The last few weeks I have seen a few ladies give birth on TV. (cable/payTV) Anyway, I see/hear them screaming and crying and moaning in pain and in general having THE WORST time of their lives........ and they are only having ONE baby. I am going to have to do this TWICE!!!!!! like all you lovely ladies. So in short, i am freaking out. My sister and SIL both had massive tears and HELLISH labours which I asked about, now I am even more frightened. I know that I will more than likely be fine - both my babies are head down and heading towards being 7lb roughly each by 38 weeks (if they keep growing at the same rate) and I know childbirth is probably not going to kill me, but I am still scared. The Dr says I can book a Ceaser for 38 weeks or be induced (if they dont come before then). I thought a VD would be best but now I am scared out of my wits and dont know what to think. Any advice, and......ah.....is anyone else scared.........?????? p.s. obviously this is my first pregnacy. lol.
One Word: Epidural and you will be fine! I was scared of labor too with my first and it was a breeze.. I was checked in at the hospital at 4 cm dialted and got an epidural within an hour or soo and was good to go. I was up chatting and hanging out and then the doctor says "time to push" and I was worried again, but it was a breeze.. Seriously what I was not ready for was the LONG nights being up.. It was soooooooo incredibly hard even with a planned pregnancy with a husband who helped out.. It was not easy. I would cry every night around ten cause by then I was exhausted and we still had allllllllll night too go. I really think (in general) more mothers and women should talk about the first weeks after birth, instead of the labor.. Don't worry yourself! You will do fine!
im scared out of my mind, too. and i was all for a c-section adn nothing else since i found out it was twins and the doc gave me the option. but then last week i started thinking about VD, with epidural, because so many women on here said once you get the epidural, everything is fine, all you feel is some pressure when you push. as for those birthing shows, i swear they're all doing it without drugs! they can't be screaming like that after getting an epidural!
You'll be fine!! With my sons who are now 4&2, I did have epidurals (mostly because I had Pitocin). I can't tell you what it would be like without an epidural, but I do remember after I got the epidural loooking at my husband and smiling and saying "I can do this again tomorrow!" With each pg, I didn't make up my mind one way or the other on an epidural until during labor. I know a lot of women do it without an epidural and do just fine too I think I will be getting an epidural this time right away just because I would prefer to have it so that if I deliver Baby A vag and for some reason needed a really quick C/S with Baby B, I would be ready to go. That's just me though. Also, with both of my previous deliveries, I had absolutely NO tearing or anything even close - - My babies both weighed near 8 pounds. I didn't require anything more than Motrin afterwards and that was just because of the uterus contracting back down while I was nursing which is kind of like cramping. I hope this reassures you a little.
I agree with pp, get the epidural and you will be fine. I was doing just fine with my son, until they broke my water and things really hurt- I got the epidural around 10 or so in the morning and I seriously slept until 2 or so when I woke up feeling pressure and was 8 cm dilated. The worst part for me was pushing- I felt the pressure and wanted to do it but I should have let my body move him down more. If they suggest this- let your body do it. I pushed for 45 minutes, gave up because I was exhausted and we were getting no where- seriously took another nap- then woke up pushed for 20 mintues and he was out! And he was 8lbs 11ozs, so you will be fine- just remember your epidural And I agree with ddancer- those women are doing it natural!!!
I had DD1 vag with no drugs; not because I'd planned it that way, but because it went so fast! My entire labor was less than 5 hrs. I never cursed or screamed or bawled; I think I had myself convinced that I was only in the beginning stages of labor - everyone kept saying, "You have a long way to go, honey," but no one checked. If they had, they would have seen that I was 10cm! No one expected a small person like myself to have her first baby with such relative ease. SO, who knows? Keep your head in the right place, don't panic, and by all means, get the epi! One thing is for certain: these babies are coming out one way or another and it's all worth it! :lol:
OK, I had a c/section with the twins, and vaginal with DD1, and there are pros and cons to both methods. It's ok to be frightened, and I think it's good to be informed, but I also think TV gets edited to be the best show possible. I'm really glad I had one delivery both ways because it worked well for me. It will be ok - it's not always easy, but the medical staff will help you through it all, no matter what ends up happening for you. Good luck! Oh - and drugs were a good thing for me, but that's not for everyone, either
Some people are more dramatic about pain than others. My husband can bump his toe and scream out like he has been shot. I went through a vaginal delivery and did not scream, or even raise my voice. Like everyone has said - the EPIDURAL is the key. You don't get any reward or love your kids any more if you don't get an epidural. Mine only took on one side up until it was time to push, so I felt every contraction and I assure you, it was not that bad.
