[jordyx2]

How hard is it to push a baby out? How do you know you will love your child and are ready for it to be born?

[J_9]

Having a baby is one of the most painful experiences I have ever had in my life. I have had 2 babies with an epidural (special pain medication) and 2 babies natural (NO pain meds).

I knew from the moment I felt the first movement that I would love my babies. Actually before that.

[Rockabilly1955mama]

Yes it hurts but you do have the chioce of getting epidural. [Epidural is often short for epidural anesthesia, a form of regional anesthesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space. The injection can cause both a loss of sensation and a loss of pain, by blocking the transmission of pain signals through nerves in or near the spinal cord.
The epidural space (sometimes called the extradural space or peridural space) is a part of the human spine inside the spinal canal separated from the spinal cord and its surrounding cerebrospinal fluid by the dura mater.]

Knowing if you will or will not love your child if a personal question that you have to ask yourself BEFORE getting pregnant. I hope you would love your child though.

You will know if it's ready to be born once your water breaks. With that, sometimes it's extremely obvious that you broke your water, because you experience a big gush of fluid that soaks through your clothes and simply can't be mistaken for anything else. At other times, however, it happens in a more subtle manner that understandably is mistaken for vaginal discharge or urine leakage--both common occurrences during pregnancy.

[Wondergirl]

Your muscles help push the baby out. The main job the mother has is to cooperate--relax during these muscle contractions and not fight them.

I had my first baby while I was all drugged up. It was an unpleasant experience. Four years later I had my second baby after taking Lamaze classes where I learned how to breathe with the contractions and how to relax the best way. I didn't have to have any drugs at all, and, once the baby was born, I was ready to go through it all again as soon as possible because it had been such a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, my husband didn't want any more kids, so that was that.

[melissa1]

Yes it hurts but I had no choice but to have an epidural as was in labour for nearly 4 days due to being started and was having the prostin pains as well as labour pains, was awful I knew from day 1 I would love my baby she was the best thing that ever happened to me. Am desperatley trying for another baby and this time with no pain relief I hope
Melissa
Its an amazing experience

[lillypopkins]

It hurts a little but isn't as bad as people say I had no epidural and found it fine and if I get pregnant again I would do it the same way as I was only 19 I was up and about the next day and the women in the room beside me that got epidural couldn't move after it so if I honestly told you the truth I would say having my tonsils out was much worse as for loving the baby as soon as you set eyes on your baby you will love it more than you could have evr imagined

[PixieMama]

I had one c section with my twins... then had 2 drug free NATURAL child births back to back (lietrally one year apart from each other - Oct 2005 & Oct 2006). You know what? Labor is a piece of cake. I get so annoyed when I hear women talk about how painful the contractions were that they NEEDED the drugs when they were only 4cm dilated. Are you kidding? Labor doesn't really get painful until about 7-10cm and the only time it hurt bad enough where I thought I couldn't do it without drugs was right when the baby was coming down through the vagina. But think about - an entire person trying to make it's way through a tiny passage like that? Yeah, it's going to hurt. BUT NOT FOR VERY LONG. Pushing is the easy part. It feels like taking a poop from the vagina. And as soon as that babies head is out - pain stops, like someone flipped a switch.

Of course, there's the option of pain drugs but don't be fooled. They don't always work, sometimes they settle in other areas so you still feel everything you didn't want to feel and go numb elsewhere, the drugs also can put the baby in distress, cause you to become 100% paralized, cause you to suffer migrains & back problems for the rest of your life, but more often then not they cause labor to be prolonged and sometimes it even stops labor all together causing you to end up with an emergency c section.

Laboring in water, having someone massage your lower back, rocking back and forth are all great ways of naturally dulling the pain. Giving birth is an INCREDIBLE experience. If it weren't for the fact that I just hate being pregnant I would become a surroget mother just so I can experience birth again, then give the baby to someone else to raise, I've got plenty.

Love for your child? That comes naturally. If you don't feel it during pregnancy, you will as soon as you set eyes on your child!

[nauticalstar420]

I had drugs with my last labor and they didn't work. I pretty much had drug free childbirth. I was able to breathe and keep myself calm and keep the pain down. The more you freak out, the more it hurts. My son came out facing up, rather than down like he was supposed to be. It was harder for me to push him out this way, but I did it. Right as he was coming out when the back of his head was on my lower back, that's really the only part that hurt too much :)

[stonewilder]

I was in labor from a Sunday till Thursday when they finally decided to give me a C-section. Up until Thursday I had no drugs and yes it did hurt like heck. My labor was all in my back and it felt like someone was trying to bend me over backwards. I'm not sure at what point it was but maybe late Tuesday or Wednesday I stopped feeling any thing except the doctor sticking his hand up me. Yes it hurts but once you see that little miracle you know it was all worth it.

