Childbirth is one of the most painful things anyone can ever go through. It’s something that only half of the population can do, and something a lot of people end up doing more than once .
Anyone who’s had a baby knows what it feels like. But anyone who hasn’t (whether they never will , or plan on giving birth someday ) definitely won’t. So the descriptions of childbirth from these Reddit users are definitely informative, even if they are terrifying.
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“I had 10 hours, 2 hours pushing – 2 hours pushing is unusual, but my midwife said for some women the pelvic girdle needs the pressure to open up properly.” – calicoan
“There was pain… There was also the weirdest sensation of opening up on the inside – that’s not a direction you’ll stretch out in any other circumstance.”
“Pushing is more or less like when you take a [expletive] – Your body just does it.”
“At the end, his head and shoulders were out, the midwife said ‘Just one more push and it’ll be over,’ and I was waiting for my body to do it, finally realized for whatever reason, my body wasn’t going to, I had to consciously do the last push.”
“Different for every woman, probably.” – momsarev
“I had a LONG first stage labor (not too intense but like an endless series of cramps) and then about 10 minutes of pushing which did not feel painful just HARD.”
“Then the fun & exciting moment when the baby’s head came out – that hurt!”
“Of course, another woman in my birthing class felt NO labor pains – woke up feeling constipated one morning & it was the baby’s head crowning!”
“I’m probably not the best one to answer, because I thought I was going to have painkillers, but then couldn’t.” – [deleted]
“That said, it hurts so much I wanted to die. And then it was over!”
“I went to the hospital when I was at 5 centimeters (and my water broke).” – [deleted]
“By the time I was transferred out of observation and received the epi, it was too late. I was at 8, and she blocked the pain meds.”
“It was the worst pain ever. The contractions felt like my insides were getting squished in a vise.”
“When they were coming right on top of the other, my blood pressure started to drop and my heart started skipping beats. They had to do an EKG during labor. The pain was literally, not tolerable.”
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t screaming or anything.”
“I was in too much damn pain. Since my daughter was pretty big, (over 8 pounds) pushing her out felt like pushing out a wall of fire. If I had the strength at that moment, I wanted to kick a bystander.”
“Well for the 8 hours before I had a baby…” – CounselorMarie
“It was like the worst cramps I ever had in my life and the second one ended the next started and I was incredibly uncomfortable. Having the baby itself- felt like a massive poop!”
“I know that sounds graphic, but I really thought that’s what I needed to do and when I told the nurse it was my body telling me to push finally – not the other way around.”
“I felt like I couldn’t start pushing fast enough (I had to wait 15 minutes for the doctor to arrive which was the most agonizing 15 minutes of my life) then I pushed my heart and soul until she was born.”
“I had an epidural the first time… It certainly helped with the pain as in not feeling anything.” – finally_free
“However, because of this, I cracked my tailbone because I couldn’t read my body and how far was too far.”
“For my second child birth I stupidly sent home the anesthesiologist because it was Christmas day, I wasn’t far enough along to get drugs yet, and I was doing fine.”
“He was off shift and actually asked if I wanted him to stay or not. Obviously there was more in the hospital but…”
“Yeah, so, I said to go enjoy your family and he left.”
“Well, I have to say that I was fine until the very end and it hurt like a [expletive]! They tried to give me laughing gas, but I couldn’t breathe in enough to actually get any. The next anesthesiologist came in, but it was too late for me.”
“Then it was over. I healed a million times faster than with my first son and in general was more comfortable.”
“I heard my aunt say, after giving birth once and being pregnant with her second, ‘It’s like going in the ring with Tyson.'” – MacDuff
I’m not gonna lie, most of these responses are absolutely terrifying. But this one at least made me laugh a little.
“Wow. Glad I had to have c sections. My babies were too damn big and my pelvis was too damn small.” – baconwastaken
“9 pounder would have torn me in two….if he hadn’t gotten stuck in my pelvic bones. After they cut me open, it took 2 doctors to pull that baby out. I could feel my insides being moved all over the place.”
“My wife said: It feels like a wet Saint Bernard trying to stick its head through a cheerio.” – madwickedguy
From a scientific standpoint, babies basically grow as big as they can while still being able to fit through their moms’ pelvises during birth. And yet, that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
“Imagine if you will, squeezing a basketball through a rubber washer that has an opening of 10cm.” – silly_putty
“Then imagine how much that washer will have to stretch to allow the basketball to pass through. There’s a reason it’s called labour – because it’s freaking hard work.”
“12 hours labour, 9lb 10oz 21″ long baby boy.”
“A friend commented on her labor (paraphrasing):” – cultured_banana_slug
“‘I kept wondering when I was going to die. I thought, ‘there’s no way anyone could live through this pain…’ but then nature dragged me through it anyway.'”
“24 hours labor with the first one here. Contractions hurt, a lot.” – momster
“Mom has no privacy, everyone and their brother is sticking their hands between your legs, checking dilation, telling you (lying) about how well you’re doing.”
“Pushing is a relief, but imagine trying to take a [expletive] for a couple of hours.”
“The St Bernard through a Cheerio description is fairly accurate. And the man usually says they never look at the woman the same after watching her give birth.
“Of course, it’s a unique experience, different yet the same for most women, and very rewarding.”
