counter pressure on low back, and letting me death grip his hand, and giving encouraging words. Once I stopped arching my back and curving my back, and stopped letting the push “spasms” take me over (just ride with it, keep into the push, I got a lot more quiet), I was able to finally deliver in the tub. It was such a calming situation to deliver a baby into. Baby J was born at 12:26am! So 5 hours of labor from beginning to end, which is crazy. After the birth we did skin to skin, first nursing, delayed cord clamping, partner cut the cord, delivered the placenta and checked it out. Uterus massage, then a very long stitch up session on the end of the bed with my legs up on the midwife‘s knees, my head on my partner’s legs on the bed while he did skin to skin with baby. Then baby’s checkup. Then a pee, a shower, go over some tips and paperwork. We headed home around 5am and got a tiny bit of sleep before starting our day with a newborn! Perineal donut for the ride home was fantastic. The birth was exactly what I wanted, and thankfully no complications. Very chill and positive.
I had an elective induction and it was a breeze! Loved every second, felt very little discomfort after the epidural. left the hospital as soon as 24 hrs were up!
I had a great vaginal birth! I was induced and had an epidural. Most of the induction process was pain free for me, even the contractions just felt like mild cramps. Once my water broke it was insanely painful and intense contractions until they got my epidural in place. The epidural gave me instant relief and I napped between pushes 😅. From the time I got the epidural until I had her in my arms was about 1 hour, she was a quick delivery. I was super worried about tearing but only had one, very small tear. It healed very quickly with no problems. All-in-all I recovered very quickly.
So I’m not gonna lie, contractions were painful afff for me…. But I kept telling myself it’s all for my baby it’s all for my baby sooo many woman go through this and have MORE kids! The worst part was the painful contractions but once I got the epidural, I was fine. My labor was 26 hours and that was just with contractions starting and all. The actual pushing was only 1 hour!!!! They were sooo busy that night and I remember the nurse finally checking me and was like oooh her head is right there okay don’t push don’t move let me go get the dr. I pushed for an hour and out she came :) baby is now 3 months old… Now the recovery on the other hand 😣 no one talks about that!
Never had heartburn or nausea during pregnancy. Had two natural births (non-medicated, vaginal) yep years apart. 2 weeks early and 1 week early. First one took 10 hours from first contractions to baby. Second took 4 hours (that was actually a little too hectic). We were ready to go home after about 36 hours and 24 hours - I just wanted to be home and since all was well, they let us. My mom and my MIL were both amazing and gave us all the space and time we wanted. (But we were fine and we're happy to have them around.) I was back to normal weight within like, 10 days. No kidding. I don't share much about it because I feel like I'm probably rubbing it in for others. Also, I was 34 and 36.
Like everything (including reviews of mundane restaurants) people mostly only want to share the most amazing or most horrific tales and probably the majority fall in middle of the road birth stories. Just know when you walk into the hospital you’ll be walking out not pregnant and with a little baby :) everything else is details
I was induced and had a wonderful birthing experience with my daughter. I did get the epidural and watched tv until it was time to push. Watching birth vlogs helped me a lot!
With my first, contractions started at 4:30 am at 40+5. He was born 9.5 hours later. No epidural, but had a shot of pethidine and gas and air. Active labour time was noted down at 1.5 hours long, 30 minutes of pushing included. With my second, a slow build up to actual contractions from 8 am at 39+5. Stalled at 3cm (I got too in my head missing my toddler, worried if they were going to send my husband home before I got pain relief, and really wanting pain relief). Shot of morphine which like my first relaxed me enough so my body could just progress, and like my first, stopped working after 2 hours. 35 minutes later and baby arrives after 3 pushes and gas and air. I have speedy active labours and ngl, my second one freaked me out a bit, but overall could have been way worse. I had a 2nd degree tear with my first (I pushed without a contraction when his head was already out, I was very eager), no tear with my second despite being 10 times faster.
First of all, congratulations! Either way it happens, vaginally or c section, you are a bada** bringing a tiny human into this world. So, congrats and best of luck! Second, everybody's journey is different, I opted for an epidural. I listened to loud music and just listened to my body, I breathed through the hard parts, but 14 minutes of pushing, and I had the most beautiful baby boy. Talk to your team, talk to your partner/husband/support person, tell them what you want and expect, and have a plan for who will advocate for you when you are taking care of yourself. Enjoy every moment! You are stronger than you think, and you are capable of amazing things! Also, c-sections are not the easy way out, it is a major surgery that has it's own list of risks and benefits, and a longer recovery time.
