I would've had 3 drug free labours if not for not knowing much.
DD1 I was too tense & had to have gas & pethidine to relax. I'm glad it worked coz I found out they were going to take me for a c/s if my MIL didn't speak up. I was fighting the contractions, & they thought things were going too slow.
DD2 was going good til she told me to push. I started then had an internal & she decided I wasn't far enough. So I had to hold off pushing for a bit - It's hard to stop once you've started, coz it gives you something to take your mind off the pain. She offered me gas but I only had one go at it. I reminded myself that I could handle it & did it.
DS I begged for pethidine, but it didn't kick in til 20 minutes after he was born. So I did it kinda drug free.
I think it's a bit like period pain, but about 100 times worse. Not to scare you, but hopefully you'll b e able to handle it a bit better coz you've already got a bit of an idea what it's like.