How much does natural childbirth really hurt?

For me it was a 10 1/2 on a 1-10 scale

With my first child I would rate the pain at a 10!! The second was easier and I would rate that one at about a 6. They induced labor the first time and not the second so Im not sure if that was what made the difference or not, but the epidural was a lifesaver!

Well I had epidurals with my first 3 pregnancies..
The 1st and 3rd didnt work properly and with the 3rd one they put the needle to far in and punctured the spinal fluid and I ended up with a spinal headache for a week..
It was excruciating pain, I could not stand up, I had to walk bent over with my head down..
So with my 4th I decided to deliver natural.. And I was sooo happy that I did..
The pain was probably a 6 for me .. I would say that the spinal headache hurt worse than delivering natural.
My contractions were not that bad either. I would say about a 4 until I got to 8cm then maybe a 6..
The pain usually doesnt last that long when you begin to push (thats the part that hurts the most)..
Good Luck

I think that is depends on how big the baby is and how long you are in labor. I had twins the last time and they only weighed 4 lbs, and 4.4 lbs. It took all of four hours for labor and they were painful hours but not horrible I would say a 8. I probably would have asked for pain med if the labor had lasted longer.

Its hard to say what it would be on a scale from 1 to 10. Yes it was the worst pain I have experienced, but im sure there are things that would be more painful and it wasnt so unbearable that I couldnt handle it, so I would say an 8. It honestly wasnt as bad as I thought it would be and it doesnt last that long. The contractions at there worst were the most painful part, the actual delivery didnt hurt that bad. Good luck, you can do it! woman have been doing it long before pain medicine and didnt stop at one, so it couldnt be that bad..

i tried to do it and i couldn’t after 2 and a 1/2 hours of pushing i had a c-section.

I’d say about an 8 out of 10. I have 3 children and all of them were equally painful. The good part about natural birth is that you just forget the details of it. If you have a c-section, you have the scar to remind you of all the pain, with natural birth, you focus on your child and not how bad it hurt to have them. When having my 3rd child I remembered things about my other two births, things like what my doctors looked like, how freaked out my husband was, and how happy I was to finally see the child that I was waiting for.

If you aren’t a wuss, you are fine. Its the best kind of pain that you could endure.

Good Luck!
(and by the way, everyone is different, haha)

the level of pain depends on many things: position of baby; position of you during labor & delivery; your comfort & confidence level (concerning location & birth team); your personal tolerance level; your level of fear (and resulting tension). many of these things you have control over, so you can actively reduce your discomfort. i would recommend you take Bradley classes to prepare, they are very helpful & have a very high rate of natural (no pain meds) births as well as a high rate of satisfaction with the birthing experience.

I only made it to 7 1/2cm without anything and I dropped the F bomb in front of my very christian mother, because she has had three kids she didn’t bat an eye. On a 1-10 it was at least a 10,maybe a 20, I can’t compare it to anything other than to say think of the worst period cramp you have ever had and multiply it by about 1000. I did let my epidural wear off before actually giving birth and it was just pressure, the baby coming out actually block those nerves down there and gives a little natural pain block. Good luck, natural is best if you can hack it but if you can’t dont beat yourself up, there are other forms of pain relief.

hi i am on 3rd pregnancy 8 weeks i had 2 natural births which were not as bad as i thought they would be , i never wanted a natural birth its just the way they turned out. i had horrible periods as well and i think that definetly helped. but its not called labour for nothing it is sore the most painfull experiance of my life but still not as bad as i expected. it is like a very very bad period pain then when u get to pushing nature kicks in and takes over your body and you have an unbearable urge to push good luck

Tough one.

I took a lot of yoga prior to having my baby and I think that the focus and breathing really helped.

Lying on my side when I was first at the hospital SUCKED and made things worse. Sitting on an exercise ball in the shower really helped.

The thing with labour is that it isn’t like any other situation. The pain is different, and it is pain with a purpose which makes it somehow much easier to bear.

I was in a zone and don’t remember how much stuff hurt. I do know that I made sure I didn’t fight it and that I focused. At the end, I pushed for an hour and I know it was tough but that is all I can remember.

I had no drugs or anything until after baby was born, then I needed pictocin to get my body to expel the placenta.

I know someone with horrible side effects from an epidural. I’ll do one if needed but only if my labour goes really really long and I”m exhausted.

My suggestion? Keep in shape, especially with yoga. Make sure you have good breathing and focusing techniques and a good birth partner. Get a doula or midwife to help if you think it would be right for you. Try using music, try using a birthing ball and especially try a hot shower for any back labour.

Good luck

I shouldn’t laugh at this. But everytime i have gone to the hospital for anything major like this and been “screaming” in pain they ask ” on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst pain please tell me how you you rate it?” I grab the doc or nurses arm and tell them ” GIVE ME PAIN MEDS NOW!!!!”

My sister did the natural child birth thing evidently because she wanted to have healthy babies. The premise is a good one. She never did say what actually happened or how it felt. Go figure.

However i have had a couple kids myself. Let me just tell you the pain is off the charts honey and really is just indescribable only to compare it with if you have had kidney stones, pms cramping and gallstones all in one. If you want to handle it so be it and go for it.

As far as what sorts of meds you want to choose or not to choose to be on that is up to you. Personally i chose the epideral and would do it again in a heartbeat. You just sit still and she scariest part is thinking and waiting for them to put it in ya. It is an odd feeling going in. The next thing you know you are in heaven because you don’t feel a thing the entire time. Sorry but if you think back to the “old days” they basically got women drunk of whiskey when they gave birth. If you don’t believe me look it up and research it.
Alcohol is supposed to be the worse thing you can give to a baby. So give me a damn damn break. This is all relative.
Get drunk or get some modern day drugs to ease the horrific pain you MAY experience.

I have heard it could be dangerous to have a natural childbirth. But hey what do i know? I was born natural in the home i grew up in by a mid wife. LMFAO.

A healthy child and MOther does not guarantee YOUR or THEIR future or physical health. Please keep that in mind. I am living proof.

I have had 5 children without pain medication. Two were a set of twins (1 labor, 2 births – lol).

I would say that it depends on the BIRTH. My first was intense, but not hard – probably a 3 on the labor pain scale.

The second, a persistently posterior baby, probably a 7.. the most uncomfortable.

The twins, pitocin induced – consistently a 5 from the first contraction to the end.

My last, the longest, 21 hours, would be a 2. Not painful at all.

Truly, I would say the only ‘painful’ one was my second. Mostly, it was just uncomfortable. Labor is not inherently painful. I was able to relax enough that my contractions were not painful, merely uncomfortable for the most part.