Labour Advise !!!!

[jennifer707]

Hi girls, im new on here so dont really know what i am doing lol
I am 19 years old and 35 weeks pregnant with my first baby!!! :D
Does anyone have any advise on labour cause its pretty scary thinking about the pain lol.
Also i got told im having a girl but i have been having funny feelings iam having a boy !!! Is there any way to tell, or i would love to hear some stories..............

jennifertabone@hotmail.com

[mum2ryan]

Hi Jennifer.. welcome!!

All I can say with the pain of labour is do what's comfortable and what works for you. I went 15 hours without any assistance (call me crazy). The gas just made me feel sick, my fiance had more fun playing around with it than me.
I ended up having the epidural and it was heaven. I had to be reminded when I was having a contraction by looking at the monitors, I couldn't feel a thing until close to delivery when it wore off a little, but still no pain :)

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!!

[Crazy Monkey]

Hi Jennifer,

I'm new to Bub Hub too... welcome :)
Labour Pain... what can I say... Take the drugs :)
Well that worked for me...

You know your body, so just listen to it..
Get as much rest as possible leading up to the start of labour and once it starts RESTS!!! You could be in for a long time (36 hours for me .... thats from 1st contraction at home - my birthday too) so where possible REST..

Good Luck and keep us posted...

Silla

[poshBecks]

There's really nothing that can prepare you for labour!!! It hurts... A LOT!!

My advice is to stay at home for as long as possible!! I went to the hospital as soon as my contractions were 5mins apart. But i didn't deliver for another18 hours!!!! Obviously though if your waters break or you can't bear it, you should head on over!!
Also, water helped my pain a little.. I sat in the shower for hours!!!

As for the sex of your bub... if you think it's possibly a boy, don't buy too much pink stuff!! He he he

Good Luck :D

[JanetF]

Congratulations on having a birth and a baby to look forward to! I assume you've been going to your prenatal birth classes? They're a good way to kickstart your search for information. What gets women through labour most happily is support from a known woman careprovider. So a doula is essential if you're choosing to birth in a hospy. It's late but not too late to find one and it makes a world of difference to your birthing experience and how safely and gently your baby arrives. You can read lots of birth stories, watch birth videos, learn all about good positions and movement and how it helps labour and birth be less painful and quicker. It's important to have a birth plan and understand the kinds of interventions hospitals offer and also know that as a consumer you have a right to understand completely everything suggested in your care and say no when you want to. I strongly recommend "The thinking woman's guide to a better birth" by Henci Goer to all mamas as it's very clear and concise. Any of the books on active birth and water birth would be excellent too. I hope you have a beautiful birth, and there are lots of ways you can increase the chances of that happening! :)

Try these for some more places to get information.

Natural pain relief in labour

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/546717.html



Pain relief and home birth (useful in any situation though)

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/pain.htm



Comfort measures for labour – the most complete list I’ve ever seen, a must read!

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/comfort.html



Water birth stories

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/water.htm#birthstories



“The importance of relaxing by Grantley ****-Read MD

http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/ma...id=263&Itemid=3

http://radmid.demon.co.uk
From MIDWIFERY MATTERS, Summer 2000, Issue No. 85
Pain in Labour - Is it Insufferable?
By Margaret Jowitt

"Ecstatic Birth - nature's hormonal blueprint for labour" Dr Sarah Buckley
http://www.womenofspirit.asn.au/docs/ecstaticbirth.doc

"Help - it hurts! ... get me the complementary therapies!" Andrea Robertson
http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/andrea21.html

"The Pain of Labour: A Feminist Issue" Andrea Robertson
http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/painlabour.html

"No gain without pain" Nicky Leap
http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/leap02.html


http://gentlebirth.org/Midwife/birthjoy.html

http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/...ssure/index.php

[jennifer707]

Thanks heaps girls for your replys, they have helped me. I havent started my antenatal classes yet which i think is really silly cause i only have 5 weeks left the hospital have booked me in to start in 2 weeks. I cant WAIT :D :D . I have been getting alot of braxton hicks contractions latly the midwife said they shouldnt hurt but mine seem to hurt alot !!!!!

[brooke]

they say they arent ment to hurt but mine do too....
Good luck with your antenatal classes they really help you to understand what is going to happen etc
Mine are almost finished but i have read up a lot already before we went to our classes!
All the best with your pregnancy!

