^ every labour is different but for me it really was very hard. Contractions are one of the worst pains you can have (my midwife told me a few days after my delivery that passing a kidneystone is more painful but contractions are no 2). Right at the end when I was almost fully dilated and felt pressure to push I litterally felt like I was gonna pass out bcuz of the pain. It went black in front of my eyes. It was too late for pain relief though. So yes, def going to opt for any kind of pain relief next time!
I'll write out my labour story one of these days in the other thread.