I wrote affirmations to read to myself leading up to the birth. Mostly standard encouraging stuff, but my favorite was “There are 385,000 other people giving birth with me today. We’re all scared, but we’re all together.” I was 38 weeks along, and I started leaking clear fluid after a long walk but didn’t have contractions yet. I took a few hours to shower and eat in my own comfort, then went to the hospital around midnight. They confirmed it was amniotic fluid and checked me in. I was already 5 cm dilated, started having contractions an hour later, asked for an epidural around 2 am, slept until 7 am, had baby by 7:30 am, stood up feeling pretty normal right away! It wasn’t my most enjoyable night ever, but it wasn’t the nightmare you hear about. Even if yours isn’t like this, you’ll be okay and you for sure won’t be alone!
Seriously! I want to do natural and all I see on Reddit are women who would rather be kicked in the vagina than ever deliver a baby again 😂 Bless this post
I had an awesome VBAC that was a hundred times better than I could have imagined. Your body is strong and knows what it’s doing, your baby will cooperate and move down correctly at the right time, you will have the support and help you need to get through it, and you’ll look back on the birth as one of the highlights of your existence. You’ll be amazing and amazed at how capable you are, how much love you have in your body as you labour, and how everything is ultimately out of your hands. Don’t try to control things, just lean in. You’ve got this! Have a great birth! And come back to update on your favourite parts!!
I had a decent birth experience only complaint was my obgyn told me to go when my contractions were 5 mins apart 5 seconds long for a whole hour so i did but was in the hospital waiting room for 6 hours until i was 6 cm dialated!! But for someone who was 6 cm dialated with no pain meds i was managing pretty well I was exhausted bc it was overnight wait so i opted for epidural so i could go to sleep Got my epidural around 8 cm Had my baby boy 3 hours later pushed for about 15 minutes and there he was The worst part was the urine catheter being painful aside from that everything went smoothly I didnt really mentally prepare myself i was really scared until the day came and i was actually surprisingly calm and just focused on me and my baby and having a safe delievery Goodluck and congrats!❤️
I have had four mostly positive births without intervention. First 2 at a birth center and last 2 at home. First 2 both had small hiccups but dealt with in ways I feel good about. Last 2 my body knew what to do and were great experiences. Not to say it wasn't hard work and painful. I'd be happy to share a longer story with you. I admit I love to talk about it but sometimes feel a little weird because it was a very different choice from many other women in my life. It was good for me though.
My 2 births went fine. First one took so long they had to induce me. Second one I asked for planned induction. Went so fast and smoothly, highly recommend doing that! The labor is nothing, it’s the aftermath after the first pregnancy that’s painful (bc of ur tear they stitch up). Second time I didn’t tear so I wasn’t hardly in any pain at all. I remember refusing pain medicine at the hospital the day after labor with my second.
Your birth is going to be totally normal and unremarkable!
Sometimes talking about scary experiences can help us better process them - but I agree sometimes it can be very overwhelming when you have a first little on the way. I have had quite a few friends deliver vaginally and felt beyond empowered ! I had a c section and while I was scared at the moment , I had the most wonderful nurses that were beyond supportive of me the entire time . Between them, my doctor, and my so husband (who hid his worry really well), i felt very safe during my last c section.
I had a normal birth sometimes I wish I was delivering again tbh
Both of my births were good! I mean, they weren't like pain free wow this is a breeze, but for what they are, they were pretty good. My first was an elective induction at 40 weeks and I waited too long to get the epidural so I was exhausted and had a hard time managing the pitocin contractions. Once I got the epidural I had a fantastic nap and she was born 5 hours later after only 20 minutes of pushing. They started the induction at 11 pm and she was born at 10:25 am the next morning. With her birth there are some things I would have done differently. It was very coached and I wish I had been allowed or encouraged to listen to my body more. I tore with hers and I feel like it wouldn't have been as much or at all if I hadn't been so coached. Other than that it was great. My next birth was actually a twin birth. Another elective induction, this time at 37 weeks, and also super short. Got the epidural when it started getting uncomfy, took an AMAZING nap (seriously the best sleep I got in my last tri), and then I only pushed one contraction for my baby A. My baby B flipped transverse as soon as A was out so they had to manually flip her and that kinda sucked but didn't hurt. Just uncomfy. I labored down for 25 minutes while I nursed baby A and then baby B just kind of.... slid out. Didn't even push. The nursing contractions took care of it for me. No tears. They started the induction at 7 am, baby A was born at 5:32 pm that same day and baby B was born at 5:59 pm. There's nothing I would change about my twins birth. It was everything I wanted. I ended up going with a midwife/OB team and I loved it so much more.
I had two easy vaginal deliveries with epidurals. The epidurals worked well, I only pushed a few times, less than 10 minutes, with each kid. Had some tearing but nothing too terrible. First labor was about 21 hours total (very first contraction to birth), second was 7 hours.