[Kamaikia]

When I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks I knew it was a boy. Don't ask me how but I knew. I was really disapointed when I was told at ultrasounds that it was a girl. I remember when my mother and I were washing the baby girl clothes asking her what we would do if I had a boy. She laughed and said there was no hope of me having a boy. Two close friends also refused to beleive it was a girl because of the way I was carrying (All up front - but I know other people say the other way).
I had a baby boy and a whole wardrobe of pink clothes for him - my advice buy lots of neutral colours no matter what they tell you.

Labour is hard but you will cope. You need to remember to breathe though. It sounds stupid but practice. I read all about how to breathe through labour and ignored it - I know how to breathe right :) - but you will be surprised. When it gets bad it gets real bad and if you tense instead of breathing (like I did) it just makes it worse. The gas was handy for me as I had to concentrate of deep breathes. I agree about not going to hospital too early - I did. Its hard with a first baby to know when the pain is bad enough - try and wait until the pain is too bad to talk through. You might think its bad a one point - but trust me it gets worse before it gets better :) But when its over its over. You will be amazed at what you went through - I think most mothers are.
Good luck

[poshBecks]

That's why dh wont let me find out the sex..... so i don't buy a whole lot of pink/blue stuff that i wont end up using :rolleyes: . Go the neutrals!!

[jennifer707]

I also had a feeling when i first found out that i was pregnant that i was going to have boy, in the ultrasound the guy said it was a girl but i feel still im having a boy. I also am carrying at the front and people have said it loooks like im having a boy and they get shocked when i say its a girl. Even thou i was told it was a girl i still call it a he lol Everyone thinks im silly but i cant wait to prove them wrong lol.
Im not scared to actually go into labour but am scared i wont know that im in labour when i do. i get alot of braxton hicks and they last for up to 3 hours sometimes and are very painfull so do you think i will get them mixed up with real contractions, or are they a completely different feeling?? Good luck also Brooke with the rest of your pregnancy !!!! :D :D

[tyler's mum]

hey there my name tam, my daughter is almost 8weeks, labour is not one of the best things you could ever do, i tryed just doin it with the gas then the doctors told me to get a epidutal cause i was having a bad labour, however the epidutal had no effect on me,, i knew labour was goin to hurt but no one told me how bad it could be, i had a 14hour labour tyler end up getting stuck so they cut me and had to vaccum her out,,, im sure its not what u want to hear, but i when in thinking oh yeah it will hurt but i'll be okay, i wish someone had give me the heads up,,, you could end up having a pretty good labour, i had more problems cause my back bone is bent,,, and she got stuck... the thing you have to remember is you will get a beauiful baby at the end and the pain does go away.... i wish you luck and hope all go's well, and dont be affaid to yell or do whatever helps you through it

[xavesmum]

Hey there,

My name is Lori and I have a one year old boy named Xavier. I was induced at 38 weeks.. and I remember myself souding like you when I was at your stage of pregnancy. I was taken to hospital 5 times with Braxton Hicks... but TRUST me luv.... you will know when you are in labour.. lmao.

I DIDNT think it was going to be AS bad as what it turned out to be actually. I thought I was dying! And I remember saying to myself in labour, and I thought braxton hicks were labour... PFFT! Extremely similar to comparing scraping your knee falling over and being blown up! :eek:

I had a 15 hour labour... posterior baby... 3 epidurals, pethadione, gas, vaccumme extraction AND forceps! lmao. And at the end of it I got a beautiful (doped up) baby boy!

I am actually terrified to go thru it again.. I just hope that the next labour isnt as long! I think I will also get an epidural earlier than I did last time! I think I will also try and aim that I dont have a baby over a long weekend (xave was born on cup weekend!) because the doctors and anethesist kept going home and taking 2 hours to get back to me!

But other than that... as mentioned in a previous post.. breathing helps! I just wasnt doing it properly.... I will research that better next time also!

GOODLUCK! And if you have already had bubby.. let us all know how it went!

Lori

[JenNT]

Extremely similar to comparing scraping your knee falling over and being blown up!

I had a 15 hour labour... posterior baby... 3 epidurals, pethadione, gas, vaccumme extraction AND forceps! lmao. And at the end of it I got a beautiful (doped up) baby boy! - XAVESMUM


LMAO!!! :D

[Kamaikia]

Ouch JenNT!!!
I had 19 hours with gas, pretty straightforward delivey but I have never in my life come so close to death. And I would go back again in a second.
I too wish people wouldn't make labour out to be anything but hell. Its painful but you'll survive.
I never had any braxton hicks so I was worried about what to expect. You will know - the pain will get worse and worse and worse - I don't think there is any way of being confused about whats happening when the time comes

[jennifer707]

Im extremly excited about going into labour, i cant wait till that day comes lol even thou it is going to hurt like hell lol. I love hearing labour stories so keep them coming lol, i have read over my pregnancy magz about 10 times each i reackon hehehe.

