https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 10 May 2026 17:40:51 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-865629 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:48:43 +0000 LuLu Mom 865629@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>They were about what I expected until back labor started...and then all bets were off. My butt felt like it was going to explode. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-865597 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:38:35 +0000 littlebug 865597@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted less. I expected WAY worse. What surprised me was how much the urge to push hurt, which I think is different than contraction pain. When that urge to push first hit, I thought I was going to die. Eventually I got used to it, but man those first few urges were like white hot pain. I'm 5 months out and I still remember it like it was yesterday. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-865590 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:36:21 +0000 Bao 865590@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted as expected but I don't know...lol. Someone once told me it would feel like I was being sawed in half, I've never felt that of course but it didn't hurt *that* bad. I think it was nice because the pain would come and go, instead of constant. I was able to talk mostly through them if I could stand and sway back and forth. The only time I waved at the blood draw guy to shut it for a minute was because I couldn't understand what he was saying while going through a contraction. The worst part was the pressure of pushing. I was crying and puking and telling them to just pull her out haha but once she was out and I ripped end to end I felt better...until the next day ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864989 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:17:41 +0000 GrapeCrush 864989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>it was different than what I was expecting...not sure what I was expecting though. I had back labor to though, and that is just AWFUL! like I wanted to rip the arm of the bed off, awful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864965 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:08:39 +0000 SugarplumsMom 864965@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more. I never couldn't have ever imagined the amount of pain. I had an induced vaginal birth with a failed epidural. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864962 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:07:41 +0000 cascademom 864962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My early labor contractions weren't what I expected. It was because they didn't feel like they went around my belly. It felt like my uterus was tightening at intervals. When the pain got worse, I didn't expect how much they would really hurt. I still remember the really bad contractions both before the epidural and when it wore off a bit in the middle of the night. So, honestly, I remember the two worst ones. They were really bad, but the rest were just pain I expected. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864956 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:06:19 +0000 JerricaBenton 864956@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was induced and was on pitocin for a whole day and then again for a second day at a pretty high dose. I didn't get an epidural (I did end up with a spinal for my c-section of course) and I was honestly surprised at how little the contractions hurt. To me it felt like bad cramps but I was never in terrible pain. My only reason to regret having to have a c-section is that I wanted to see if it would have stayed that way the whole time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864951 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:04:19 +0000 DillonLion 864951@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It was just different. I had to be induced, first of all. My body was contracting before the induction, and then contractions picked up as the pitocin was introduced. But I couldn't feel any of them at all. Then, all of a sudden, I was totally slammed with contractions that took my breath away with absolutely no warning. I was expecting more of a gradual increase. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864944 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:02:15 +0000 LomaLinda 864944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My labor hurt less than I expected, up until transition. I was expecting to experience excruciating, I'm-going-to-die type pain for my whole labor, but that wasn't the case. Don't get me wrong, it was very intense and required concentration to get through each contraction, but the breaks between contractions truly were a relief and a chance to regroup for the next wave. I went from 1.5 cm to fully dilated in about 5 1/2 hours. When I hit transition I began to feel I couldn't take it anymore, and right before I was about to tell my doula I couldn't do this med-free I got the urge to push and figured "too late now"! :) I had built labor up in my mind to be something so impossibly hard that I was quite shocked after my baby was born that I lived through it:) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864608 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:38:02 +0000 Koolbreeze 864608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The first time, much much much worse. Wasn't expecting back labor and it was a b*tch!! Second time was a breeze compared to the first time though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864597 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:33:11 +0000 sorrycharlie 864597@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My labor started with my water breaking and it was only 3 hours til I was fully dilated, so pretty intense. That said, while painful , I didn't get the epidural til I was fully dilated (not by choice). They were painful but I've had stomach/gas pains just as bad. The hardest part was that they were on top of each other from the get go! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864593 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:30:41 +0000 Dandelion 864593@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I said other. With DS, labor wasn't as bad at all what I thought it was. Contractions weren't that bad.</p> <p>However, with S, when they told me they were putting the pitocin in me, I thought I could handle the contractions, because I had already labored once before. I was SO wrong. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864576 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:19:47 +0000 hilsy85 864576@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>More. I had no idea what they would feel like--I imagined bad period cramps. But like others, there was no break in the contractions once they really got started, and while they started out feeling like cramps it quickly ramped up to excruciating pain. My labor was also fast and intense though--9 hours start to finish. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864506 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 06:16:41 +0000 swedishfish 864506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Pepper: this thread is scaring me. I must not look anymore! Haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864488 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:57:02 +0000 MsMamaBear 864488@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it was more. I knew it was going to be bad, but I had no idea I'd be laying there crying. Screaming, but not crying.</p> <p>Oh, epidural didn't help. It just made it go from a 10 to an 8. My friend got an epidural, but it didn't even kick in, so she went natural--but hadn't planned to! Her husband was a wreck watching.lol (It was their second, 1st natural.