[blparent] About labor pains

Sat Sep 22 11:51:15 UTC 2012

Yes, I totally agree that one's mental state is hugely crucial in order to
help manage the pain.  This is largely effected by everything from position
of mom during labor to who she has there to support her and coach to the
physical environment of the labor and delivery room.  However, sometimes
there are physical reasons that even the most prepped mom cannot help that
play a part in the level of pain.  I for example had a beautifully
comfortable room with calming music that I picked just for labor, an
unbelievable supportive hubby at my side coaching me through it all and a
ton of mental control over my pain.  When the doc through me in a lay-down
only position because of the monitoring though this changed a lot of things.
I tried very hard to deal with the pain in a productive fashion but
physically my body was in one of the worst positions for me and my son to
have a productive labor because of how he was positioned.  They wanted me to
remain laying down because the medical staff could get the best monitor
reads on me and baby but it was truly counter-productive because I feel that
it was also making our situation worse.  I found myself stuck in a world of
helpful and necessary medical technology and doing what's natural to aid in
getting our son out.  When I got up to go to the bathroom the pain reduced
tremendously and I wanted more than anything to stay upright in a squatting
position because my body was telling me that's what I had to do to help get
my baby out.  The doctor and nurses couldn't get much of a read for some
reason on how our son was doing when I was in that position which put them
all in a panic so then that made me worry.  This is why we eventually
decided to go forth with a C-Section and because there was meconium in the
water and you don't want to mess around with baby swimming around in that
for very long.  Something huge that I learned when having our son is that
the monitors while absolutely wonderful devices, they are also surprisingly
sensitive things that could work well or not work well from moment to
moment.  I was allowed to move from side to side while laying down but the
nurses were having to constantly come into my room to adjust the monitors
which didn't help me relax.  Thank God my husband was as wonderful as he was
and he just kept touching me and telling me how great I was doing.  Finally,
when I went ahead and got an epidural I felt human again and told my husband
to take advantage and go get himself some dinner.  He later thanked me
tremendously for doing this because he really needed to physically refuel
but wasn't about to say anything with me needing him and laying there in
agony.  Something we never thought about doing in all of our detailed
preparation was packing an actual real meal for my husband while I was in
labor.  This is something to consider for new parents out there because the
hospital isn't going to have anything for folks until after the baby is born
and even then family will end-up eating off of mom's food tray.  That brings
me to another point before I finally finish this volume I'm ending-up
writing.  Mom's, order as much food as you can for your meals so that
whoever is with you in the room for support after baby is born can also eat
off of your tray.  We were told by the hospital during our labor class that
dad's will get a meal along with mom in the hospital but when it came down
to it this wasn't the case.  My husband had to run-out for his food while I
was eating mine which made things very difficult since that's when baby
wants to nurse or be held or whatever and there's no one in the room to help
just so you can get some food in your stomach.  One of my lactation nurses
or who I liked to call my Booby Angels told me to just order a lot of food
when they come with the menu each day and then dad get his food to and stay
with me.  I thought this to be a great idea and it worked beautifully and
none of the hospital staff cared one bit.  So for example, when they ask you
if you want eggs or oat meal or a breakfast sandwich as one of the
categories on the breakfast menu, just say yes, yes and yes. SMILING

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 10:53 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] About labor pains

Hi.  After giving birth once and having several miscarriages near the end of
my first trimester, I firmly believe that part of the reason labor pains
aren't unbearable beyond words is that we are working toward something
wonderful.  Our minds are usually so focused on the end result that there
isn't much room left for the pain.  The reason I have come to believe this
is that during my miscarriages, I knew there would be no baby, and the
uterine contractions were agonizing.  And when the doctor and Gerald and I
decided to go with a C-section, all of a sudden the contractions, which had
been exhausting and intense before but not excessively painful, suddenly hit
me like a freight train.  Before the decision for surgery, the contractions
had served a purpose.  But as soon as the contractions weren't going to get
the baby out, they became a hundred times more painful.  I'm pretty stoic
most of the time, and I have a high pain tolerance in general.  But the
contractions that hit me while I was signing the papers that gave the
consent for surgery snapped my resolve as if it were nothing, and sent me
into near hysterics.  So I can't stress enough that your outlook will play
an enormous role in how your labor goes.  Mind over matter probably won't
keep a woman from having a C-section or other complications, but viewing
yourself and your labor in a positive light surely can't hurt, and it might
just help immensely.