I have decided that i would like to try and stand up while giving birth!!! has anyone done this??? so of course im going to go as natural as i canso i can actually stand up. But of course i say that now, i might change my mind once im actualy in labour lol.

My braxton Hicks are getting worse, they are coming every night now and lasting for up to 4 hours, i actualy had to stay oer night at the hospital on friday cause they were getting so bad. The midwife said i have an Irratable uterous ??? I didnt actually unterdtand what she ment by that but something like my uterous was very sensitive and very little stretch or movement was making it feel 10 times as worse...

I have 33 Days to go YAY!!!!!! Thanks for all your advise girls

[MumofLily]

Hello,

I had quite painful contractions for the last month so thought I was in for a shocker labour but it was my body getting ready for it and doing some of the hard yards early.. I was induced with the gel put in which worked wonders. I was 5cm dilated before I felt any pain and once my waters were broken it was hell but only lasted for 1hr 20mins so no pain relief nothing..

Its really scary but you can't really prepare for it just go with the flow and see what happens.

All the best!

aliesha

[Livvylish]

Have you thought about having a doula (birth support person) there to help you out and support you? Worth a thought, doula's in training can also be a cheaper option if your short of cash. There is a great network out there to support women.

[sydneybubhub]

On that note, Bub Hub have a page listing local doulas in the Services Directory under the Conception, Pregnancy and Childbirth Services section. Here's a link direct to the page to allow you to look into it further if you wish: http://www.bubhub.com.au/servicesdoula.shtml

All the best. :)

[JanetF]

Doulas are essential for hospy birthing mamas.

Standing up to birth is excellent!! Good move! :)

[jennifer707]

I have never heard of a Doula before, but thank you i will defently have a look around and find out a lil more about that.
I had my second labour class tonight lol we watched a scary movie lol on giving birth.I cant believe that wil be me soon, very soon lol.
take care.......................24 days to goooooo yay!!!!!!!

[JanetF]

Do a search for doula on the forum. There are heaps here who'd love to assist you. And hey, I own lots of birth videos but none of them are scary! Mustn't be a nice one :)

[mollyandkurtsmum]

I have never heard of a doula either but I had my best friend at my births as well as my mum and my hubby. MY hubby was great and tried really hard to be supportive, My mum was a bit of a pain as she is a worry wart and kept questioning the midwives on what they were doing and suggesting that maybe whispering "frog with every breath was better than the word I had chosen to whisper.

My best friend was GREAT she held my hand and rubbed my back and took my mum away for coffee. She also brought a wheels magazine :D for my hubby to play with so he would leave me alone for a while.

She also totally agreed with everything I said. Even the suggestion that maybe I wasnt ready for kids lol and that she should take me home. She just kept saying "your right I should but lets just stay here for a little bit longer and see what happens" She was just great and if you want to borrow her I will let you but you also have to take my mum lol

[Peaceangels]

My best advice to you Jennifer707 would be:
* Don't listen to people's "horror" stories about births, remember no two people are the same, so no two births will be the same!
* Go into it with an open mind, you may just surprise yourself with how you feel during labour and your pain threshold
* Always keep in mind that each contraction is another step closer to meeting your baby.
* Our bodies were designed for this and squillions of women around the world have done it.
AND most of all remember you are about to go through the most wonderful experience at the end of which you will hold your beautiful baby in your arms and feel a love so strong your heart will ache................................ENJOY :D

[cobysmummy]

Expect the unexpected,.... actually just dont expect anything because your bub will have a totally different idea to yours!!

It will be fine and good luck!! let us know what happens!!

[Snugglepot]

Peaceangels has got it, well put!

My only other advise is if you think you want the next level of pian relief wait half an hour. Your might be pushing your beautiful baby out before you need it!

[te reo]

nothing prepared me for the savage agony of childbirth, take the epidural, its like a personal visit from god!!!!!!!!!!

[JanetF]

What preparation did you do? What support did you have? Unless there's something actually wrong, or you're induced/augmented labour isn't normally what you experienced. And it doesn't have to be either. :)