What position caused pain like this & what can I do to prevent it from happening again?

[~Amy~]

When I was in labour with my son, almost all my pain was in my thighs.  No back labour, very little belly pain.  Just my thighs and it was constant.  It never let up in between contractions.  He was not positioned well (never descended, ended up he was transverse & I had a c-section).  Was his poor positioning the cause of the terrible pain in my thighs?  Any guesses about what position he may have been in?  What can I do to help prevent this from happening again?  

[macandcheese]

I'll be interested to hear what more experienced mamas have to say about this. I experienced the same thing even though my son was positioned perfectly and I made sure to move around a lot, etc. during labor. ALL my pain was from my pubic bone down to my knees ... I couldn't even squat well on my own, so I labored while hanging off my DH in various positions. Thankfully my labor was pretty short (4 hours), because my thighs were starting to completely cramp up by the end. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had to go on for much longer like that. 

I've read about this happening to other women, so I think it's just how some of us experience contractions ... not sure if it has a real "cause," kwim?

[zuzunel09]

Most of my pain was in my abdomen and thighs.  The pain in my thighs felt like referred pain, as opposed to the pain of the uterus contracting.  I feel like maybe the referred pain was the pain of very fast dilation and effacement (3 to 8 in 1.5-2 hrs.)  It was much worse during the car ride, but only slightly better when lying down.

[goldingoddess]

Me too.  The pain in my thighs was so intense that standing up was not an option.  I labored the entire time sitting in my tub, and when I had to stand to wake up my husband to call the midwife (I was in transition at that point) it was so unbearable I thought to myself that I need to go to the hospital and have a c-section.  

My baby was perfectly positioned from what I know, and I had a very short labor, 2 hours active, 30 minutes pushing (well actually trying not to push as the midwife was not there yet.)