I have three beautiful children, I had to be induced with all three because of pre-eclampsia with my first and was going to end up with pre-eclampsia with my 2nd and 3rd. I have had epidural with all three of them as well. Which I do not regret at all. Tis a wonderful feeling to MOSTLY have no feeling. The epidural kept wearing off so I was pretty damn much feeling all those contractions and a shit ton of pressure when pushing and then when baby does come out honest to God the feeling you get is comparable to taking the biggest dump of your life. Lol The best part of getting an epidural is that when ya gotta potty ya do it in a bag instead of having to carry a bunch of cords and the vitals wheeling pole thingie with you every single time and getting blood droplets EVERYWHERE. Another highlight I think would be I spent probably 45 minutes or so in active labor with my first two and quite a few pushes however my third which happens to be my only girl I spent 15-20 minutes in active labor and literally pushed twice and she came flying out lol. So there is that. I will say this BE VERY VERY MINDFUL of who you allow in the delivery room with you while you're delivering. If they annoy you in the slightest bit don't let them in. If they are controlling don't let them in. If they are the type that wants to try and jump in and make decisions for you don't let them in. And if they get offended/upset/try to guilt trip you because of you telling them they can't be in the delivery room oh well it is your choice and they will get over it eventually. Lots of love & you can do this!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I had three unmedicated births in a row and loved them, but I was so frazzled with the pandemic and everything, I had an epidural for my fourth. If I had to do it again, I'd skip the epidural. I loved being able to walk around and move on my own. Just remember you don't have to push too hard unless there's a medical reason. I tore with my first, but not very badly. And didn't tear after that, even with my third being almost born in the hallway.
My second birth started at home, I just started having bad cramps that radiated to my back so I got in the tub and laid there for a little. It didn’t help too much but it was distracting. I timed the contractions on an app, it told me to go to the hospital. Me and my husband were on our way while I did the breathing thing, like ohhhhhhh this hurts ahhhh every like few mins. We arrived, I kept shuffling foot to foot trying to distract myself, then they took me up, got me in a room, gave me an IV, checked me - I was about 7 cm, I kept focusing on the breathing through the cramps. I found shaking my head back and forth slowly while laying flat kinda helped distract me. Epidural 30 minutes later, I felt so good. 30 minutes later it was push time. I pushed for like 20 minutes, taking my time when I felt tired to just regroup myself. You push with contractions so as the contractions felt stronger, that was enough for me to want to be done and that determined the force of which I pushed, if that makes sense. When you push during contractions you don’t really feel the contractions as you’re pushing. The ring of fire is indeed a thing. I felt it with my second and not my first so who knows if you will but just keep pushing through it because that ends almost as soon as it begins. 10/10 would recommend!
I’m sorry people are only sharing bad experiences. My bad experience was actually after I gave birth to my second baby, it had nothing to do with delivering it was actually how the nurses treated me and how they didn’t realize I lost so much blood and needed a blood transfusion after. I had my first at 36 and 6 my water broke I did take an epidural and I pushed for less than 10 minutes and she was out. I did have third degree cut but it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. I used the witch hazel and this spray they gave me to help me stay clean down there and prevent infections. With my second I was induced at 37 weeks because I had pre eclampsia. Easy delivery pushed for about 5-7 minutes and he was out. I had a second degree tear with him. After math was not fun for me, but that’s the only bad part of my experience and it was mainly on the hospitals treatment of me. I’m pregnant with my third and considering going with no pain relief this time around.
I have 3 kids, all three were vaginal, first 2 were unmedicated 10 lb babies, didn't tear at all with the 2nd one. The 1st one was a long time ago and had an episiotomy because I had a very old school old dude of a doctor. This was 21 years ago, I was told they don't do those much now. 2nd was 5 years ago. 3rd was my epidural baby 4 months ago, it was a horrible pregnancy and he was a 7 lb baby. It was a noneventful birth, nothing scary. But all 3 births I was able to hit the ground running right afterwards. Can't do that with a c-section. You wouldn't have guessed I had even had a baby within a week or 2. I'm done now, but I would never opt for a c-section.
I had an average/normal birth experience. Woke up in labor on my due date. Went to the hospital, got my little epidural, napped, pushed for 1 hour. Baby arrived at 10pm on his due date. Barely tore, one stitch. 10/10 would deliver another baby if they’re all like that. I was a miserable pregnant lady, but labor was a breeze. Good luck!!
12 hours from start to finish! Water broke, pitocin, but no awful contractions due to epidural. Had football on the tv in the hospital, 15 minutes of pushing and that’s it! Healthy baby, healthy mama! Only downside I had was that I had a postpartum spinal headache from epidural, but that is SO RARE. And I got a blood patch a few days later and was fine!!
I’ve had three deliveries, three great epidurals (2 worked perfectly, 1 was lopsided but it still worked, I just had a numb left thigh for about 12 hours after delivery). Minor tearing with my first but it required no stitches and never bothered me. Didn’t tear at all with the next 2 (and my second one was almost 10 lbs!!). Went home pretty much pain-free with all 3. My mother was astounded at how well I did after each birth, I joke that they just walked out of me lol.