Talk to me about pain-free/low pain births

[~No~Saint~]

I was directed to a site for unassisted birthing (not planning one BTW) by somebody else yesterday and I saw youtube video's of women giving birth with little discomfort to NO pain at all! Also, these women had extremely short labors, how do they do this?

I read the site and the no-fear connection to a more comfortable birth but even with my last baby, whom I didn't realize I was in REAL labor with until I had bloody show 1/2 way through and I wasn't scared, so how come I was in pain? I really am thinking I am just not one of the lucky ones who can not go into labor and have it as painfree as possible. I just really think it's just a part of labor/delivery. Am I all wrong?

[slgt]

I have experience of exactly one...I wouldn't say I had a pain-free birth, but I never experienced anything that made me want to scream. Only once during the 10 hours did I experience something that was like pain. The rest of the time, it was more of an experience of my body giving birth...certainly the sensations didn't feel great, nor were they comfortable, but I was focused on working with my body to birth a baby that I did not experience it as pain. Am I making any sense?

I did a lot of mental prep, spent a lot of time envisioning holding my baby, and I also read through Ina May Gaskin's books. Those helped me develop a mindset of birth as an amazing, interesting process. I was able to both experience the sensations, and also kind of watch myself experiencing them...

As a result, I was able to keep my focus on responding to positive sensations, rather than dwelling on the discomfort. The only time I experienced "pain" per se was when I really just sank into myself and lost focus. My DH told me to look up, to look out - and that made all the difference.

I dont' know if anyone/everyone can experience a "pain-free" birth, but I really think that your mindset and some level of meditative preparation can make a big difference. Knowing what the different sensations can mean, and knowing that you don't have to respond to them as pain but can respond to them as movement and work, I think can help a lot.

Like I said, the experience of one...I wish you luck in your adventure, mama!

[jtrt]

The labor and birth of our third baby was what I have described as "painless." As the PP stated, I did a lot of mental preparation and read the same books as PP mentioned. My dh and I chose to approach birth as a private, sexual experience and had a wonderful time together (though we didn't "do" anything sexy.) My mantra was "I choose a painless birth" and my 9lb 9oz baby was birthed without any pain at all. Labor was painless and hypnotic and he was actually birthed with some strong contractions but none I would call painful.

I am now a few weeks away from the birth of our new baby but I have no expectations for this labor. I wish I could get on the ball and prepare myself as I did before but find I am just not able. It will be very interesting to see what difference it makes this time.

Best wishes to you!

Amy

[~No~Saint~]

Keep the stories coming ladies, I need to get myself mentally prepared for the big day ahead! I've given birth 5 times before and all were excruciating and not enjoyable until my babies were placed on my chest.

My last baby was born at home and I am remembering transition and the last hour where I had a swollen lip where I just recall really dreading the next contraction and my heart sunk each time I felt one coming on. It was hellish to put it nicely. I am worried that with so many negative experiences that this one will end up the same way if I don't put those behind me and look forward to a more positive experience this way.

Please help me!

[MamaMonica]

Moved to Birth and Beyond.

[JamieCatheryn]

Originally Posted by ~No~Saint~

Keep the stories coming ladies, I need to get myself mentally prepared for the big day ahead! I've given birth 5 times before and all were excruciating and not enjoyable until my babies were placed on my chest.

My last baby was born at home and I am remembering transition and the last hour where I had a swollen lip where I just recall really dreading the next contraction and my heart sunk each time I felt one coming on. It was hellish to put it nicely. I am worried that with so many negative experiences that this one will end up the same way if I don't put those behind me and look forward to a more positive experience this way.

Please help me!

This is how I birthed both times, lip and urge to push swelling it each time. But my homebirth with DS2 was mostly pain free the way I looked at it. I focused on intensity alone, and held on and let loose, moaned my way through all the strong contractions. The only time I would call it pain was when the position I was in didn't work for me and really brought pain to the forefront. At the end when pushing started like a freight train and I had to hold back for swelling I did complain how unfair and intense and without any breaks it was. But the labor itself was quite manageable, even though it took 28 hours they were pleasant hours. One hour about 2/3 through it was getting a little too much for me intensity and frequency-wise, but later at the normal time for transition at the end of 1st stage I was totally fine, even chatting and laughing between contractions.