Oh honey, I don't know if I would be watching those shows at this point!! It's TV--they're going to play up any dramatic aspects of the event, even if it's supposed to be "real life." I've read that most moms (I haven't had one yet, so correct me if I'm wrong!) of twins who've had singletons and twins don't finding that pushing out twins is that much different. Plus statistically, from what I've read, twin labor is often shorter overall.
I'm scared to death as well and since both are head down I have no idea which option to choose! I'm also very scared to death about the epidural!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it's awesome that some women can have home births, etc and deliver without drugs... I didn't know what I wanted until that day came - I had an idea but nothing dr. and I discussed because she was never there for me to talk with - but that's another story. I did end up with pneumonia bad enough to be hospitalized (yet wasn't - yet another story) and so epidural wasn't an option - it was a must! I couldn't scream, talk, whatever - even if I wanted to because all the coughing had torn up my throat and vocal cords - but I'm not sure if I would have anyways since that doesn't solve anything (lol). The epidural part was easy, or maybe I was just too sick to remember. They had me sit on the bed with my legs hanging over and crouching into a curl (hugging DH helped) and they did it so good. I wonder if they put a local in before doing the epi. But man was I in heaven once that stuff kicked in. But I didn't feel much pressure and I didn't like how I couldn't really feel them coming out (although I was thankful for that too when she decided I needed an episiotomy) nor knowing where to push (push against my hand... ok... where is your hand???) but they can control the dosage to either be a biiiiiiig block or enough to take the edge off and yet you can totally still feel things... it depends on you as well. As for the twins... I'm not sure if I'm going to go far enough to deliver them vaginally. It depends on baby A's position and if baby B is bigger than A or not - which she is by 3 ounces but that's not much yet. However, I have issues with bleeding and transfusions so I'm trying to work it out with my dr. that we only let my uterus go so far before either inducing or c-section - at of course a safe point for the girls. I'd rather induce because you do lose more blood with a c-section, but meanwhile I'm starting to take more iron and alfalfa tablets to build my blood and coagulation factors. Either way, anasthetic is definitely on the menu again for me. If it was one, I would probably try a home birth - but that darn egg decided to split and throw a monkey wrench in my wheels... So everything is so new to me and this pregnancy is definitely not like the first in any way.
That is exactly why I don't watch those shows. I used to love them.... now they freak me out too much!!
I am a giant baby and I am terrified of needles. With that said, I loved my epidural! I didn't really feel it when they put it in and it made for a wonderful birth experience. Both my babies were head down and I delivered them 6 minutes apart. All I felt was pressure, no pain. So don't be afraid, it's totally doable.
:hug99: I cried so hard when I saw the child birth movie in our birthing class with DD#1. I was so scared. I ended up having her with no drugs. It's alot scarier from the outside looking in then when you are going through it. It will be okay. You do have the epidural option too.
First of all, it seems evveryone wants you to know the horror stories of their labor and delivery. It's like they want the award for " I ENDURED THE MOST". Secondly, nix the TV show. There are those women who do scream and carry on during labor. Everyone has a different pain threshold and believe me some women have NONE. Here is what I always told my daughter from the time she was old enough to understand. IT IS CALLED LAABOR FOR A REASON. IT IS HARD WORK. IT IS NOT CALLED A WALK IN THE PARK NOR IS IT CALLED ****. Case in point: when I had my first it was 26 hours of induced labor. And I had back labor. Baby was sunnyside up. And it ended up being a high forceps delivery. So next day I was walking down to the nursery ( as I am a twin grandma it was before the days of babies rooming in) and another gal from by ob's office was walking down to. She asked how my birth experience was and I said I didnt think it was all that bad. She tells me how horrible hers was and she will NEVER have another child. So at this point I figure WOW I CANT IMAGINE. So obviuosly I ask her the specifics. Turns out she was in labor for 4 hours with her first baby. Just FYI in my opinion the pain of a migraine is worse than either or my labors.
i am more terrified of having a C-section. I can't stand needles in my back (I had the spinal tap from **** about a year ago) so I'd rather go through the pain of a VD than be awake during major surgery. But like everyone says, its about the babies and I will do what ever it takes to get them here.
I had a VD with my DS#1 and had a great epidural - even got to take a nice long nap. With my twins I also got an epidural and literally pushed my first DD in 3 pushes and my second DD with 6 more pushes. My DS was 9lbs, 13oz so he was a big boy, but I was still able to do it. My girls were 5lb, 10oz and 6lbs - very doable!
