I just watched a birth video and the girl was screaming – I mean screaming – at the top of her lungs throughout the entire thing. Is this what it will be like if I don’t choose drugs? I don’t want to do the medicated route if I can help it but after watching that… I know it will hurt but I can’t imagine anything making me shriek nonstop like a teakettle whistle for 25 minutes straight. I am starting to rethink this.
I delivered naturally no drugs no epidural and I did not scream once I may have moaned a lil here and there but it was no where near as bad as i thought it would be!! Your body is made to do this kinda stuff so you manage the pain.The best advice is do your breathing techniques they teach you in lamaze it so saved me from screaming at the top of my lungs
May 31st, 2010 at 8:53 am
Not at all!
I had an epidural but believe me, you can still feel it all while you’re pushing!
I didn’t scream. I might have grunted a little but I was trying to push hard and when you’re pushing hard it just makes it harder when you scream, make sense?
EDIT-I was fine naturally until the midwife ordered pitocin for me. Pitocin hurts so bad. I was laying in bed just groaning because it was crippling to even get up and walk.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 9:26 am
If I would not got the drugs then I would have been screaming at the top of my lungs too, I don’t want to feel my flesh being torn open, no thanks. I took the med’s and im glad I did!
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 10:01 am
I didn’t have any drugs with the 2nd child, and I will admit that I let out a few yelps and 1 yell, just a quick one, as the head came out. Screaming for that long is ridiculous. You need to put your energy into pushing. It does hurt that bad though, but if you really want no drugs you really need to look into a class that teaches about how to have a natural delivery, because most who say they want no drugs, end up asking for them when they feel the pain if they arent prepared.
References :
Mommy to a 3 1/2 year old and 13 month old
May 31st, 2010 at 10:47 am
Don’t worry. Its not as bad as video’s and people make it out to be! I gave birth completely natural, no drugs at all. I let out one scream, and it wasn’t even like one of those horror movie screams either lol I suggest doing it natural
You’ll be happy if you do, its not that bad at all ! Unless you have one of those none stop labours that goes on for like 20 + hours then I’d get the epidural! lol
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 10:52 am
Nope, didn’t scream once with any of my kids. Mainly because of something my mum said when I was having my first-she said that screaming is wasting energy. Take the scream and "push it down" and you get to meet your baby sooner. I used gas and air which doesn’t take the pain away, just takes the edge off it (more makes you a bit floaty, but you still feel everything!).
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 11:35 am
I had no drugs with either of my kids and I did a lot of moaning through the contractions prior to pushing, but once the pushing started the nurse told me to keep my yells in and put that energy into the pushing. I didn’t scream at all.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 11:46 am
No.
I didnt push though, after 23 hours I had to have an emergency section. But loads of people told me contraction pain was the worst pain I would ever feel in my life.
It was – but it wasnt that much worse than bad PMT. I only had gas and air, and I found the pain bearable. I didnt scream. I wasnt into that whole holding hands and rubbing my back thing – I just wanted to sit on my own, and breathe through it quietly. No fuss.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 11:56 am
THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T WATCH THOSE!!
Babe, you can handel it, your a woman, your body is capable, i had drug free labour, breathing is the key aswell as not staying on the bed, do a pregnancy yoga class, this will help prepare you and cliché, but it’s all worth it!!
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 12:27 pm
that’s usually what happens when you deliver naturally! I had an epidural, and even so I could still feel lots of pressure and I probably nearly cut of the circulation of my husband’s hand from squeezing so hard but I wasn’t screaming.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 12:59 pm
No, no, and NO! That girl was screaming because she was afraid and trying to avoid going through the pain. She was tensed up and THAT makes things much, much worse!
I did it totally natural and so can you. The key is to focus on totally relaxing and letting your body do what it needs to do. Think of the pain as purposeful and getting things done. Imagine your cervix opening, you uterus contracting to push your baby out. Change positions. Listen to you body.
I don’t think I screamed at all during my 26-hour labor with my son, except for maybe a few tiny shrieks when I was pushing him out. And that was just from the intensity of it all- pushing felt so good compared to the contractions right before.
References :
Happily married, home birth mom of one.
May 31st, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Haha, no I didn’t scream at all. I think full-on screaming at the top of your lungs would just tire you out and make it harder to push "properly". I preferred to use all my energy on pushing!