Jo Elizabeth

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may
kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at
evening.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
-----Original Message-----
From: Erin Rumer
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 11:11 PM
To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] About labor pains

Wow Bridgett, that's amazing.  I don't know how you got through all that
without major labor pains other than to say that the good Lord blessed you
ten times over.  I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all would
do just about anything to experience that when delivering our munchkins.

I had severe pain and I even have a high threshold for pain, but I also had
a lot of things going on during delivery as well by way of complications.
Thankfully, I was quite blessed on the other end with a quick and low pain
recovery from my C-section.  Every woman is different and it's interesting
how all of our bodies react differently during both pregnancy and labor.
Some of my friends talk about how they honestly thought they might die while
others said that it hurt but it wasn't anything unbearable and it didn't
last long.  I used to think that everyone just handled a similar situation
differently, but after having a child myself I know that we all honestly
have our own individual experiences.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 3:08 PM
To: blparent at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blparent] About labor pains

I probably shouldn't post this because I think I'm in a huge minority here
(yes, just realized the incompatibility of that statement, grin) but here I
go. I had zero pain associated with both labor and after my c-section. I had
pretty intense labor contractions, meaning I definitely felt that tightening
around my tummy, but I had zero pain of any kind.
My water broke at home like Niagra Falls. I stood in bath tub confused as to
if my water was breaking, as if that much liquid could have been anything
else, but I was having absolutely no pain. While at hospital, nurses and
doctors kept asking if those contractions hurt, and when I said no, they
were quite shocked.

I had to deliver via c-section for medical reasons, After all the
information given before and during, I kept expecting pain, but it never
came. Nurses kept asking, once again, if I needed pain meds yet, but I never
had any pain. It's only been three weeks now, and still no pain, and I
haven't struggled with doing normal things like cleaning or certain kinds of
activity like walking or going up and down stairs. I'm not pushing it, but
not struggling with any of this either. Again, everyone seems shocked by
this.

I have a true high tolerance for most pain, but even I expected a little
something from this whole ordeal. Also had stress to deal with, so maybe
this affected things, but I seemed to have a rather abnormal labor and
delivery, then again, I also experienced a abnormal pregnancy. More than one
medical person has said they should study me, ha-ha.

Regardless of pain or not, it's all worth it. Even having to deal with baby
in NICU, I would do it all over again just to have my little snuggle bear,
smile.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 16:30:59 -0600
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [blparent] Tracey, about labor pains
Message-ID: <SNT116-DS13C3EB11529F83A54B8AF3AC9A0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Hi, Tracey.  I was thinking about one of the posts you wrote, in which you
said that from what you had heard, labor and delivery would be quite
painful.  I didn?t feel that it was appropriate to write to you privately
since you?re new to the list, even if this is really beyond the scope of
blind parenting.  But I wanted to reassure you a bit.
Labor is uncomfortable, definitely, but especially if you take your focus
off the pain and do your controlled breathing during contractions, like
you?ll learn about in birthing classes, it isn?t excruciating or anything.
If you?ve ever had a migraine or some sort of other chronic pain, labor
isn?t like that, what I would call negative pain.  It?s more like hard work,
or pain with a purpose.  Every time you get through a contraction, you?re
that much closer to the prize, and that?s enough to get you ready for the
next wave.  I was worried before I went into labor that I wouldn?t stand the
pain well, but I didn?t need any drugs for most of the way along because the
contractions weren?t as awful as I thought they would be.  When I did take
some Fentinol in my IV, it was more because I was really tired from being up
for too many hours straight, and I wanted to have energy left for pushing.
Also, if you find positions that work for you, that helps immensely.  I
couldn?t stand to lie on my back in bed, but when I sat up in a laboring
chair, which had a very bouncy back on it so I could rock freely and still
be supported, I did a lot better.  So try not to psych yourself up for a
terribly difficult experience ahead of time because labor and delivery may
be easier than you expect, and the real challenge comes after you get that
baby out.

Best of luck,
Jo Elizabeth

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