Hiya Jessica,

I'm in my 2nd tri with baby number 3 and the only advice I can offer is try not to get too wound up about the impending birth. I gave birth both times with no pain relief at all and believe me if I can do it anyone can, but if you do require some just go in with an open mind and try to go with the flow and accept what needs to be done, don't go in with too many pre-conceived ideas about how things are going to happen.
Focus on the end result..there are times when the fight or flight thing kicks in briefly but I found you can't do either. You certainly can't run away from it but you can't fight it either, I found when I got to that point and felt overwhelmed I realised that being tense and afraid was making everything worse so I completely let go and relaxed and instantly everything felt better and started moving so much quicker.
So just remember to use your mind as much as your body because it really does help.
This worked for me both times but you have to get to a certain point in labour.. you'll know it when you you get there prior to that it's natural to fight it.
All the best and takecare,
Cheers Missy