Are you planning on getting pain meds? If you are afraid of the pain and want pain meds, just let your Dr. know and you'll be fine. With my first, I was in labor for 36 hours and my daughter was over 9 pounds...since I had an epidural, I didn't really experience much pain at all. Years ago I had gall stones and believe me that was much worse! Once I got my epidural, I fell asleep and slept through a lot of contractions. Then, when it was time to push, I had to watch the monitors to know when to start pushing because I couldn't feel anything. I never screamed and cried like they do on TV. I seriously sometimes think that they pick labors where people do that to make it more interesting to watch.
I would first say that to all the people out there afraid of epidurals, I am a nurse and worked in surgery for a couple of years and we did epidurals all day long on people, with no problems after. I guess that's why I didn't mind the thought of an epidural. When it came time for mine w/my DS, I thought the hardest part was being bent over while you are contracting. I felt the sting of the local (they always use a local), and that's about it. I told the anesthesiologist about ten minutes after it was done that I was willing to marry him...if it weren't for the fact that I was already married and in labor( I knew him from surgery) . I got 20 minutes of relief and the pain came back, my DS had never turned face down so he was stuck on my pubic bone. But in that 20 minutes I relaxed so much, that I went from 3cm to 10cm in 1 1/2 hours. That's how nice it was to just relax and let nature take it through. I pushed for 57 minutes and it wouldn't have taken that long if he wasn't stuck(they kept pushing him back up trying to get him past my bone). I had no pain in my stomach at all and I could feel the pushing and the bone pain was really bad, but I didn't scream or curse. I just moaned a little. I was so excited that I was that close to seeing my little guy. I had waited 17 years for him, so that I actually took off the oxygen and told my husband that I loved him; in the middle of pushing! It's not like it doesn't hurt, but even afterwards when they are stitching you up(if they have to), it doesn't matter....because all you can focus on is that little bitty thing crying over in the warmer. And you're wondering, when are they gonna bring him back to me. BTW, the sleepless nights and constant worry were much worse for me. I remember thinking I could never live through it and that I would go crazy first. DS was colicky, w/lactose intolerance(BF so I had to watch everything I ate) and had acid reflux. That was much worse. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions, take the epidural if you want because even if it only works partially, it really does make it easier. And I think you enjoy it more, with some of the pain gone. It was 3 am in the morning and we were all giddy, my DH was asleep <_< and we wrote with sharpies on his forehead. That's how that 20 minutes of bliss were spent. And it was worth it!!!
Hi there, thanks to everyone for their replies. I am not scared/worried about getting an epidural, and if I dont have a ceaser then I will definately request one and anything else they will give me. lol. My sister and SIL both had epidurals and they both had bad tears and very long labours. SIL had to have ice packs on her 'pieces' for days because she was pushing for 4 hours, after being induced for about 24hrs before that, then had forceps and was extremely swollen. Both were discussing how bad their haemmoroids (sp?) were and had trouble sitting and still have trouble to this day with them (not sitting, I hope!). (5+ years later) Also, in the scheme of things, I think my pain tolerance is not too bad. I'm sure I'll be fine but no more TV delivery watching for me!!!
Awwww....it's going to be OKAY! I didn't read anyone else's replies...If you really are that scared, an epidural will be wonderful for you!! With my first DD, I had no pain meds and it was a wonderful experience. For the twins, they highly recommended an epidural and it was an extremely different experience than the first. As far as it being TWO, it's really not that different than one. Just a little more pushing. I'm sure you'll do a great job! Relaxing really helps move things along during labor, so just try to relax as much as you can. Have someone who can help you do this!
I was just like you, i was so scared. here is my advice EPIDURAL :wub: :wub: :wub: i was induced at 7:30am and was eating dinner with my hubby and the babies were asleep in there little bassinets by 6pm My labor was painful after he broke my water and i went with it for a while but than was ready for my epidural! after that was great i took a nap and when we were ready there was never any screeming or yelling just lots of pushing, i was able to feel both babies as they were coming out but NO PAIN! after the babies were born and were getting cleaned up. i happened to look at my dr and saw that he was stiching me up (DD's head tore me a little, that still gives me the heebie gebies just thinking about it) but i never felt it or would have know he was stiching if i did not look at him. You will be great!!! Enjoy every minute of it, it goes by so fast! GOOD LUCK! by the way if you go to my web side you can read my whole birth story and feel free to pm with any questions