[Babydoll1285]

I agree that it's all mindset. We're programmed to think that labor and birth should be painful...but that's not true! I had a fast 99% pain-free hypnobabies birth with my dd last year. It was wonderful. We barely made it to the hospital in time! She was delivered 10 min after I walked into L&D and (calmly) said hey, I'm in labor.... The only 'pain' I experienced was when the l&d staff freaked when they realized I was about to have a baby in triage; I kind of lost my focus for a few minutes.

I've read many stories of other women who have used hypnobabies and had entirely painfree births! I highly recommend it! Good luck!

[Funny Face]

My labor with ds was pain free. It was insanely intense at times and I had trouble finding a place to direct that huge energy but I wouldn't say it was painful at all.

When my body started pushing though, that did hurt. But you're so close and so intent on what you are doing that it hardly matters at that point.

[Danielle13]

I had a fantastic birth!! I wouldn't call it "pain free" but I would also not say it was full of "pain". It was an interesting sensation. I did have what I would call excruciating pain for about 10 minutes where I screamed. Because of a cervical lip and swelling. After that I started panicing and lost my focus so my pushing was also a little more painful that I would have liked.

BUT I labored "painfree" for 15 hours. and only had "pain" for about an hour. then she was here. I'm anticipating a fantastic pain free birth this time

[tessie]

Mindset might help, (at least with coping with the pain) but it won't stop you having pain. Some women feel very little during labour, some find it unbearable, regardless of how much or how little preparation they do.

So, do the prep, the hypnobabies, the whatever, but if you end up with a painful labour you haven't failed, it's just the way your body works.

Hope it all goes well though.

[GoldmanBaby09]

My labor seemed pretty pain-free, for the most part. I agree with all the previous posters that it is all about mindset. Plus the squeeze of a contraction was unlike anything else I have experienced, but I wouldn't describe it as painful. Uncomfortable, maybe, but not painful. But you just have to let it go. I only focused on just the contraction in front of me, and my body gave me plenty of rest in between. Pushing was the only part where it hurt, but that didn't last long then my baby was there, 8 hours after I got up with the first real contractions.

[Veritaserum]

Hypno-anesthesia techniques (which release your body's powerful endorphins), affirmations, and fear clearing using Hypnobabies as well as birthing in a place that felt safe and supportive to me all helped me experience more comfortable an easier births. I have had painfree and mostly painless births, which I very much enjoyed.

[AlexisT]

Originally Posted by tessie

Mindset might help, (at least with coping with the pain) but it won't stop you having pain. Some women feel very little during labour, some find it unbearable, regardless of how much or how little preparation they do.

So, do the prep, the hypnobabies, the whatever, but if you end up with a painful labour you haven't failed, it's just the way your body works.

Not just your body, but that pregnancy/labor/baby. Get the right size baby (relative to your pelvis) lined up just right, and it will all go perfectly. Get a particularly big baby, or a malpositioned one, and labor may be longer and more painful. You could have a terrible first birth, and a great second one, just because the baby was in a better position.

If, say, you have a large baby, and it's posterior, your body isn't broken and you didn't do anything wrong. You just got unlucky this time.

[Litcrit]

Originally Posted by tessie

Mindset might help, (at least with coping with the pain) but it won't stop you having pain. Some women feel very little during labour, some find it unbearable, regardless of how much or how little preparation they do.

So, do the prep, the hypnobabies, the whatever, but if you end up with a painful labour you haven't failed, it's just the way your body works.

Hope it all goes well though.

Thank you!

I really dislike the idea that feeling pain in labor just means you're not prepared or relaxed or informed or a brainwashed Westerner who was erroneously taught that labor has to include pain. I think this idea is demeaning to women (pain is all in your pretty little heads - if you chill, it'll be gone).

I do agree that being relaxed and prepared helps.

I believe hypnotism should be able to greatly reduce or eliminate pain, but that does not imply childbirth is inherently painless and those who experience pain are brainwashed or scared or unprepared. Hypnotism had been successfully used in surgeries too, and no one would argue that being cut open is painless and any pain is just in your mind and the consequence of being brainwashed and unprepared.

My labor was manageable, and I was relaxed and just breathed through it all, but I wouldn't describe the sensations as anything but pain or I'd be lying. Before I realized I was in labor, I wondered what the recurring pain in my lower abdomen was all about. So you can't say I felt pain because I knew I was in labor and labor should be painful.