I was induced, and had an epidural at around 8cm, but it didn’t work much. so I was still using entonox. But honestly, at no point, even before I had pain relief, did I want to scream.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Yes, I was screaming AND I had the epidural. The midwife said "okay, we need to calm down, this isn’t a soccer match in here". I wanted to punch her. Anyway, I had a really rough, long, 32 hours of labor my first time around. My second, I had an epidural again and no screaming was needed. . .much smoother:-)
You can always go in and try not being medicated and then just get the epidural if you need it (as long as it’s not too late). That’s what I did the first time around and what a lot of women do.
Good luck:-)
EDIT: Why thumbs down? She asked for our experiences and this was mine. Geesh!
References :
Mama of 2
May 31st, 2010 at 3:16 pm
I had an epidural, but the pain of the baby coming out is the same as if you didn’t have one…just the contractions aren’t as painful
and I thought I was screaming really loudly, but apparently I wasn’t!
I didn’t want an epidural either, but it was like heaven when I finally received mine. Don’t beat yourself up if you end up needing one.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 3:33 pm
no not at all, my labour was less than 4 hours and all at home and i found it bearable, got to hospital 10cm dilated at 6:30am and gave birth 40minutes later at 7:10am – it was painful when i was on my way to hospital and 10cm dilated (the last contractions) but i didnt scream at all i was silent trying to pass through them breathing.. when i gave birth i just concentrated on pushing and made pushing noises but wasnt screaming at all…the girl next door was though and my partner said hes glad i didnt scream like the girl in the next room did lol it went really well ..no pain meds, didnt have time! x
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 4:00 pm
I remember crying with every contraction. I didn’t scream not that I remember I might have gotten a little louder then normal. I got the epidural and got a few minutes rest before actual giving birth which I was in need of being I was admitted 2days before giving birth and I didn’t get much sleep at all. The epidural helped alot, but I still felt some of the contractions but it wasn’t nothing that I couldn’t handle. My fiance also says the epidural is a miracle because I stopped giving him hell. =P The actual pushing my daughter out was easy! She was out within 6-8pushes and I felt none of it. However I don’t want another child for a LONG time.
- je?e???ss?’s ???? *;
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 4:31 pm
i only screamed through the contractions and pushing, lol, ihad an epidural too….:0)
i finally told them ‘i quit’ that they were gonna have to get her out, but of course i had to keep going at that point, haha
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I did and my birth was all natural but it’s better that way. If you are medicated you don’t get the sensation to push you are told to push. You don’t know when it will be over soon you are told it will be over soon. I couldn’t go all natural with my first, I gave in and asked for an epidural at 44 hours…but I was only 18 then. When I had my second, it was 8 years later and I made it through the 6 hour birth without medication. It was 10,000 times better of an experience the second time around. Yes it hurts, but it hurts both ways and there is a certain pride of accomplishment knowing you let your baby come into the world the way he/she was meant to. I wish you luck and encourage breathing training and a MIDWIFE to increase your chances of not "giving in".
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 5:06 pm
With my first child no I didn’t everything was relaxed and calm and not as bad as I was expecting.
With my second my son was in an awkward position spine to spine it just seemed to make it worse.I frightened everyone in the labour ward.Yes I did scream at the top of my lungs and the midwifes kept telling me to stop but I just couldn’t.That was with gas and air.Every labour is diffferent and once your baby is in your arms all the pain fades away and turns in to happiness.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 5:37 pm
No, I had an epidural…then an emergency c-section. after 48 hrs. of slow labor. I got to the hospital at 4.5 cm, but it hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe through my contractions. Needless to say, I can’t imagine what 9 or 10 cm must feel like.
I might have a low pain tolerance, though. =P
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
I only screamed when I pushed. The contractions come and go. It aint that bad.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Nope I didn’t scream at all. I grunted though. I’ve given birth twice without drugs. My second daughter was born at home.
During my first birth I was grunting while pushing my daughter out. The doctor told me to stop it and that grunting while pushing was counter-productive. She was lying. It was way harder to push without grunting.
During my second birth I grunted all I wanted and nobody told me to shut up it was much easier.
Giving birth wasn’t that bad at all for me.
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 7:35 pm
No, god no.
Here’s a tip: loose mouth -loose vagina; tight mouth -tight vagina = pain!
If you watch most homebirths you will see an awful lot of smiling relaxed women even during pushing. And they aren’t playing it up for the camera. Unmedicated hospital births can be very different.
I’ll get my friend to tell me some, I don’t watch birth vids online *lol*
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 8:04 pm
yes i screamed very loudley when he was coming out because it was just so painfull but he was giving me a 3rd degree tear it felt like my whole downstairs was on fire! lol, also he was my first and i never went to any antenatel classes so didnt really know what to expect so it really scared me and i was panicking but after all that it cant be that bad because i got pregnant agin wen he was 8 months old and little mason is due in 9 weeks now lets just hope he doesnt tear me like his big brother did!
