Does your body feel like its trying to rip itself in half during labor?

[Satori]

I'm trying to understand what to expect at its worst and I had a horrific miscarriage last summer that resulted in a D&C at 16 weeks but before that I had to go though full blown labor a couple times while my body tried completing the m/c and I swear my body was literally trying to rip itself in half (had back labor from hell). The pain was unimaginable, is labor that bad or should I just assume it was a result of complications while my body tried to empty my uterus?

[boongirl]

I had an induction with pitocin (medically necessary) and back labor to the point that my tailbone broke and I was in excrutiating pain due to the pitocin-induced contractions from hell and the epidural that only worked on my left side. My dh says I yelled things that he has never heard from me, both coarse language and gutteral sounds. I begged the doc to suction her out but she kept saying I could do it. And, I did do it. And, I survived. And I have absolutely no memories of what the pain felt like anymore.

In other words, yes it can be very painful but you will be able to stand it and have a baby and you will forget the pain except in the abstract. :

[USAmma]

It's different for everyone, ,but it can be painful. Fear increases your experience of pain. I imagine that you were scared and hurting emotionally and that made your experience much worse. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Your upcoming birth will be a joyful experience and the labor will be for a happy end result. You will probably have more support so it will be tolerable.

[Snowdrift]

I only had a ripping sensation during the actual birth--not the "ring of fire" but more a feeling of my butt ripping open. It wasn't--two skid marks the more serious one was anterior.

To me labor was more like waves...hard to describe because the rythm was so calming and peaceful even, but the pain was so all-overy and intense. I had back labor too, but tons of massage/counterpressure that helped move the pain around and make it so much more bearable.

I don't rememeber thinking the pain was unbearable; I do remember thinking I couldn't handle the next one though. I needed *a lot* of reminding to stay in the moment and not worry about the next one.

I think a m/c, especially of a wanted pg is much more painful than a live birth. I developed a bit of PTSD after mine, even though it was a very simple, nearly painless complete m/c.

Some of the best techniques for coping in labor too seem to be focusing on opening up, on letting the baby out. During my M/C I didn't want to let the baby out, I didn't want to open up. I wanted her to stay where she was and grow and be healthy. It wasn't going to happne, but that is all that I wanted. Emotionally I was not ready to let my body do what it needed and I think that that can make a M/C much harder/more painful than a birth.

[clavicula]

, mama, i am sure labor will be so much bearable for you! i remember i was in pain but i wanted to see my dd so much, and i was so thrilled i said to dh between ctx : i am giving birth, yay! it is so overhelming!

[DreamsInDigital]

It was definitely nothing that painful, and emotionally I was so excited to be having my baby that I welcomed the contractions, knowing each one opened my body a little more to allow my baby safe passage.

[provocativa]

my first was definitely that painful, there was an outcropping in my pelvic bone, stress fracture, yada yada. Gave birth last week, and it was much much better. I felt the extra relaxin all this pg, though, and was grateful for it during labor.

[savithny]

Nothing like that either time...

Both times, I had nothing but waves of stabby mentstrual-style cramps, mostly in my back. The first time, I then had these wild waves of urges to bear down - it was amazing, and pushing cx were not painful at *all* to me. I didn't even feel much pressure or the "ring of fire" with #1 -- just a non-unpleasant thrumming feeling throughout my perinium, and the final delivery was an intensely satisfying feeling.

The 2nd time, I did feel the ring of fire - but I also had a real fetal ejection reflex and delivery was very quick with no pushing. Wish I'd read about that beforehand because it was a surprise to me - wow!

My cramps for a miscarriage of a 6-week pregnancy were worse than the contractions for baby #2. I think that tiedied's comment about a miscarriage being something you're trying to resist is a good one - I didn't want to try my coping mechanisms with my miscarriage because I was still hoping it was only a bit of bleeding.

