don't think too much about the pain, I kept asking ppl what contractions felt like and what would the pain feel like and all of that but when the time came I knew that I was having contractions and I bore contractions brought on by pitocin till I was 7cm dilated (the pitocin was increased regularly so that I would have stronger contractions coz I wasn't dilating fast enough). I took them using laughing gas, and by focusing on my breathing plus they tell you of some positions either on the birthing ball or standing or squatting that help you bear contractions.
And to be honest looking back I don't remember that pain, it honestly feels unreal and had I not had witnesses who saw me go through that I would've said that my delivery was painfree. When you see your child for the first time, when you hear his/her cries you really do forget all the pain. Pray to Allah and go with the flow. May Allah give you a healthy baby and bless you with a smooth delivery as well. Aameen
You can always ask for an epidural while in labor when you feel you can't bear the pain anymore or rather make a birth plan and discuss that with your midwife or husband put it in writing. So your support person can tell your doctor what options you would like to go for and at what time. Labour doesn't go according to your birth plan but it helps.
omg my delivery was almost the same!!on my due date i got no contractions only v little water breaking thaz all. i was admitted at 10am and was given pitocon, i was only 1-2 cms then. after pit icon it increased but v v slowly. it reached such a point where even after 10 hrs i was only 5cm. thaz the max i went to and trust me 5cm was soooo mch pain i was like cut me up do a cesarean. anyway they decided that they shud do the same cus my labour was not progressing and i was not dilating gud enuff(imagine from 10am until 5am and i was only 5cm so far!). i delivered my baby 7am the next morning. imagine almost 24 hr misery. at 5cm the pain was too mch for me to handle. they gave me sum gas too but i was still cryin in between those cus the pain wudnt subside. my story has a major twist though. i wanted an epidural and made that clear rite from the start. i got the epidural in evening and it was not at all a bad experience.. i did feel a pinch becus of needle but northin more. it made my area numb. they kept giving me epidural (thru the canola) after every 2 hrs but something weird happened. at 3am she gave me epidural but the pain was unbearable. they realized later that catheral had moved (at my back)... this was a rare case cus normally it shudnt happen. that is why i was in alot of pain cus the thing had moved. but amazingly each time the doc put the dosage i wud feel a nice cold tingling feeling.. so that meant i was indeed getting the dosage but in reality i was only getting it until 3am and not after that. we raised such a hue and cry. i told my hubs we r not goin to pay for epidural cus its their mistake. anyway poor doc came rushin in when my pains were not subsiding and gave me epidural again rite from the start putting a new canola and all. the whole procedure happened AGAIN and still the pain was there. this i didn't understand.. now that the docs knew the mistake and did it all over again why was i not responding to epidural??? i didn't understand that. if first time it made a difference why didnt it made a difference later before my delivery. anyway i had a C section. i was soooo damn exhausted that i told docs that i dun wanna b awake while the operation took place. i just wanted the baby out. i wud never say it was easy and neither was it pain free. wot i hated the most was the pain after the delivery. i felt as if i had a 500 kg on my vagina. i cudnt walk!!! the whole day i was on bed and when i first saw my baby i was not as happy as i thot i wud b. and worst of all i cudnt even hold my own baby bcus i cudnt even sit on the bed. lil bending wud hurt, i cudnt cough or sneeze.. i wud feel soooo mch pain down there below the abdomen,.. it was horrible. i saw everyone from hubs to MIL holding her playing with her while i was feeling miserable of not being able to hold her as i wanted to and not being able to feel the connection instantly... i tink i only began to bond with her after 1 mnth of her birth. she is now almost 2 mnths.
regarding epidural and pain meds: to each their own.
But i think its really really important to go to classes and take your husband with you. Mine went with me and i am glad he did because when the time came, he remembered alot of things that i had forgotten. I was also a chiken and closed my eyes when they showed that video so that shouldnt be your excuse. The classes have a lot of good info and you have the chance to ask questions.
Like others said, dont focus on the pain. I was also freaked out about the pain factor but gradually when the time came near, i was more intent on finally seeing what the baby looked like etc. Focus on the good and you will be fine IA. And the more you think about pain, the more you will feel it.
Sorry I didnt read thru many of the replies, my time is really limited these days!
But I'd like to tellyou a couple of things. My easiest birth was my first son. I was SO scared of the needles (they push epidural here) so I stayed home for as long as I could take it. My son was born 20 minutes after they got me into the labor room. I had a half dose of Nubain (a pregnancy-safe painkiller) -half goes into the IV and the other halfgoes into your butt in a large guage needle. I declined the butt-half of the dose and did just fine. There was pain for sure but itwas really more work than pain.
