Im interested in the different ways mothers express their pain. So, this is the place to share what sounds you made when giving birth! :p
Thanks!

When in labor, during delivery, you DON'T scream. While some women do, it actually makes the delivery harder. Best thing is to hold your chin to your chest, hold your breath and push. When you scream it actually sucks the baby back up by centimeters and can make delivery much harder and longer.

When women are allowed to give birth without direction, many will initially hold their breath, bare down, and grunt or moan baby out... very similar to having a difficult bowel movement. Holding the breath too long, known as valsalva pushing, can put some mothers and babies at risk due to decreased oxygen... we tell fathers and partners to watch for purple pushing (where mothers exert so much energy in their faces from straining they will turn color) because this type of pushing does not provide oxygen well to mother, baby, and uterus... and many women find they actually break little blood vessels in their eyes and face.
During labor as well, many women will moan or groan during a contraction. It is very individual... some turn inward and are quite quiet, others find making noise to be helpful. Trusting in the body to do what it was designed to do, moving into a more instinctual process and less thinking mode, most women will innately give birth in a way that works best for them.

I didn't scream the nurse screamed (and screamed and screamed and screamed) at me
When my ex got there an hour later she was still screaming at me and he yelled at her for screaming at me then the dr came in and screamed at him for screaming at her. Then found out they were husband and wife.

Why was she screaming at me?
Because I was saying eowoh and off a breath instead of the proper breathing technique

Just my personal experience and sure it is totally not common experience of any body else

>>>>>Why was she screaming at me?
>>>>>Because I was saying eowoh and off a breath instead of the proper breathing technique


Sorry to hear you were screamed at in labor... very sad indeed. I once was at a birth were a doctor actually told the mother to "shut up" because she thought the mother was making too much noise!
There is a difference between helpful noise and out of control noise. I can remember when nurses would get after mothers if they made noise because they said they were letting go of all of their breath and wouldn't be able to sustain a push that way. For some women, making noise is actually very beneficial. Hold back in one area, you often are holding back throughout your body. Not what you want in birth.

Very sad indeed. Yet, we have women, like I had today, that scream and scream, loud enough for the entire floor to hear when we do a SVE (Sterile Vaginal Exam) to find out how far they have dilated. Then the clamp their legs together, bite us (yes, I have bite marks on my left forearm), and refuse to listen to the nurses and the doctors who are only trying to help.

I had a section today because the woman refused to breathe properly, she was retaining CO2 and the baby's heart rate decel'd, and Mom refused pain meds.

Making noise, a certain amount, can be beneficial, but it is only for the experienced birth mother as the noise process can actually "suck" the baby back up in the vaginal canal if not controlled properly.

I know when female doctors would check to see how much I had dilated that hurt like they were trying to hurt to take something out on you. I dreaded when a female nurse came near me when I knew that was next on the agenda.

I always thought labor and deliver would be like what is on TV and boy was I wrong. To me TV made it out to be worse then it really is, but I did have an easy delivery. When I had contractions I got really quiet and concentrated on my breathing, no yelling, no screaming. To me the screaming would only make it worse. Once the epidural came I was in heaven... nothing after that hurt at all. I love epidurals!

I think I screamed loud enough for the whole floor to hear me. My husband said I wasn't that bad. My memory, for whatever reason, is skewed. I remember lots of nurses coming in and I got freaked out because I thought something was wrong. My husband says that there was never more than three people in the room. So who knows!

My daughter got stuck in the birth canal and we had to do an emergency c-section. When I got to the operating room, I had an anxiety attack and they had to put me out! I could not calm myself down. I had been up for 36 hours, fatigue had set in, I was terrified that something was wrong with the baby, etc, etc...

It all worked out...

I actually apologized to all the nurses and doctors when I woke up because I was so embarrassed!

I think that grunting is beneficial, like grunting when you are constipated! I told the nurses and my husband that if they counted I would kill them. I just thought I would find it irritating. If a laboring woman can remain somewhat in control, and not let fear take over, her body will tell her when to push. At least, that's been my experience. I don't know with an epidural though, maybe the pushing sensations are not as strong. But I believe that the "fear factor" can dictate how the labor and delivery will go in many cases. Fear will make the pain worse. It is a vicious cycle, that if a woman can remain at least partially on top of, her body will work more efficiently. Weird question BTW. I don't remember what noises I made. I was too busy to listen to myself, know what I mean? Lol

I didn't scream during the birth of any of my 5 children, I think I just have a high tolerance for pain. I don't advise doing this though because now my EX tells everyone that he doesn't believe it is that painful to have children because he was in the delivery room during the birth of the kids and I hardly complained.

