Questions & Answers

Keep in mind that all those videos are filmed from the "catcher's position"! You will not see most of that & more to the point, you won't give a sh**! Before, during or after!! Before & during your brain will switch onto the business at hand & after you have that beautiful baby that trumps everything. With my first, I guess I even had a bit of hemmoraging (sp?) & I had no idea until my doc told me at my 6 week check up! You will be fine ;-)

It looks like you've fallen victim to society's image of birth. Not all birth experiences are painful.
The best advice I can give you is to E D U C A T E Y O U R S E L F . Look up several birthing methods, not just a few. Most positive book I read was the hypnobirthing book. Even if you don't use hypnosis, there is so much positive info in it.
Look up ways to prepare for birth. Watch only positive videos (like this one:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4grRewQ-AQ0
), learn how to prevent tearing, exercise daily, eat the right foods.
Get a good support system around you. Find a G R E A T doctor or midwife.

TRUST YOUR BODY.
Women have been having babies since before history began.



You can do this.

Taking birthing classes will help too, they will teach you what to do when you have contractions, pain etc.

I was also 16 when I had my 1st child. Like you, I was terrified of delivery. Now I won't say its painless or like a walk thru the park but what I kept telling myself was that the pain won't last forever. Also when ur in labour u don't even realize all things happening to body... like all the fluid and gross things :) but once ur baby is here all the pain instantly disappears and u will forget all about it. You will do great! Good luck and congrats.

You poor thing! You have to be brave. The braver and the more confident you are, the less it will hurt. Being scared, letting the pain take you over, it makes your body resist birth, fight it, tense up... if you accept the birth, and work with the birth - not against the contractions, you will have a more comfortable birth.

If you are planning to use an EPI, then make sure the videos your finding online are of women using full medical pain intervention. There are a lot of videos on youtube of natural births, and if that isn't what you are having, dont watch it.

If you are going natural, Natural Births can be very peaceful and the pain can be managed, it's just all about technique and attitude. Look into the methodology of Hypobithing. Im not saying to go out and decide to hypnobirth (im not going to), but if you read about the basis of it's technique, you can better understand how your body can either FIGHT birth, or participate in birth. It's all perception and attitude.

everybody is different some people have lower pain threshold than other, some women will say it was the worst pain ever, some say oh it was easy he or she juts flew out after 3 pushes :)
I tell you now there is nothing worse than the pain of kidney stones lol.
if you want to go down the road of drugs theres a few things you can have to help the pain, if it gets too bad, and ya know once u see that baby for the first time, ya wont even be thinking about what you just went through. :) good luck

I gave birth to my first daughter in September 2010 and also had many fears about the pain. But it is a completley different experience when you are the one going through it than to watch it. The best thing you can do for yourself is to just believe that your body is made for birthing and just focus on your baby. It is a different kind of pain be ause it is there for a purpose. Are you reading any books on labor? I suggest the birth book by doctor Sears. Do you haVe anyone who will be supporting you while you give birth? Luckily i had a wonderful nurse who helped me and showed my husband how to guide me through the contractions, and i ended up with an unmedicated birth. Remember that if the pain is too unbearable for you, you can always try oral medication or even the epidural. My sister gave birth to her first son in 2008 and i was there with her, she had the epidural and i nearly passed out when she was pushing! But she was a pillar of strength fir me during my labor.

just remember when the babys out the pain is all over thats all you need to think about

I was 16 with my first (now almost 21 baby number 3) and I knew what child birth was watching a video doesnt mean your birth will be the same and it is something to wonder about but just be calm and perpare you still have a while until that day. keep an open mind I wanted an all natural birth everything i didnt want to happen happened but baby was born health and is now a bright 4 year old. the more you freak yourself out the more scared and hard on the baby it will be

I haven't experienced birth yet but I have also heard it is very painful, but at the end there's a good reward, your baby. I am 20 years old and terrified about just thinking about it. Right now my focus is on my baby, I would have to go through birth, I just want to hold my baby in hands, that's my motivation. Just have one goal about you and your baby after birth. Try to think of your baby and how you would bond after birth. I hope this helps. HH9M