Natural Birth Mamas: How Bad Was The Burn?

[grace's voice]

Just curious. With dd it felt like someone had poured gas on my crotch and lit it on fire! Now, I'm not complaining, it only felt like that at the peak of the last 2 pushes. I'm just wondering if it feels different for all of us, like in some vidoes of birth the mamas look like they don't feel a thing, while others are saying "It burns! It burns!" I'm also curious to see if it can be more or less intense with subsequent babies.
Thanks all, please add comments!

[mamanurse]

At what felt like the most intense moment of my life, I was thankful for experiencing the ring of fire. When two more pushes there was a squirming babe in my arms, the pain was quickly forgotten.

[UmmBnB]

With ds I had a longish pushing stage and he very gradually slid out but there was absolutely no burning. Dd literally fell out and well, there of course wasn't any burn with that either, just a head in my hands at a totally unexpected moment

[Girl Named Sandoz]

I had a very intense labour (prostaglandin-induced but no pain meds) and the burning sensation was the least painful experience. I did feel it, and I can understand the expression "ring of fire" but everything up to transition was much worse.

I pushed him out in 3 pushes - with the final one he practically shot out, and the midwife could hardly catch him.

[thismama]

I was really freaked out about the "ring of fire," but when she was born, I felt pressure and numbness, not burning. Crowning didn't really hurt for me.

[broodymama]

I don't remember any burning with DS.

[NaomiLorelie]

I know that it definately hurt but was tolerable, but in my labor induced state I don't have a real memory of the actual sensations. Does that make sense? I guess I rememeber thinking that it hurt at the time but I don't actually remember feeling the hurt. OTOH, in my second labor I only pushed 3 times, and DD descended completely into the birth canal on the first push. That was one of the most intense sensations I've ever felt. It hurt very much, but it was worth it because I pushed less than ten minutes.

[Village Mama]

It wasn't too bad!!! And both of my boys had really large heads. I admit that it did burn quite a bit... but gasoline poured on and lit on fire?!!!! Poor mama!

[Emilie]

It was no where near as bad as I had thought it would be!
YEAH!
And my mw gets the baby out without tearing or episiotomy- so it is not easy- it takes a bit longer at that point- but it is so much quicker healing and feeling better down there!
I could feel it- and it did not feel good- but not the worst thing in the world.
that would not be a reason to not birth naturally.

[grace's voice]

hmm...
so I'm wondering now if maybe for me it burned so badly because her arm was born first. So, I had the circumference of her head plus a very chubby little arm (she was completely filled out at birth), and then I wasn't just stretched around her neck but rather since her head and arm were out I was more diagnal around her chest... does that make sense? The shoulders, or one shoulder half chest did hurt less than her head. I asked the mw if it was so painful because there was a head and an arm and she said it would have felt the same either way. I did have a little tear that took 2 stitches.

Maybe some of the addedd pain was caused by my fear of pushing? I pushed for an hour, but could have done it much faster if I weren't purpously trying not to push because I was so afraid of that moment of emergence. I still wouldn't do it any other way and am planning a home water birth, just like we had last time. And, of course, it was well worth it. Just interesting to see how different it is for other mamas!

[LoveChild421]

I voted "other"- I never really felt the "ring of fire" sensation everyone talks about. I didn't really feel any pain other than the INTENSE rectal pressure. sorry if TMI.

[Eman'smom]

With ds #1 I didn't feel it, but I was so completely overwhelmed with pain I couldn't tell one pain from another

Dd #2 I definately felt the burn, it hurt, but I actually thought it was kind of cool, given that I hadn't felt it with number 1.

[Emilie]

I actually liked being able to feel what was going on- rather than have the epi like with ds.
BTW. I felt amazing.

[lovebug]

:

[SABE]

I only remember feeling the burn with my second child. With my other two, all I remember is the intense pressure.

[nikisager]

Other than my first son, who had shoulder stuckness( sorry, do not know how to spell the right term) my last 4 I pushed out to fast to notice anything other than pushing.

[veganf]

The first one was a terrible burning sensation, and I was afraid of having to push even more and have the burning get worse, but I knew that was the only way to do it!
Second one I didn't hesitate to push through that pain, and it didn't hurt nearly as much that time either (though the contractions were far more painful the second time because there was never a break in between them).

- Krista

[nonnymoose]

I never felt a "ring," but I do remember feeling it getting tight at the front, and telling the OB (not mine, and he was a jerk) that it was bugging me. He put his hands up against me and told me to push through it. I did, and of course I tore right where it was tight.
My current OB seems to understand that letting the baby sit where it is for a bit will allow the tissues to stretch rather than tear. I don't think I would have had a problem letting the head stay put for as long as I needed to, if I'd known better.

[philomom]

I got the burning sensation with dd's head. Two years later with ds's shoulders. It is an intense sensation, I did gasp, but I remember thinking, "this means I'm almost done".

[nichole]

for me it was somewhere between "the most intense pain" and "tolerable." wasn't sure what to vote for but this is the one thing i am not looking forward to at birth. luckily pushing phase was short for me. pushing hurt less than the contractions i was having toward the end so that was great motivation to just do it.