When I was in labour with Olivia the pushing part came upon me in the shower.......my legs went all wobbly then I had this incredible urge to push....like you push to do a huge poo? The pushing then became regular, through each contraction, and with the help of the midwife and Andrew and my OB who really encouraged me, I realised that you really have to breath right to gather enough strength to do really long pushes....that is when I realised that I had an extra reservoir of strength, IYKWIM? It was more the contractions that hurt. And when I pushed and her head crowned, the bit that hurt was the burning.

With Charlie, I was induced and the pushing only hurt becasue the contractions were so strong and fast. When he crowned it was a relief, and there was no burning. I was in a much better position (standing up) and he slid out like a bar of soap.....

Either way, labour hurt like hell, but I still have a big smile on my face at recollecting both my labours.......
HTH?