So i'm thinking about a natural birth. Only problem is i have a VERY low pain tollerence, I had a good chat with mum who had 4 natural births and said that it was good pain.
Is there such a thing? haha I dont know if i can handle the intensity my OB father just tells me women do amazing things but you dont know what your in for and he is quite pro ECS. I have so much to consider but what were your advantages of your birthing choice. No matter what i do i do want it at a hospital. Thanks
I think I have a low pain tolerance too, but I managed to have a completely natural birth with my son. With My DD I ended up having 2 shots of pethadine and gas, but I was induced with her and I went from having no pain or niggles, nothing, to full on 3-4min contractions in about half an hour. I managed the pain for about 16hrs before I couldn't stand it and asked for pain relief. I think I did pretty well considering. With DS I had some pretty serious prelabour for about a weeks or so before hand and then went to hospital 8cm dialated! I was so proud of myself and had convinced myself that I wasn't in actual labour. Because I believe I have a low pain tolerance I was telling myslef not to be such a wuss and to get over myself!! LOL. I was so stoked that I did it all on my own without pain relief. It is really amazing what you can do, and it is alot of mind power too, as well as good support people who believe in you.
I dont consider myself to have very good pain threshold, but I managed from begining to end (over 30 hrs) without anything till the very end (peth), and in hindsight I could and should have done without it.
Go in to labour with the expectation that you probably can do it without drugs, but knowing that they will be available should you find it too much. You can put this in your birth plan and do a bit of research first to see which drugs you would prefere over others. And have support people with you who can encourage you and believe in you.
I get what your Mum is saying about the good pain. It's not so much that it's a 'good' pain, but more like it's a constructive pain - you know that you are working for something at the end of it. It is hard to know how anyone will deal with labour and contractions as I know women who think they could but really struggled to stay focused and others who thought they wouldn't be able to deal with it do super well. IF you think that you will struggle, it would be well worth looking into doing a calmbirth or hynobirthing class as it will teach you how to focus through the contractions and manage the 'pain' of them more effectively. That's not to say at some stage you wont feel like you need pain relief, but if you can use calmbirthing or hypnobirthing tools to get you most, if not all of the way through that's great, because you really don't want to be turning up at 4cm dilated and screaming for an epidural kwim?
ETA - it might also be worth looking into getting a Doula to help support you through the birth too.
I have had both a c/s and a vaginal birth, and I would definitely recommend not having a c/s unless you have to. The recovery was much harder with the c/s simply because you require your abdominal muscles for just about everything you do. So while it doesn't hurt to actually have the baby, the pain overall is worse.
I opted for the gas towards the end of my labour, but I get what your mum says about good pain. Every contraction is achieving something. Yes it hurts, but in between the contractions there is no pain and you know that each contraction will end. I also found that the nervous excitement I felt about being in labour kept me going for quite a long time; the pain didn't matter so much because I was going to meet my son soon.
There are always the drugs if you find you can't deal with the pain once you are there. A good epidural and you shouldn't feel a thing.
I think the whole process is worse for the men, they just feel kind of useless because they can't make it faster, or easier etc. They can only hold your hand and telling you you are doing a good job. I think this is why men often think an elective c/s is an easier option.
Hey, I've always believed I've had a low pain tolerance and still think I do. I knew labour would be very painful and thought I most likely wouldn't cope and would end up asking for an epidural. Because I thought this, when I was in actual full blown labour I didn't believe it, I just thought I was being a wuss and that I had hours to go! Turns out I almost had my baby at home - by the time I got to the hossy and into my room I was pushing. I had my own midwife and she told me I was 7cm dialated before we left my house for the hospital. Oh I might add, DS is my first and he was 2 weeks early so I really wasn't expecting it so that also made my belief that I wasn't really in labour stronger! Point is, labour is a really DIFFERENT pain and I don't think you can measure your pain threshold in this circumstance - I went from thinking I'd have an epi, to having no time for one even if I wanted it.
I guess believing I have a low pain threshold worked for me and might for you I just kept saying to myself "no this can't be it, I've got hours to go, stop being a wuss" and "if I can't manage now, I'm going to crumble by the end of it!" LOL
You will seriously suprise yourself. I know this sounds really cliched, but trust your body - it knows what to do! And if you do need some relief or help to push things along, so be it, your body will let you know.
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low pain tollerance and natural birth
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