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1209036 tn?1299178657

What hurts more? The contractions or pushing?

So just like the title says...I am curious to know which hurts more....the contractions, or actually pushing the baby out? I am due next week and I am trying to prepare myself and really want a natural childbirth and I wasnt sure which part of labour and delivery was worse.

Any thoughts?
21 Responses
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1119529 tn?1287024702
We have had 4 daughters with another one due in 2 weeks, all natural births, i would say the contractions are the worst but i remember with my last one that awful burning i asked for oil or water to stop it burning LOL her cord was around her neck twice so i had to hold of pushing with her head half way out while they removed the cord apart from that yes i agree contractions are way wors. i was on my back with 3 of my labours by the 4th i found sitting up whilst holding the back of my knees gets bigger better pushes bub is out sooner. good luck can't wait to find out how you went.
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Avatar universal
well i just did 4.5 hours of pushing and the contractions are much much worse.  it will feel good to push and you wont even feel the contraction.
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Avatar universal
the contractions were horrible but I had an epidural so the pushing didn't actually hurt...but i wasn't numb either.
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Avatar universal
Contractions!! 100% the are killer. The pushing was relieving in my opinion, not like it itckles when my dd came out but those contractions are like nothing else. ( I had no drugs or epidural)
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1244180 tn?1325899111
Contractions big time!!!!! Delivery is just a bit of burning but contractions are not even explainable.....
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1259599 tn?1294985827
CONTRACTIONS for sure!!! I had 3rd degree tears and I didn't even feel it happen because the contractions were so strong.  At least when you're pushing, you're doing something about the pain rather than just breathing through them.  I didn't have an epidural because my 2nd delivery was a VBAC and they don't want to give it to you too early.  At 7cm I was doing ok with the contractions but by 9 cm I asked for the epidural and the response was," it's way too late for that!"  I felt the entire labour...and couldn't feel the tearing.  Pushing is such a relief AND...you finally get to meet your baby! It's an amazing experience and WOMEN are truly amazing for going through it. Good luck!!!
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202436 tn?1326474333
For me I have to say it would be the pushing...if you are having a drug free birth.  Well not the pushing itself...but the baby actually being deilvered. The natural birth I had it was the actual delivery of the baby that I had the most pain.  The head of course is the worst part and my one natural birth just happened to be my child with the biggest head LOL.  The contractions, while very painful, weren't as bad as the delivery.  I think it also depends on how long the woman has to push as well.  I'm one of the lucky ones who has never pushed more than 25 minutes out of 5 deliveries.  
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1222635 tn?1366396286
i meant to say my epidural wore off during pushing, so i felt everything.
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1222635 tn?1366396286
well a friend of mine had a completely natural childbirth, and she said her contractions were so bad that when it came time to push it felt good, and it was a relief. so i think the contractions are worse, i can't say from experience since i had an epidural. my epidural was boosted 3 times during labor so my labor was easy and in fact boring, but when it came time to push, i cried. and i am a tough girl when it comes to pain. but from her experience pushing was the easy part.
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1123420 tn?1350561158
Sorry i ment so I WASNT numb,, i was in a hurry, gotta get ready for work while coles sleeping, hes soo demanding lol
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1123420 tn?1350561158
I agree with everyone else, the contractions def. hurt worse. I had back labor, so i didnt get a single contraction in my stomach at all. and pushing felt like a relief... and yes tensing up def makes it hurt alot more. I had to be reminded over and over to relax through them and breathe in and out, cause i would freak out everytime..  The "ring of fire" as they call is def the worst part. it took prolly and hour and a half of pushing to get the head out.  then prolly like 20 minutes later he was fully out. its the crowning thats worse, I kept telling everyone he was never coming out.  I didnt have the epidural. i had a numbing shot in my back that only lasted for 2 hours and exactly 2 hours. i cant remember what its called.  I got it when i was like 6 or 7 cm.  i got to relax for about an hour and half. then had to start pushing.  it wore off about 20 minutes into pushing, which is what we wanted anyway, so i was numb and i could feel when it was time to push and stuff....

You will make it, like you said its all worth it when u see your baby.., just keep thinking about that...
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1209036 tn?1299178657
Thank you everyone for you comments! I am really excited and nervous about having the baby...it is my first and having no previous experience, the unknown scares me but i totally believe I can do this naturally...i cannot wait and I will let everyone know how my labour and delivery goes!!! hopefully i will meet my lil guy this weekend!!!
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470885 tn?1326329037
Joy is absolutely right - tensing up makes the contractions SO much worse!

