Pain in Childbirth

Yes, I am going to write this, which is simply my experience and recollection of the birth of our daughter. No, not everyone's experience was/will be anything like mine. No, I'm not going to say you are right or wrong for doing things differently or the same as me. But I'm writing this blog to better remember this pregnancy experience, and a lot of my thoughts presently about this experience have to do with what happened last time, so this is really for me, and my children (since I won't remember these details by the time my daughter's old enough or married enough to be pregnant!)

Contractions felt like the worst menstrual cramps you've ever had. If you've never had menstrual cramps bad enough that all you wanted to do was lie down in bed, then you can't really imagine what labor contractions are like. These are terrible cramps, that rather than encompassing your uterus when it's the size of a pear, your uterus is so big this cramping encompasses your entire abdomen - so really intense cramping, across your entire mid-section. So, no, labor contractions are not fun.

Here's the difference - labor contractions typically have a happy ending, you know, they result in the birth of your long-awaited baby. So the pain you're experiencing is for a purpose, and for myself, anything that has a good reason for happening is bearable, even if uncomfortable. And, typically, labor contractions don't last all that long. Yes, it seems like a looooong time while you are having them, but really, even 24 hours isn't that long when you consider how long you've been pregnant.

And, the whole time you're pregnant, you've likely been really careful to limit your caffeine intake, your doctor advised you not to take Advil, or certain allergy medications, or even eat Bologna! You've done all you can to make sure your unborn child has the best start.....so why just hours before your baby goes through the most traumatic thing in it's life (being squeezed through the birth canal, learning to breathe air, having to digest food......it's a big transition!) why does it make sense to medicate yourself at that point? (((again, not a judgement on others, just my opinion, based on my experience)))

I firmly choose unmedicated childbirth, whether narcotic or epidural, to me, there are risks associated with each that I wish to avoid during birth. I did not have any pain medication (not even a Tylenol) for our daughter's birth, and the only portion that I would say REALLY hurt, was when her head was crowning as I was pushing her out of my body. I had a 2nd degree tear, so that's probably where the big-time pain came in! The doctor told me as our daughter was born that often, even women who have had epidurals will feel pain at this point....so I have to ask - where is the benefit to that??