Why is it...

[Antheia]

...that you usually don't get 'after pains' with your first baby but you do with subsiquent ones?

Just something i was pondering!

[Hoody]

I dont know the answer but with DD1 i had none and with DD2 they were horrendous i thought it was just me. Now i'm curious to know too.

[Antheia]

Yep, same. I had none at all with DD but with DS they were as bad as labour!

[Rouge]

Yep I coped even with c/s pains after Paris, but after a drug free birth with Seth (how ironic is this I when I think about it) I had Peth after 3rd stage with Seth. I was told later it could have been to do with my scar (and I had HUGE clots) but I know a lot of women who have it bad in subsequent births. The irony is that I could deal with birth fine, all 14 hours of it but then needed drugs for afterbirth, I could kick myself when I think about it.

[Antheia]

I know what you mean Cai. Even though i had an epidural with DS for the last 7hrs of labour (due to tiredness), the first 30 hours were drug free and i coped with that but could not with the after pains.

[Trillian]

I haven't ever really had a problem with afterbirth pains with any of mine that I needed to take something. It would have been the worst after Erin's birth, but that still wasn't that bad kwim? I did have quite a lot of tenderness after Paige's birth, but I had a manual placenta removal so it was more to do with all the palpating on my tummy than anything else.

it's an interesting thing to think about though. Maybe it's because the uterus has already been stretched once and needs to work harder to shrink back down again.

[Rouge]

Oh Sherie you are sooo lucky! If you ask anyone that came to visit me post birth I was noiser and in more pain than during labour! Even delivering the placenta there was no pain, it wasn't till after that I couldn't cope LOL!

[Trillian]

I kept expecting it to happen don't worry, but it just didn't. Sometimes I would feel really achey though, like when you've had a gstro bug and you're very tender in the tummy but not what I would call true afterbirth pain.

[Ambah]

I didn't notice any afterbirth pains at all with Aidyn, but this time around they were horrendous! I remember that they were worse than the first half of my labour pains.
I also requested pain relief for them (after having no pain relief in labour), as it was just too much, I was trying to sleep, and wasn't coping at all - hadn't slept in 48 hours!

[visitor1]

I was in tears from the pains with Jasmine...but had not one pain from Chelsea.

Wonder if they get worse with more kids...? LOL

[Antheia]

Wonder if they get worse with more kids...? LOL

Oh i hope not! I will prob die if it did lol. They were really bad.

[teachmum]

I had bad ones with my 2nd but none with my third!

[Tanya]

I had them with Emily, then a bit worse with Violet (teth gritting!) and none with Bonnie!!
Not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I had bleeds with both Emily and Violet and no loss with Bonnie.

[Naomi]

I had really bad after birth pain with #1 but not 2 and 3
I seem to be the odd one out lol

[~Raven~]

I had afterpains but they weren't all that bad. Just like bad period pains.

[Spring Angel]

My afterbirth pains with Oliver were absolutely shocking. I don't remeber having them at all with Harrison although admitedly that time was a blur.

I managed a drug free labour with Oliver but needed some panadol for the afterbirth pains. They were especially bad when breastfeeding, enough to make my eyes water. Youch!

[leebee81]

I had them with Oliver and he was my first. I took ponstan or panadol for the first week because breastfeeding triggered them off again. I've heard they get worse with subsequent births - something I can't say I'm looking forward too.

[Antheia]

So could anyone find out WHY we get them the second time around and not the first? I'm still curious lol.