[danielnoahsmommy]

For me the epi did not work and I was in a lot of pain.. My pain was from having an 8+ pound baby on a very small frame and having him cought up in the placenta. Unfortunately there are some people who do not believe you can be in "that much pain" and are not as considerate as they can be. After being 10 days late and stuck at a very painfull 6 cm I was given an emergency c-section.

[NowWhat]

Does it hurt? For me YES! It is painful. But, with anything in life, it is what you make it. If you freak out under pressure - then it could be 10x's worse. If you can keep yourself calm - then you may be able to control some of your pain. The more relaxed you are (most of the time) the faster you can dilate and the faster your labor can go.

But, for me, like I said, it hurt. It ended in a C-section.

How do you know you will love you child? I loved my child from the time the second line came up on the pregnancy test. I had waited, what seemed like forever, for her.

How do you know you are ready? You don't. I HOPED I would be a good mom. I prayed I could be. But, until she was placed in my arms - I had no idea. And, for a while after she came home - I wondered if doing this or that was the right thing to do. Believe it or not - your instinct DOES kick in. You will know what your child needs. It is the most basic and natural thing.

[bushg]

For me the smaller the baby the worse the pain. 1 was 4lbs. 1 was 6lbs. The 3rd one was 7 lbs. But well worth all the pain :)

[candy girl]

how hard is it to push a baby out? how do you know you will love your child and are ready for it to be born?

I have had 3 babies, all natural childbirth. 1st 32 hours 6 of which pain, 2nd baby 6 hours 2 hours of pain, and my 3rd 25 minutes of which it was intense pain. What I try to say is childbirth is individual pain is individual, there are many options for pain relief, and much support,whatever you plan you may be lucky for that to happen. I plan a water birth for 3rd the midwife said she had no time to run a sink never mind a pool, so keep open minded and go with the flow good luck .

[bigdreamer85]

I didn't feel anything when I delivered mostly because the epidural and I had a c-section.. but my sister had natural birth and said it hurt... but she said she couldn't remember how bad it hurt because it didn't matter because she loved him so much she'd do it again and again just to hold him in her arms..

You just had a miracle happen when you've given birth, think about it, you just made a person inside your body.. who cares about the pain and as far as love.. I personally don't know how you couldn't love a baby especially your baby, but some of women suffer from postpartum depression and your doctor can tell you more about that. And I think when women give children up for adoption have more love then the rest of us to love them so much and know that they need something better than what they can give. I hope this helps you...

[pompano]

Don't let someone tell you a c-section is easy because it's the most pain a person can handle before going into shock.I was fine till the morphine pack was taken away,then I felt like my guts were hanging out.The worst part was being told to get out of bed,with stomach cut from hip to hip,and pull yourself out of a bed.:eek: My baby weighed 10.1 lbs.and was 22 inches long.The pain pills didn't scrape the surface of the throbbing pain.

[kat17268]

Having a baby is a super pain experince but after its all done and you hold your baby in your arms, you forget all about the pain and you fall in love with you child. =]

[peanut6966]

Heck you it hurts (lol) I had 2 kids with and epi (which my 1st epi caused perm. Nerve damage in my back) and my other baby was natural and hopefully if I can get to the hospital in time with this baby I will have another epi (lol)
You kind of forget about the pain when your baby is born and you see the baby it is an undescribable experience. If women all vividly remebered the pain we would all have only 1 baby (lol) :)

[dna]

Yes giving birth does hurt but as already mentioned once that baby is in your arms you forget albout the pain and are too busy admiring the gorgeous being/s you have just brought into this world. I have had 2 natural labours, 1st had oxygen and was so shaky afterwards I couldn't hold my little girl for 3 hours. 2nd were twins and I had 2.5 hrs of pain and no drugs and then 2 gorgeous babies to hold. All worth it in the end.:D

[Bluerose]

I had two boys and then a girl. I went into shock after my daughter was born because I hardly felt anything. I brased myself for it to be like it was when I had the boys - quite painful but the feeling of euphoria afterwards washed all the pain away. But she was born so quick that I didn't believe them when they said she was here.

It's different for everyone. It's even different with the birth of each child. None of mine were the same. Relaxation exercises are important. And the feeling afterwards is so amazing you'll want more babies - maybe not right away but you will want them.

Don't be afraid, take whatever drugs you want for the pain and enjoy the experience.