The other 2. MAN. The docs broke my water to speed up the labor. But once they did that, labor stopped. There was nothing to push against. So they gave me Pitocin to get the labor going again. That was HELL-on-WhEELS. Once the docs start interfering with nature, things get crazy. I had half-doses of Nubain again and it did help. A little. But that pitocin is nasty stuff.
The natural progression of labor and natural delivery with just a little chemical help of Nubain was by far very do-able and by far the least painful.
Buteven if yougo thru pitocin AND c-section and hours and hours of labor....its all worth it in the end.
Wishing you the very best! cant wait to hear good news from you!
My cousin had a baby last week here in UK...apparently they dont admit you unless you are 4 cm and no epidural until you are 6 cm...thats too much pain to bear in my opinion....but she ended up having a normal birth of a 9 lbs baby boy mashaAllah w/o any pain meds other than gas...there was a lot of tearing involved and they didnt numb her enough before putting the stitches in...:| ...its different in canada...they admit and allow epidural at 3 cm...so I pretty much slept through the entire labour....Epidural didnt slow down my labour...I went from 3 to 10 cm in 5-6 hours...which I think is pretty good for a first baby...
Nadzz, epidural worked great for me without any side effects Alhumdolillah...you just have to make sure that when they are inserting the tube in, you sit very still....
In the uk every hospital has different policies about when you can have an epidural.
But they encourage as natural as possible, you can have an epidural if you want though.
we are trained to go up the ladder or pain relief so you arent given any meds that you dont really need just keeping it as natural as possible.
First you can use a TENS machine, breathing excercises, massaging etc
Then gas and air and entonox
Then epidural, the epidural does carry risks and side effects and its not entirely natural thats why it isnt popped in straight away.
In canada/america as health care is paid for by the induvidual thats why you get what you pay for. You pay for epidural you get it popped in.
Neither is good or bad, just the way it is!
Nads, dont be scared of the pain, alot of women go through it all and its always worth it at the end, the midwives are great and will be with you throughout dont worry.
go to the classes you are well prepared.
Dont dread anything thats just the same as living it twice.
Nadz read Surah Yaseen 7x everyday( if 7x not possible then atleast Once) and ask someone to read when u r in labour for you while keeping one hand on ur tummy. Also there are duas for easy and safe labour. i had one that i read continuously during my contractions. i don't remember it now. search the net for them . IA Allah will make it easy for you.
PS: its another thing that at time of contractions one forgets to read anything n so does the husband but still read as much and for as long as you can.
i totally agree with Automne about forgetting the pain when you see your child.
if your husband doesn't want to go with you take your mum and have her with you whn you go into labour.
for my first pregnancy all i had wanted was gas and air nothing more but circumstances were such that i HAD to have an epidural, it sloweed down the labour so where i had dilated 6cm in about 6-7 hours i dilated only 3 cm after that (you need to dilate to 10cm) so i was 9 cm after a further 6 hours of labour once epidural was in.
unfortunatly i had to have a cesarean 1st time.
this time round i used gas and air only and my labour went much faster (2nd labour does do much faster)
when you have an epidural in then you can't get up and walk arouund in labour you have to stay strapped to the bed.
every woman who goes through labour knows yes it can be painful but in the end you have your child in your arms and honestly the hours of pain just feel as if nothing happened.
u didn't tell...ur 2nd one was normal??? or another c-sec???
nadz I know my sis used to take warm baths everynight in last 10 days of her pregnency, talk to your doctor before you want to do try war=m baths every night. It used to relax her, and she gave birth within 2 hours, mind it it was her second baby and she is physically very fit.
No matter it is normal birth or c-section it is painful but it will be only for few hours. Labour is good for mother and baby both, babies who are born two quickly end up with more fluids in their lungs than the ones that go through normal labour.
good luck, try to relax, and inshallah all will be fine.
Me and hubby didn't find the classes too helpful, the best thing was that we got oriented to the hospital, me personally got more anxious after those classes.
i was like you also before having my children. I used to dread the weeks coming up to my due date and wondering how i will do this? How am i going to cope in labour? What if something goes wrong etc etc as a new mom these feelings are all natural and everyone will experience them at some point. For my first DD i was too far gone to get an epidural so i had her naturally and for my 2nd DD born last year the labour was again so quick that i once again could not have the epidural so it was a second time natural birth. There is pain I am not going to lie but its minor compared to the gift you are getting at the end. I think as women we underestimate how strong we can be in that situation the determination will take over you and once you have your baby in you arms you will forget everything. Whatever you decide i wish you luck.