How did you expirience giving birth?

well i gave birth to a gorgous little boy 13mths ago & yes i did scream. My fiance who was there for the birth, said he could never ever go through it & he doesn't think im a woos now! I was in labour for 12 hrs.Yes a woman just deals with tha pain-its not like we can say "okay thats enough, lets stop the labour now!!!" For me the labour was progressing slowly, i was in labour for about 18hrs & i was only 3cm's dilated & the contractions were coming hard & fast, so i got an epidural & that only half worked. I read somewhere that giving birth is harder work than being in a boxing ring. I think however a woman deals with the pain & the birth is the right way because each & every woman is difefrent & the birthing experience is different.

Ok, first off I'd like to say that it all depends on your personal pain tolerance. For me it was great..I actually preferred feeling everything to being totally numb. (I had the epidural for my first and nothing for my second). I see people screaming their lungs out on A Baby Story etc and want to smack them and tell them not to be such a wimp! For me it's painful, but not in such a way that you can't take it..we are made to give birth! It's a pain that you know will end, and you know when it will end...as soon as the baby is born. There is no way to explain the pain in words, it's just a thing that you have to experience, but I can say that breathing didn't help for me...I closed my eyes and just breathed at my normal rate. I was 21 years old for my second and weighed only 126 at full term (I normally weigh about 100 lbs.) If you listen to horror stories about how excruciating it is, you will bring up your fear level and freak out. Just think, there was a time that women had no choice but to endure the pain for however many hours it took, but they did it. It's a fabulous experience, and with your adrenaline pumping that hard, it's not bad at all:)

when a woman screams in labour it actually helps release a natural pain killer i was very calm in both my labours and found them to be very enjoyable and i will always treasure those moments but i did have a few moments of complete despair when i was in labour and i did let out small screams but this helped with my pain and my midwife even told me to make noises as it helps to remove yourself from the pain and gives you something else to focus on. i have seen some girls on tv making a bit more fuss than i did but then we are all diffrent so i dont really hold it against them.

I think women just do that to feel important. Anyway, I always had my kids cesarean but I did go on labor on my first one and it was so painful I didn't want to see anyone. All my cesarean births though I didn't have a man with me who cared so it was sad... women really need a man on their side at times like this.

I personally feel that preparation is a big part of having a painfree birth. I truely enjoyed my unassisted deliveries, no stress, no pressure, no time lines, no monitors. just me and my partner, willing to accept consequences of whatever happened. and no, its no dangereous, its less risky than a hospital or midwife birth

My birthing experience went pretty well. I got to the hospital about 12:30 am, and was 4 cm dilated, aksed for some nubane, a little later asked for an epidural (by the time I got it I was already dilated to like 8, but I was only like 5-6 when I ordered it, I just progressed very quickly) anyhow, I delivered my son at 3:33am, so like 3 hours after I got to the hospital. I didn't scream or holler or cuss, just did some deep breathing, however, if I would have had a long labor I don't know if I would be able to say the same, I got blessed. I had to have an episiotomy, so that sucked because it was really sore afterwards, but it was a wonderful experience all together.

Firstly, I would just like to point out that everyone deals with pain in different ways - for some women, screaming and shouting IS nessecary, as this is the way in which they cope. Although when I delivered my baby I ended up having an emergency c-section, I did endure 40 hours of contractions, and personally, I just closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing through them. However, I would certainly think no less of someone for being vocal throughout their labour. To some extent, it is a case of mind over matter, and being realxed and prepared for the worst, but not everyone is able to take this approach. I say that is the best way for you to cope is to scream bloody murder, GO FOR IT!!!!!

Would you scream if you hit your finger with a hammer? Of course! I was stunned that the nurses in the hospital tsk tsked my hollering and, yes, cursing. I was in labour for more than 36 freakin' hours, had my water broken at 5am and didn't deliver until 2 in the afternoon. Ever heard the term "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to"? If I want to scream I'll scream. On the other side of the coin, women have been giving birth for, like, ever. And they keep going back and having more so it can't be such a bad thing, can it? The strong and the weak. I don't think being strong has anything to do with suffering or not suffering during childbirth. Some people may have higher pain thresholds, or have a way of zoning out, others don't. When people are telling their stories of childbirth (whether they be good or bad) they are still bragging. They are proud. We all act like we are the only one who has ever had a child - case in point, Kathie Lee Gifford. LOL! Telling someone that labour doesn't hurt is not being honest or realistic.

I found that Lamaze classes really helped me. The breathing and relaxation techniques worked very well. I highly recommend them to anyone that asks.

hey thanx...i am 4 months pregnant and am equally scared bout labour since its my first child but reading your piece really made me feel positive about the whole thing...may be i will have a more positive approach now...

I can't say much cause I have not given birth, but i am a few months pregnant and have asked questions of those around me. one fellow i work with took some nursing classes and told me that when in the right position to give birth, the baby should be hitting the female "g-spot" almost constantly, giving the woman a natural pain reliever. but everyone is different, so who knows how many women actually get to achieve this natural wonder.

people react to pain in different ways, i guess even the most composed, demure woman can react differently when she's in pain and in labor. Maybe it also has something to do with the different pain thresholds that people have. :-)