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864482 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:50:13 +0000 heartonastring 864482@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, I got to 5-6cm with no pain (like, I didn't know I was contracting), but then stalled there for hours with contractions that definitely hurt more than I thought they would. Having said that, I was induced and they had to up my oxytocin drip to significantly above the normal max, so by the time I asked for an epi my contractions were coming every two minutes, lasting 60-90 seconds (so 30 secs to 1 min between them) and double-peaking....not pleasant at all. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864462 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:15:51 +0000 Ra 864462@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864459 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:05:30 +0000 Boheme 864459@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsLipGloss: and all you other back laborers I tried to tag-Another vote for back labor pretty much feeling like the 7th layer of hell. I can't even describe how much it sucked, besides telling you I told my nurses that my husband was a terrorist for trying to encourage me to stick with our birth plan and go without an epi :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864440 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:09:33 +0000 shopaholic 864440@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted way more even though I expected pain. I just couldn't fathom what kind of pain. I was a hot mess and the puking in between contractions just gave me no relief. At least it was a quick labor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864439 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:05:20 +0000 red_seattle 864439@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I thought since I had had regular contractions for months, preterm labor, etc etc that I was totally prepared. Oh, how naive I was! The contractions I had while on bedrest that I couldn't talk through were barely anything compared to the contractions I had when I was in labor for real. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864432 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:37:49 +0000 tlcbaby 864432@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I I voted less because I honestly had no idea what to expect so I was prepared for worse. To me, it helped that they built gradually over the seven or so hours because every time I had a contraction I realized if I could handle that I could probably handle another one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864422 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:22:25 +0000 lemondrop 864422@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So much worse- BUT, it was because the contractions were right on top of each other without a break in between. I had expected 24+ hours of labor, but things moved way faster than I planned (water breaking to baby in just under 8 hours, it only really hurt for 4 hours for me) and I couldn't wrap my brain around it. If I was in a better frame of mind I may have been able to walk and focus and not fight the contractions as much, but yes- it hurt like hell. Not to scare you, just being honest :)</p> <p>Now labor has faded to the back of my mind and I have forgotten a lot about the unpleasant stuff. Trying for baby #2, I'm way more nervous about the morning sickness and heartburn of pregnancy rather than worrying about labor again, that part isn't nearly as scary the next time around. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864420 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:12:41 +0000 Purpledaisy 864420@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more! My labor also went really fast up to 7cm. I went from thinking that I *might* be having contractions to 2-3 min apart super intense contractions in like and hour. And then I got an epidural and it was wonderful! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would/page/2#post-864415 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:01:53 +0000 Ree723 864415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more. There is just no way to envision the pain until you go through it. My early labour contractions weren't that bad and I thought I'd be ok, but once active labour started, forget it! Everyone said they'd be like cramps....umm, no. I get cramps every month and they were nothing like cramps. All I can say is thank goodness for the epi! Labour sucks....but delivery is pretty awesome, it's just getting to that point I wish I could skip. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864411 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:49:47 +0000 Espion 864411@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted "as expected" despite having an induction. I battled through pitocin contractions for nearly 10 hours before getting the epidural. I elected for the epidural before the OB broke my water, because I could tell that although they were bad and required all of my coping skills to get through, they could have still been a heckuva lot worse. I didn't trust myself to be able to sit still through contractions after having my water broken, so I elected for the epidural before. (Right on time, because as I was shifting in bed after the anesthesiologist was done, my water broke on its own!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864407 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:37:06 +0000 birdofafeather 864407@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I voted other because I honestly had no idea what to expect. I hoped to do it naturally just to avoid other interventions but I have a low pain tolerance and allowed myself to be open when the time came. My labor was quick and intense and it really hurt, but in the end I got through it med free. So I guess I voted other because I had the expectation of pain but with the prompts I used from hypnobirthing and my doula I felt like the pain was for a reason so I would hesitate to say less than I expected. Maybe different is what I would tell you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864376 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:31:03 +0000 dcw6411 864376@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Induction... There are no words. Thank goodness for the epidural and big props to all that can go med free. Not this girl! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864372 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:27:26 +0000 Maysprout 864372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Way more. I read and heard all these zen mommy stories, my mom had 4 kids without pain meds and all she says 'it's not that bad, people just like to tell stories and exaggerate' (this is from a woman who will describe in detail the pain she has after stubbing her toe and then repeat the story several times). So I felt a bit unprepared. It was crazy amounts of pain that I'd never imagined. It does make you feel strong to overcome and learn to cope with each new level of pain but wowza. I got the epi at about 8-1/2 cm because my labor instead of going through transition fast decided to slow down. I'm glad I waited for the epi but it was also really nice to have it at the end and relax a little more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864371 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:25:25 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 864371@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had back labor, so take that into account (baby was op).</p> <p>Still, I had envisioned something so horrific that I was pleasantly surprised by the horrible pain :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-contractions-hurt-more-or-less-than-you-thought-they-would#post-864363 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:09:33 +0000 Mrs. Pen 864363@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Induction. Hurt WAYYYY more than I anticipated. And I had watched births in preparation! </p>