scared about labor

[lorijo85]

I know it's normal to be nervous about labor but I'm scared I won't be able to handle it. I'm 28 weeks. The other night I got woken up by this really intense pain. It was in my lower abdomen and side. It only lasted a couple minutes but it was seriously the worst pain I've ever felt. I'm pretty sure I was just laying wrong but after it was over my first thought was if labor is anything like that there's no way I can do it and I know labor's gonna be 10x worse. Any word of advice from you that have been through it?

[SarahT88]

I think it's extremely common for women to be nervous before labor, especially if it's your first. For my first I chose to try natural but was open to having an epidural if the pain was too great or if my labor lasted so long that I needed to sleep in order to be prepared for the delivery part. Luckily my labor was short compared to many first time mom's and for the most part not the worst pain in my life.  I think many times it depends on your perspective/attitude and preparedness.  Of course it's going to be painful, but I looked at it as I'm going to be bringing something beautiful into this world and its totally worth it and that women have been doing this for thousands of years.
As far as my choice to go natural, I used my mom as a guide...I'm one of six children and my mom had all 6 of us naturally. I thought to myself, "if mom can do it for us, I can do it for my little one" and it was totally worth it to have our daughter come out naturally and for me to be able to shower/clean up right away.
I suggest preparing ad much as you can and asking your OB what to expect, the more you know, hopefully, the less likely you'll freak out during labor and let the pain overwhelm you. Understand that while, yes it's painful, it's also something very beautiful. Find something that relaxes you, maybe take a birthing class beforehand, they have some really good suggestions for relaxation.

[lorijo85]

You don't get to have anyone? That's crazy. I don't think I would be able to do that.

[ania79]

I wish I could say it will be easy and painless,but it all really depends on how you react mentally,how you are prepared during labor,and of course how your body handles the pain in general.
I went through 1 natural delivery,and 1 c-section,about to have 3rd baby in 2.5-3.5 weeks.
I am a red head and am extremely sensitive to pain.
Plus I am a very emotional person in general and alot of things freak me out.
That is my problem,and it was during labor.
I freaked out and let my emotions to take over and of course the pain was a 100% worse than it probably could've been.
Part of it was because the place I live in doesn't allow anyone,partner/husband or anyone that could support you during labor inside the delivery room.
So I have been doing it myself,and was left alone for hours,I think if I had my husband by my side it would've been much easier experience.
Not too make you more scared,but it is all up to you.
For my second labor I prepared by reading Hypnobirthing book and listening to the cd that came with it.
Chose a breathing relaxation hypno technique that worked for me,and it really helped.
We forget how powerful our mind is.
It really is all about your thoughts and control over your emotions.
It will all be okay,because women were designed to give birth and it won't last forever,all babies do come out to the world.
Just make sure you are prepared by knowing stages of labor and of course have emotional support of your family/friends/life partner.
It will be okay!
Thats what I tell myself every day I get closer to my due date!
Concentrate on thinking about the baby,how he/she will look like and all those cute baby things,it does help!
Good luck !