My largest child was 9lbs. 15ozs. It was no picnic, and certainly had its degree of pain. I guess I was lucky with him I only had 4 hours of hard larbor then I pushed (and the Dr. pulled) him out.

To me the pain is bearable until just before you have to push. Twice I didn't ask for the epideral until I was already dialated to 9 and they told me that it was too late at that point because it wouldn't start working in time.

I think concentrating on it will make it worse.

I'm not pregnant or planning on getting pregnant soon, but how badly does an epidural actually hurt? I've heard its really painful.

Leading up to my daughter's birth - I said that I was going to go natural. I thought I could handle the pain. I don't know why - I have LOW tolerance for it! :)

During our birthing classes they showed us a video of this woman that was so calm, almost in a trance. It was amazing. Then they showed us how to relax and control our breathing. I was so relaxed in those classes - but when my water broke... I think I panicked. There is really no other way to explain it. I wasn't due for two more weeks, I didn't have my bag ready (which caused me a lot of stress) and my mama wasn't there to calm me down. :)

2 epidurals later, a small surgery, I had the child I had waited a life time for.

They told me afterward that my body is made to have small babies. My genes are made to have big babies! So, if I were to have more kids, the largest I could get out on my own was (at most) 7.5 pounds. And then a certain head size.

I think the experience scared my husband. He says he never felt so helpless. So, we have never tried again.

I'm not pregnant or planning on getting pregnant soon, but how badly does an epidural actually hurt? I've heard its really painful.

I was TERRIFIED of the needle before hand. When you are in the middle of labor, you WELCOME that epidural.
I doesn't hurt that bad. No more than a regular shot (in my opinion)

I didn't really scream that much during my own birth... I did when that white-coated bastard slapped my butt.

I'm not pregnant or planning on getting pregnant soon, but how badly does an epidural actually hurt? I've heard its really painful.

For most people it is the initial numbing injection you feel. Then they will ask if you feel a jolt or sensation as they are placing the actual needle that the catheter goes through (needle is removed/catheter is what stays in place) so that they can get center placement. Sometimes it can be off a bit to one side and a mother will be more numb on one side than the other... or she will get a blotchy effect of numbness. For some it never takes, even after a few tries.
Most are happy with their epidural... some will have one with every child. Some don't care for it, or they have side effects and decide not to have one with any other births, and some choose not to ever have one to avoid any of the possible side effects.

I didn't scream, I made a lot of grunting sounds, I just bit down on my teeth and squeesed my boyfriend hand and left deep bruses from my fake nails. But I was deathly afread of the needles so I screemed a lot getting my epurderal. And my little 7.5 lb baby came and she is beautiful, now I am horrified to have these girls but I am very excided to see them, I do think screaming will happen this time!

I Didn't scream but I wasn't happy when I heard it was to late for an epidural. I was told that my first child would take forever to come, well, they were wrong.

At one point I was in allot of pain, I asked the nurse if I was in hard labor, she said, nope, you've only been in labor for 4 1/2 hours, you're still in the beginning stages. At that point I looked at my husband and said I want an epidural, if this is only the beginning of labor, then I won't be able to handle hard labor. So the epidural was ordered, but the hospital was full so there would be a one hour delay.

I sat back and waited, got through every contraction by focusing on the upcoming epidural, knowing I wouldn't be in pain much longer. Around 45 minutes later I asked the nurse to unhook me from all the machines so I could go to the bathroom, she asked why, I said, why do you think, I had McDonalds for lunch, and I need to go to the bathroom. She said, first lets check you. When she did, lo and behold I was fully dilated, it wasn't the McDonalds after all, but an urge to push. I was just starting to push when the epidural guy entered the room. Too late. :)

My second, no problem, natural 3 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing. Screaming, no, but crying when I saw her face, yes. :)

My first was a boy, 8 pounds 2 1/2 ounces. Second, girl, 8 pounds 4 1/2 ounces. Both natural. :) You really do forget the pain as soon as you hold your baby in your arms.

Back labor is the very very worst pain in the world.
Had it the whole last trimester with my first and then was in actual labor (back too) for over 40 hours.

Wow, NoHelp, I had back labor with my daughter, but it was only 3 hours, I can't imagine 40.

Ouch... Not fun... I hope you had lots of help in trying to get baby to rotate during labor!

We had a girl scream today... took an extra hour of pushing.

Epidurals, not so bad. All depends on your position after the loading dose. If you are laying mostly on your left side, your right side will be unaffected by the med, therefore you will feel more on the right. It's all a matter of positioning and the perfectionism (is that a word) of the anesthesiologist.

J_9, I have a question for you as a nurse on the labor and delivery floor.