I definitely needed an epidural the first time (back labour was horrendous), but I do think that I MIGHT have been able to do it without one the second time....but I was too tense during the contractions....I had had a biophysical profile u/s because I was 41 weeks pregnant and the results ended up being "concerning" so they induced me before my doctor was planning on doing it - he would have let me go to 42 weeks in the hopes that I'd go on my own.  Anyway, I was so worried about the baby, and I think that really affected my ability to relax and "take charge" of my contractions, so I got the epidural.

I was so numb that I couldn't feel to push with the first epidural, but the second time around I had sensation (no pain, though) and pushed my little boy out in 25 minutes.  I controlled the pushing - no nurse was telling me when to push or how to push.  And I didn't tear AT ALL!  And he was perfectly fine and healthy, thank God.

Good luck to you :)
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Avatar universal
Cheryl, you are absolutely CORRECT! If you can make it through the contractions you will find pushing relieves the pain. There is the famous "ring of fire" but if you push through it and get that little head out that pain will stop.

I have given birth three times. First two with an epidural and the last natural. I wish I could've gone natural with my other two! It is seriously the most amazing experience. And the pride that my husband and I both felt is unmatched by anything I have or ever will do in my life. There's just nothing like it! When it got time for me to push I pushed in a side-lying position (hands-and-knees or squatting is also awesome; reduces tearing and helps getting baby down and out faster). My husband told me I pushed her out in less than a minute because I was just pushing and I knew if I got her head out the pain would stop. It felt like eternity to me but I guess it was less than a minute. Your body will know what to do! I also pushed on my own. There was no breath-holding or counting in my face. I let my body do the work!

To help me get through the contractions I would rest with my eyes closed. When one would come I would breathe really slow and evenly (do NOT hold your breath; I told my husband he needed to remind me to breathe weeks and days before I even had her). Then I kept telling myself over and over again, "Relax your muscles, breathe, relax, breathe." My husband would hold my hand and tell me that my hand was just limp instead of squeezing the life out of his hand. When you tense up it makes the contractions more painful. So if you can coach yourself or have someone help coach you I think you'll be golden!

Good luck and can't wait to "meet" baby!
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572254 tn?1297189358
i felt the cractions in a way hurt more because theres loads of the all the time and pushing hurts just as much if not more but it doesnt last as long so i wouldnt say its as bad!
i gave birth naturally with no pain relief, i think by the end the pain pushing him out was so much more quicker than contractions, i thought more about getting him out then the pain!
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1035252 tn?1427227833
the pushing feels like a relief, imo, like alaysha said....it relieves all of the pressure for as long as you're pushing. the epidural was mostly worn off when I pushed my daughter out and I tore like crazy but I didn't feel that so much...you get so many endorphins and so much adrenaline when you push that you don't feel as much IMO. the contractions hurt worse because they last longer and you'll labor through more of them without pain relief (if you're getting pain relief) than you will pushing..pushing you should be mostly numb, although I wasn't numbed either time and I had epidurals both time...the first time was my fault (letting it wear off by not pushing the button) and the second time I just got really unlucky...he placed the epidural twice and said he wasn't going to do it again if it didn't work....and of course it didn't. go figure, right? LOL

when I pushed my son out I had HORRIBLE back labor and the epidural didn't really help at all so I would say that the contractions hurt way worse. the pushing was short and almost painless for me.
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1194973 tn?1385503904
Mine was just all around sore. The pushing didn't hurt till the end when her nose got stuck, and then it burned like fire. (My epidural also had wore off 30 minutes into my pushing) I think I'd take the pushing pain over the contractions though.
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470885 tn?1326329037
I think it could go either way.  I personally had an epidural both times so the pushing was a dream for me - lol - but I'd say that they don't call the baby's head crowining and passing through the vagina the "ring of fire" for nothing!!
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Avatar universal
Well my sister just had a baby and I was in the room with her, looked like contractions, she was crying and screaming coming off the bed she was in so much pain till she got the meds lol but they didn't have time to set in cause she was only in labor 4 hours and an hour before birth she got the meds so they didn't really work but when she started pushing it looked a lot easier and less painful, don't concentrate on the pain, remember its all worth it when you look into your beautiful babies eyes, its amazing! Reply to my post please!
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1209036 tn?1299178657
So if i could make it through the contractions without any pain meds then i have made it through the worst part when it comes time to push! That will def be my motivation when going through labour!
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187316 tn?1386356682
Contractions. In a weird way pushing actually feels kinda like a relief since you cannot feel the contractions anymore. I remember when I gave birth to my daughter as soon as I figured out pushing made the contractions go away I started requesting to push. I didn't want to rest. Lol.
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