A question on my mind, cos I really don't wanna go through the same pain as I did with Eden.. LOL

I know that I was scared, and fear = pain, so I probably caused more pain for myself than was necessary. So I know that when I felt a contraction coming I was like, oh no not again, and would fight against the pain, instead of going with it. So I know that wouldn't have helped either.

I went in the bath for about 20 minutes or something when I first arrived at the birth centre, but each time I had a contraction I would lift myself out of the bath anyway to get through it And then I had to get out to have a bowel movement, and never went back in. Shower was never offered for pain relief, so I spent the majority of my labour on the toilet or crouched on the floor screaming for someone to make the pain go away Of course no pain relief was offered because they didn't have any!!

So this time, I do want to handle the pain better. I know my scar will hold up fine, so I don't have that thought at the back of my mind. My chiro has promised she does a sacral hold which reduces the pain of a contraction up to 50% - so that sounds good to me.

But does water really make that much of a difference? How does it make a difference? Is it just that it relaxes you so you don't tense up during a contraction, or is there something more to it than that?