I'm thinking about labor a lot lately at 38 weeks pregnant. I have plenty of fears but some of the common fears don't even cross my mind. One of those is a big baby. I'm not scared of a big baby and tearing for what ever reason. What common labor fears don't seem to register for you?
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I wasn't scared of the epidural needle. I figured, I wouldn't even see it and would have my mind on other things in the moment... all true.
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the idea of having a c-section didn't freak me out.
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I wasn't worried about not eating. When I have a headache or am in pain, I'm usually not hungry anyways.
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The only thing that terrifies me about labor is going I to labor the week Pitt students move in.
There is nothing worse than the streets being shut down. Absolutely nothing.
(Campus is by my hospital) -
@blackbird: same, I was very much whatever it takes and went with flow.
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The idea of the pain doesn't scare me for some reason, even with #1 I could never find the fear of being in labor no matter how much I thought about it. It is strange because I am a pretty big wimp. I guess my fear of needles outweighs my fear of pain! Lol
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@Beyond2: Honestly, I wasn't all that scared in general. It didn't even become real to me until I was in full-on labor.
I think beforehand, the thing that grossed me out the most was the tearing I'd heard about. But I wasn't thinking about it every day or anything.
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@kiddosc: good one! I wasn't scared of that either. And I didn't even feel the epidural.
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I wasn't really afraid of anything. Just wanted a healthy baby and didn't wanna poop while pushing
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@cyndistar3: Same!!!
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Right now I'm not scared of anything to do with labour. I'm totally aware this is because ignorance is bliss
I hope this continues right up until it happens. I'm rubbish with fear.
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The whole fear of needles thing, especially the epi. I don't get how people can be more afraid of that relatively small needle compared to the PERSON coming out of your body! But fears aren't always rational!
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@chopsuey: Yeah I'm not really afraid either. I mean I'm not looking forward to the pain, but I'm not really afraid of it.
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Pooping, epidural needle, or getting a csec.
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The only thing that really terrified me was the idea of something bad happening to the baby. I had this terrible fear that there would be some crazy emergency and my husband would have to choose between saving my life and saving the baby's life (he was under STRICT instruction to save the baby). That fear was pretty much all consuming, I didn't have time to worry about other (more rational) things!
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C-section didn't scare me (thank goodness since I ended up with one), the thought of a big baby didn't scare me (had one as well) or the epidural. And even tearing/epidisomy didn't scare me. I was terrified of the use of forceps though.
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I was scared of nothing with M besides losing him. Nothing else mattered.
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I wasn't scared of the epidural needle or pooping. Turns out I was right-- for me, both weren't a big deal. I was, however, terrified of the pain and that was definitely a big deal! I planned on an epidural and did not prepare for labor pains and the epidural going wrong which caught me by surprise
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I'm not really scared of the pain during labor. I mean, I'm a bit wary of it I guess (and wondering if I would be scared if I knew better lol) but I figure that it is fleeting and purposeful. And worst case scenario, I get an epidural and that will be that. I'm much more scared of tearing/episiotomy/pain after birth.
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I wasn't scared about tearing, possible c-section or doing a #2 whilst pushing!
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I was strangely calm going into it - not really scared of much. I think things might be a bit different with #2. We'll see.
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I wasn't scared of a big baby and I had one!
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I wasn't really scared of anything, I was nervous before E about having a hard time pushing again but that was unnecessary worry not really fear.
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Hmm, I would have thought I'd be the kind of person to not have any of the labor fears, but I had most of them!
The only things I weren't worried about were big baby and epidural needle.
ETA: I guess I wasn't worried about being told I couldn't eat, because I brought my own snacks with me!
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Not feeling afraid of the pain or of pooping.
Am feeling some apprehension (not quite fear) about other things... How I'll feel if I'm not able to birth vaginally or not able to breastfeed. I'd really like to have both experiences. A little nervous that I won't love the baby immediately and will feel secret guilt about it forever. Healthy nerves about something unexpected happening to the baby (shoulder dystocia, stillbirth, extended hospitalization for some reason, etc).
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I think the only one is definitely not worried about tearing. For some reason it just doesn't register. Honestly I'm not really worried about any of it most of the time, but occasionally it does hit me that I really do have to go through labor. But it's such a huge unknown as a first time mom, that it just doesn't feel real enough to be scary.
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When it came down to things the only thing I was scared is if I would have had to be transferred to a hospital, an IV or spending the night at a hospital. I wasn't scared at all of pushing a baby through my vag with no pain meds. But Michael Jackson forbid if they would have had to give me an IV!!
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The only thing that kept me up at night was the health and safety of the baby. Labor itself wasn't causing me any anxiety. I just hoped he had 10 fingers and 10 toes
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I'm not afraid of the induction I'll have at 40 weeks (due to baby's size -- over 10 pounds, likely) next week if he doesn't come sooner. If the induction stalls, I'm not afraid of having a c-section. I wouldn't choose a c-section, but I have friends and family who have had them for various reasons and they've all survived just fine.
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I was not afraid of tearing or an episiotomy. I had an episiotomy, and it was no big deal, and at 24 hours after birth, I felt better than while pregnant. I was also not afraid of not eating.
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I knew I was having a c-section, and it didn't scare me.
What scared me most - pooping afterwards. lol
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@CupQuakeWalk: yep, me too!
Although I was fearful that I might feel the incision being made during my cs.
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We had a home birth, so there were several things I couldn't allow myself to be scared of. I loved that I didn't have to worry about having no control (like a pushy nurse, etc.) ... I was a little afraid of an emergency (like a hemorrhage or something), but very thankful it didn't happen.
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Not pregnant, but I wasn't worried about the epidural needle/pain or a c-section at all
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I didn't fear having c-section, but was totally freaked out of the thought of pooping! Ended up with c-section and didn't poop! What more could a girl ask for!
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I'm not afraid of epidural needle or pooping or tearing.
Mostly nervous about back labor, losing a lot of blood, c-section, and contractions too painful to get through naturally!
I hope this continues right up until it happens. I'm rubbish with fear.
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