Can you spot a screamer? Do you get a gut feeling that "this one" isn't going to calm down?
I am just curious. I know nurses see so much and soon can anticipate things. I was just curious if spotting a screamer is one of those things?

:)

I have given birth twice, neither one did I scream. The first one ended up an emergency c-section after 12 hours of back labor when the doctor saw signs of fetal distress. My expression of pain was to wimper like a puppy and swear under my breath. I had a spinal block and never felt the shot due to the severe back labor pain. After the block - life was sooooo much better. I ended up having to be completely sedated for the c-section so missed my son's birth. I was really unhappy about that, but there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

Second time around (11 years later) I was determined NOT to have a c-section unless the baby got in trouble because I didn't want to miss the birth. I had developed preeclampsia and was given a drug to induce labor. My old friend, back labor, came back for a visit and they administered the epideral once they determined I was in active labor. I guess the epidural did something because I don't remember feeling anything but pressure during contractions, but it did nothing for the sensation that someone was trying to remove my spine by pulling it out my backside. Although, I remember that pain - it wouldn't stop me from having another baby (if for some reason I lost my cotton picking mind and my tubes heal themselves.)

I do remember b*tching and complaining and swearing under my breath during the contractions - so that was probably my equivalent to screaming. If I had to do it all over again I would now choose the c-section because I ended up with a 3rd degree tear that took 3 hours to sew up and forever to heal.

How labor and birth progress for many women can depend on so many factors. Did they stay in bed most of the time... if they had an epidural, how far along were they and what position was baby in when they got it... what level of support did they have... what options did they have available to them... were alternatives to interventions discussed and tried first, etc... for example, in the case of back labor (and I'm not saying this is the case for anyone here, but it is very common), staying in bed, especially lying down, is the last place someone should be in that situation.

It is frustrating when you hear of a "bad" birth experience and then find out how little information the family was given, how many of the same interventions are used over and over in what I call assembly line births... similar to many of the baby shows on television. Far too many families are not given enough information to make truly informed decisions as to their care. The majority of births have interventions used, when in fact, the majority of births don't really require them and they often have a snowball effect... one intervention makes another become necessary... many families are not fully aware of this.

There certainly is a time and place for all obstetric procedures, but it is inconceivable that the majority of women giving birth need so much assistance to do so.

Would someone have had a different outcome and birth experience if they had made different decisions? Possibly... but in childbirth you don't get "do overs", that is why it is so important that families have as much information as possible before being in the midst of labor and birth so that they can make informed choices and not ones based out of fear, the unknown, or lack of information as so often happens.

J_9, I have a question for you as a nurse on the labor and delivery floor.

Can you spot a screamer? Do you get a gut feeling that "this one" isn't going to calm down?
I am just curious. I know nurses see so much and soon can anticipate things. I was just curious if spotting a screamer is one of those things?

:)

First I have to thank Doula for her wonderful response here. The information she gave is accurate on so many levels. There are so many choices women can making their labor plans. We just must remember that labor plans, as wonderful as they can be, don't always work out as planned and sometimes interventions are necessary.

Now, NW, yes, for the most part we can identify a screamer. Typically they are young first time mothers. When they are in active labor the process can become intense and they feel overwhelmed and that they can't go on. This happens even with women who have had epidurals.

Then I guess those nurses saw me coming! :)

I never delivered my son naturally, they had to do an emergency c-section on me with only an epidural that felt like it was wearing off. From the time they started cutting me open I could feel so much pressure and I could almost feel everything they were doing. I screamed so loud because it hurt so nadly I had tears streaming down my face and my mum looking at me saying it can't possibly hurt that bad. They had to put me to sleep because I was in so much pain. Turns out the epidural hadn't fully worked for me and I could feel some of the things they were doing.

Next time I have another kid they are just going to put me to sleep before it all starts... I can never deliver naturally

I never delivered my son naturally, they had to do an emergency c-section on me with only an epidural that felt like it was wearing off. From the time they started cutting me open I could feel so much pressure and I could almost feel everything they were doing. I screamed so loud because it hurt so nadly I had tears streaming down my face and my mum looking at me saying it can't possibly hurt that bad. They had to put me to sleep because I was in so much pain. Turns out the epidural hadn't fully worked for me and I could feel some of the things they were doing.

Next time I have another kid they are just going to put me to sleep before it all starts...I can never deliver naturally


Things could be very different for you next time. You had a c-section, and apparently the epidural had not numbed you as deeply as it normally would for surgery. Obviously surgery is going to be different from labor and you may find you do very well with a vaginal birth.

I didn't scream at all. I mean,I wanted to scream so bad. But I didn't I laid on the hospital bed,and I pushed really hard. I made tiny grunts but that's it. The baby was out in a minute.