I thank God all the time for the easy births I've had. I don't have what I'd call "pain" until the last few contractions, but I'm so out of it on endorphins by that stage it's more than manageable. I really dislike the intensity of those last ones, and that feeling of the baby coming down the birth canal before it is born, but I figure that's nature's way of giving me the motivation to push it out

The body, in the right circumstances, can also produce its own painkillers to at least help with that, and I'm a great believer in doing whatever I can to encourage that production. That means a lot of visualisation, a lot of movement, a lot of relaxation, and a lot of preparation beforehand.