References :
wish me luck people soooooo scared to give birth again!
May 31st, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I didn’t scream at all, but I had an epidural (got it when I was dialated to one centimeter)…and I had to be cut to a 3rd degree and my daughter tore me to a 4th degree. When he cut me he gave me a lanocain shot "down there", so I didn’t feel a thing when I had my daughter.
The aftermath is what hurt…after the epi wore off and I ended up getting an infection in my stitches, now that HURT.
References :
mommy to a 9.5 month old little girl
May 31st, 2010 at 8:25 pm
If my midwife would have checked me before I got my epidural I wouldn’t have been able to have one. They waited so long that literally right after I got it my midwife checked me and I was 9cm so I did basically all but pushing without drugs and I can tell you I was too busy trying to breath through the contractions that I couldn’t scream but I bawled and did a lot of grunting while I was trying to get through it. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t feel the needle going in when I got my epidural.
When my sister and my sister-in-law had babies they were too late for drugs and they actually did scream throughout the whole thing, LOL.
References :
3 month old baby girl
May 31st, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I delivered naturally no drugs no epidural and I did not scream once I may have moaned a lil here and there but it was no where near as bad as i thought it would be!! Your body is made to do this kinda stuff so you manage the pain.The best advice is do your breathing techniques they teach you in lamaze it so saved me from screaming at the top of my lungs
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Not throughout. I did scream a lot both times, and I couldn’t stop it on my own. But yeah, I did the teakettle thing (and that really is what it sounds like, even if you’ve never made that sound for any reason in your life). I think it must happen for a reason, not that I know what that is. It does hurt, but the screaming isn’t exactly a measure of how much it hurts. I am guessing-GUESSING- that it happens so that you keep breathing instead of holding your breath and passing out.
I desperately wanted to have the epidural with my second baby so that we could avoid that level of mental intensity, but the timing was bad, so there I was screaming again. Once they got me medicated I was able to talk and think normally.
You don’t have to rethink the whole thing. If it gets to be too much you can ask for the medication. Make up a code of one-syllable words for your coach or the nurses so that you can tell them what you want. If you get to that screaming level, you will have a hard time with words like ‘anesthesiologist’ and ‘epidural’. At that point, it’s easiest to say ‘drugs’, which will likely result in them giving you narcotics.
Even if you scream, it will work out. I don’t think those videos are the best preparation for moms.They are more from the perspective of the Dad/coach. I hope my answer didn’t add to your worries. Good luck and congratulations on your new one!
References :
Mom of 2
May 31st, 2010 at 9:48 pm
NO i did not and the only person is know who did was my sister with her first. her daughter was stuck and my sister was pushing for 2 1/2-3 hours and they had to cut her and use vacuum and foreceps. she delivered in the OR- she screamed, You’re Killin Me! a million times. her second was a breeze though
References :
May 31st, 2010 at 10:27 pm
I had one drug-free birth… sort of… No pain meds, but they gave me Pitocin, and I still didn’t scream, even once. Yes, it hurt like a son of a *beep*, but I didn’t scream!
References :
Married, with 4 kids.
May 31st, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Oh heck no! I even was induced (arom and pitocin… with back labor!!) and I moaned, but the only time I yelled was when the OB tried to rotate dd so she would come out easier. That hurt like a mf’er. Anyways- no pain meds. If you have great support (I had my hubby, mom and my nurse to help), and most importantly- stay out of bed!! you can do it med free. Have you taken a birthing class yet? They can help with all the various ways to manage your pain. There is positioning, movement, breathing (that lamaze crap just made me dizzy – hyperventialating- so the nurse taught me to moan *vowels* sounds weird but it works!!), counterpressure if you have back labor… so many tools! And I told the nurses straight up- don’t offer or push meds; I will TELL YOU if I want them. DH helped me through the 10 minutes that I almost cave (during transition). He was like no, you’re ok, you can do this.. and two contractions later I totally forgot about it. Pushing actually felt really good- it sounds gross but it feels like you’re pushing out a poop, a giant one, lol. The pain after that came from dd crowning (ring of fire). My mom was telling me it’s ok honey.. I was like no it’s not! It freaking hurts! She laughed at me for that one. *snort*
Bottom line- it’s very possible to do. I’m not a big tough chick when it comes to pain (dh calls me a wimp usually) but by using all the tools available to me and really letting go and going with my body I managed it. I AM extremely stubborn, and I did NOT want to have complications from using interventions if I could help it.
Anyways, GL!!
References :