[xelakann]

I did hypnobabies in October and had a painless childbirth. Short labor (3 hours)... it was wonderful. Oh and a 10 lb baby girl.

However it was a lot of mental work, like the others have said. And I worked hard during labor. I listened to the labor track from Hypnobabies over and over again and had to completely focus... I felt tightening and pressure (a lot of pressure in my back) not pain.

Here is a link to my birth story. http://westmama.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/beauty/

[callieollie]

My first labor was a horribly painful 28 hour long back labor, but my second was virtually painless, and only 3 1/2 hours long, so I've experienced both ends of the spectrum! My first baby was most likely posterior so that was why it was so uncomfortable. My second was positioned well and I did Hypnobabies so I think that was responsible for the pain-free aspect. So, expections and particularly hypnosis can definitely influence the pain. That said, I don't think my first would have been as painless as my second, even if I had learned hypnobabies for that one. It would have been much easier than it was because hypnobabies does address how to handle back labor and any pain in general but I think because there was something wrong, my body needed to feel the pain so I knew to try to change something. With my second, everyone was lined up personally so I was able to use the hypnobabies and not have any pain.

[Veritaserum]

Originally Posted by Litcrit

I believe hypnotism should be able to greatly reduce or eliminate pain, but that does not imply childbirth is inherently painless and those who experience pain are brainwashed or scared or unprepared. Hypnotism had been successfully used in surgeries too, and no one would argue that being cut open is painless and any pain is just in your mind and the consequence of being brainwashed and unprepared.

That's a valid point and it's one of the reasons why I like Hypnobabies over other hypnosis methods. Hypnobabies teaches hypno-anesthesia techniques (the same type of techniques learned for unmedicated surgery) rather than just relaxation and imagery.

[Shelsi]

I had a completely pain-free birth using hypnobabies as well. In fact it worked so well she came as a surprise unassisted birth.

Here's her birth story: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ghlight=alexia

[*MamaJen*]

Originally Posted by tessie

Mindset might help, (at least with coping with the pain) but it won't stop you having pain. Some women feel very little during labour, some find it unbearable, regardless of how much or how little preparation they do.

So, do the prep, the hypnobabies, the whatever, but if you end up with a painful labour you haven't failed, it's just the way your body works.

I think that's very true. Going into labor in a high stress or high fear environment will unquestionably make it more painful, but going into it calm and well prepared doesn't guarantee an easy labor -- it just makes it more likely. There are a lot of different factors that impact how much pain, if any, you'll experience during labor and mindset is just one of them.
That said, I did have a very easy homebirth. I didn't do hypnobabies or any courses like that, but my body just naturally pushed my into that hypnotic state. I was in the birth pool totally tranced out, even falling asleep, then someone would talk to me and snap me out of it and all of a sudden labor would hurt until I drifted back down into the hypnotic state. I think your body is designed for labor hypnosis -- it's just like the runner's high that marathoners describe.
My mom and my sister also had simple, easy labors, so I think a lot of my easy labor was just the luck of the genetic draw. A swollen cervical lip sucks big time no matter how much hypnobabies you do.
You do what you can to improve your odds of having an easy, natural birth, but there's no shame if it doesn't go as you ideally pictured or if you have to transfer to the hospital.

[cdlover]

i had an 8 hour labor with my first and it definately was painful for a few hours. that being said.....some coping methods work with some people...other methods work better with others. hypnobabies is not for me. i plain and simple recognize that. but neither did i dwell on the pain. it is what it is for me. it was much easier for me to just say...yeah...this hurts....but it means baby and i are working hard and there is an end in sight.

i do sometimes wonder what i would've done if i hadn't gotten to the hospital to discover i was 9 cm dilated and feeling pushy. but learning baby was almost here was the best relaxer of all. pushing was extremely intense (only 4 or so real pushes that i remember) and i don't remember any pain at that point...just intensity. and then the huge birth high afterwards.

i also wonder whether or not my labor would have been shorter if we had gotten to the hospital earlier as it really was a safe place for me....or that would baby have been born at home because dh and i expected it to be so much longer (and the only reason we went when we did was because my doula arrived and realized i was in transition.

this time around...as i prepare for another natural hospital birth (twins this time) i am hoping the confidence i feel that i have done it all before and i know the good and the bad will give me all the strength i need, even with the potential complications with a multiples birth.