I didn't find the pain to be as bad as I expected (I really did expect the worst). My little girl was posterior presentation and I managed to push her out without any drugs. I found that the hardest thing to get through was the exhaustion of dealing with the contractions and finding a comfortable position. My labour was quite intense as posterior births have constant back pain, so you don't get that "break" between contractions. But it really wasn't as bad as I imagined. Contractions do get bad. I had to move all the time and walk around the room to try to coax my little one down the birth canal. The pain did get bad towards the end where I couldn't walk and just had to hold onto my hubby but I breathed through it. Your body will tell you what it can and can't handle and there is no shame in having drugs during labour! I was totally open to it but managed to get through it without it. My midwife forced me to have some gas when they were stitching me up though (I needed an episiotomy). If someone had offered me a shot of energy though I would have taken it for sure. All I wanted was to have a five minute nap!!! Good luck. You will be fine. It was one of the most amazing experiences and such an achievement for me. I loved every minute of labour because it meant I was so close to meeting my baby.