Signs

[Boobs1994]

Im 14 almost 15 and im wondering ..Does it Hurt to go through birth? & what symptoms should I be having at 7-8 weeks?

[mamabalas]

I agree with penswriter.  Labor hurts.  No way around it.  You can have the drugs that are supposed to reduce the pain, my personal opinion was they just made me kind of out of it and I regret them 100% as it didn't diminish the pain, I just didn't care that it hurt.  (If that makes sense)  It hurts, and it is scary.  The best thing to do is read as much as you can, take some birthing classes.  Every experience is different.  Stay as healthy as you can.  I had no pregnancy symptoms whatsoever the entire time I was pregnant.  My sense of smell was a bit hightened, thats it.  I didn't start to show at all until almost 6 months.  I'm not sure why, I was eating more than usual, wasn't overweight when I started my pregnancy, and was in good health throughout.  Your body goes through huge changes durring labor, it is extreme.  I'm not sure if you are planning to keep this baby, but if you are I seriously recommend some parenting classes as well.  I think they should be required for all of us throughout our pregnancies throughout our childrens lives.  It never hurts to be as well informed as you can.  Good luck to you, this is a huge change for your life.

[penswriter]

so sugar coat it for her? no, child birth hurts. i'm not going to lie to her, whether she's 14 or 34 and say oh it stings a bit. no it doesn't it hurts like h*ll and i had an epi . she's pregnant. the reality is pregnancy, child birth and raising a child are not easy. i'm almost 25 with twins and there are days when i have no idea how i'll manage from time to wake up until bedtime. if it weren't for my hubby...i don't know what i'd do. being an adult that is financially stable with a loving husband with kids is stressful enough. she's a teenager, most likely no job (since i know child labor prohibts those under 16 from having any "real" sort of job), the b/f is probably going to run for the hills (if he doesn't...you're lucky) there's no time for sugar coating things to make her feel good about it. she has to grow up fast now. in a matter of 7-8 months she will be bringing a child into this world.

[kymanne]

I had my son at your age (He just turned 24:)  I went through 75% of my 24 hour labor alone without meds and I made it through just fine.  It is painful, BUT our bodies as women are made to handle this.  There are things available today that make childbirth less painful, but that is a personal decision you need to talk to your doctor about.  

I think the absolute best thing you can do is try to prepare your body for labor now.  Taking care of yourself, good nutrition, moderate exercise(as long as the doctor ok's it)child birth classes, and a good support system.

And you know what, screaming IT HURTS! IT HURTS! is probably the LEAST helpful thing to say to a 14 year old expectant mother. This girl is obviously scared, and I think that there were more productive things that could have been said. A bit of compassion and sensitivity please?

[UmYusra]

The fact of the matter is that labour HURTS and it HURTS like no other pain in the whole world!!! Im saying this even though my 1st labour lasted only for 1hr.45 mins and I pushed for less than 5 mins. My 2nd labour lasted for 4 hrs and 30 mins of pushing and that was like no other pain in my life. So I should be one of the lucky ones for the fact that my labours were very short, but still it HURTS and HURTS badly!!!!

[LosingMyMindInGA]

Let's not hijack the OP.  To answer the question, YES, labor & child birth HURT.  Even when you have an epidural there is some level of atleast discomfort if not pain. Some woman ARE more apt to be able to handle the pain by using breathing techniques,etc.  Others don't necessarily handle it as well.  

At 7-8 weeks you should have missed your period to start with, you may or may not start to experience morning sickness, lower abdominal cramping/aching, sore/tender/fuller breasts.  Keep in mind that not every woman experieneces all all or any of these symptoms and those who do get them to varying degrees.  

[cocacolapanda]

It does differ from each women.  I was doing great until my dr broke my watter then I went from a pain level of 2 or 3 to 9 in a matter of seconds and diolated 3X faster than my dr wanted me to for the first hour.

I did birth with pain meds in the IV, they didn't actually take the pain away, but they made me "loopy" so I could get a little sleep.  I was walking around and feeling great right after birth.

This will be my second birth and I plan to do it all natural this time, I've learned a lot (like for Strep B, you don't NEED an IV, but there are other options that I'll talk to my midwife about) so I didn't need to be at the hospital as early as I was for the first.  Also, I've been doing Yoga and other things to help prepair my body for labor, and I don't plan on letting them break my watter unless it's 100% necessary.

If your not scared of needles or ok with the epidural then I've heard it's a great way to go, it seems to be very good with managing the pain, however I'm scared of it because I've heard so many stories of it causing back problems with people (After asking a lot of women it seems to be 50/50 for people liking or disliking it).

Childbirth will be painful and uncomfortable, but just make sure you talk to your dr about your pain management and try to have an idea of what you can do, that might put your mind a little more at ease.  Even with how painful it was, I'm going to do it again, so it can't be that bad!

As for what to feel at 7-8 weeks, that differes so much.  For me I was more tired, and the morning sickness was pretty bad along with horrible mood swings.  Some women don't have any symptoms at that early either.

[Ashelen]

I don't necessarily believe it depends on your pain threshold, Sarah....I passed 4 kidney stones when I was pregnant with my daughter, and 3 of those without pain medicine...so believe me, I can handle pain..and birth was still painful. kidney stones hurt worse than labor, but it was still very painful. So it just depends on your body shape and the type of labor you have, not on your pain threshold. Also you have to remember that she's 15 and telling her that it won't hurt is probably not true in her case. it's nothing she can't handle, of course, and since she made the decision to try to have a baby at 14, that's just one of the harsh realities, but i'm sorry it WILL hurt. you can handle it though, Boobs.

[Sarah61086]

The pain varies for woman to woman, it all depends on your own pain threshold.
Personally for me the contractions were uncomfortable, but when the DR broke my waters, the pain stopped and i just had a tingly feeling.
The contractions were like period pains but a bit stronger.
You'll be ok. Try not to think about it until you have to, otherwise you will just worry yourself.
You will just cope with it, its the most natural thing in the world, and your body will deal with it in its own way. Once its over any pain will be instantly gone and you'll have a beautiful baby at the end of it.
Think of it this way, if its really that bad giving birth, why do some women do it over and over again.
Your going to be fine hunni, just try not to worry

[Ashelen]

Yes, birth hurts. It's the most painful thing you will go through in your entire life (most women, at least.) There are pain relief options that can help make it tolerable, however, and even enjoyable but I won't lie...it will hurt. You can do it though, you have to...too late to back out now since you worked so hard to get pregnant. Every woman's pregnancy is different, but generally around 8wks a woman starts to get nauseous...she may get sore breasts, headaches, you may get light stomach cramps but anything that is painful you need to see a doctor..you may have a spot or two of blood, but if it's bright red or increases you need to go to the ER. Have you told your parents yet? Also I wanted to add that not every woman even GETS symptoms...some women don't feel pregnant until they start to show, and some women have so many symptoms they can barely get out of bed...so don't worry if your symptoms aren't strong. As long as you're not cramping painfully or bleeding everything should be normal. Have you seen a doctor yet?