arimeh: calmbirth course babe! that's what i reckon helped me during the labour this time. last time with DD1 was excruciating...at one point i yelled out that my pelvis was shattering lol. oh i was glorious lol. i was scared and that lets in alot of adrenalin which constricts muscles (fight or flight response), so if you can keep oxygen flowing (ie through deep calm breathing, even if only between contractions) it helps a whole lot in keeping the adrenalin at bay and lessens the intensity of the pain (at least, this is what i found). the contractions this time where i really felt a bit yuk were just after my waters broke and the shock of that broke my calm-breathing cycle that i was in and sure enough the adrenalin went into overdrive, so had to really bring myself back in and get back into focus...i swear by calmbirth lol!

and Arcadia is right...tell that conscious brain to go somewhere else during labour lol! (we used visualisation and birth affirmations on the wall to 'distract' it while doing the calmbreathing and gentle touch - touch to stimulate oxytocin the 'love' hormone).

anyway, that is just my two cents...i am no birth goddess or guru. i was a chick that had birth trauma first time around and decided to run from the hospital this time and have a baby at home lol...yes, that glamorous and brave lol!