Labor hurts - but there's a baby at the end of it, and hormones to help you get through it. You can do it

[Doodlebugsmom]

Honestly, my labors were both relatively painless. I know I'm an anomoly though.
With dd, I had a 15 minute transition that was not really painful, just intense. With ds my contractions never got painful. I thought my mw would send me home from the center, but I was 7cm when I got there. With dd, I had a slight ring of fire as she crowned, but dh swears to this day that I birthed her without making a sound. Ds was 2lbs bigger and a little tougher getting out, but really neither one was that painful.

[grace's voice]

I've hear women talk about the feeling of "ripping in half"... I never felt like that, though I had a very fast, intense labor. What I felt were waves that came up from somewhere below my body, flowing upward out over my head, and then they would crash down across the top of my uterus with incredible force that made me feel like I was being ground into the floor. I felt a horrific ring of fire, and I did have a little tear, but never even thought to feel like my body was ripping in half.

[faeriewisp]

I did not feel like my body was ripping in half. But I definitely felt this uncomfortable lumpy huge thing descending down my vagina. Pushing was very uncomfortable for me -- not the contraction part of it, but the baby hurt me!

[Persephone]

I never felt like I was going to split in half. I felt intense back pain, nothing in my actual uterus area, and nothing but the ring of fire during pushing. I didn't feel the baby move down like people describe. I'm kinda disappointed. I heard it can feel good.

[cfiddlinmama]

My SIL's second pregnancy was a m/c @ 18 wks. She said that it was so much worse than her previous delivery which was really hard. She was angry with her body for how it treated her - the labor was SO painful & horrible. I'm sure what pps have said regarding not wanting the pregnancy to end had a lot to do with it.

My four deliveries - though they pushed me to my limit couldn't even be described as painful - more, overwhelmingly intense and requiring all my attention. The part that *hurt* for me was the actual birth.

[pookel]

*raises hand*

I had back labor. I felt like I was being sawed in half through my spine. I wanted to shoot myself in the head. I hit the point of saying "I can't do this anymore" when I was dilated to 0. I resented all those natural birthing books I read that told me "it's just fear, not pain" or "when you think you can't do it, you're in transition already!" That was not the case for me. I had read all those books and I was unafraid - until the pain came. It was like nothing I had experienced before or since. It was beyond unbearable. The hot tub helped for an hour and then stopped helping. Having my husband lean on my lower back helped for a while, then stopped helping. Walking didn't help, but I did it anyway.

I ended up with an epidural (heaven!!!), then that $^#^#% of an anesthesiologist turned it down to half strength "so I could feel to push." Never mind that I could feel just fine with the epidural on (they said "can you feel anything?" and I said "I'm wiggling my toes and doing kegels"). That was the way he did things. So then (after 20 hours of labor) I spent three hours pushing, puking, and screaming my lungs out. They could see the top of his head for the last hour, but it never came out any farther and I was at the end of my rope, I could not push anymore. They asked me to consent to a C-section and I said oh God, please, anything to make the pain stop. After that they gave me a full anesthetic through the epidural and I went numb from the waist down. I spent the next hour smiling through the surgery, not even caring about the baby, just happy that the pain was gone. Turns out he was posterior and stuck ... they had to use a vacuum extractor to pull him back out of the birth canal for the C-section.

I am sorry that this is not a very inspirational story to tell on MDC, but this is how it happened to me. Typing it all out here has brought back some very traumatic memories. Honestly, though, even though I chose a medicated birth, I think most of my problems are the same problems that other women here warn about: doctors who wouldn't listen to me or respect my decisions. I still believe firmly that I could have kept pushing much longer if the epidural had been kept at full strength. What would it have cost them - a few more hours of waiting?

On the other hand, I don't know anyone else IRL whose birth was as bad as mine, so your odds of a better experience are pretty high - and even I made it through mine with a wonderful, healthy baby!

[grace's voice]

Pookel:

How horrible, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't even imagine. I'm sure I would have done the same thing in the same situation.

[pookel]

Originally Posted by grace's voice

Pookel:

How horrible, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't even imagine. I'm sure I would have done the same thing in the same situation.

Thanks for the support, it means a lot. I feel kind of bad for hijacking this thread now, actually. She asked a simple question and got my whole birth story! I think I will go post a separate thread about my issues now and not hog space in other people's threads.