Im so scared of giving birth

I sat in the hot tub (at the hospital) when I was in labor with my son. They had to break my water to really get things going (I needed a forced induction, baby was high risk with heart concerns), and once they did contractions came fast and hard. I won’t go as far as saying it was unbearable- but it hurt. The hot tub helped a bit, but for me, things were just too strong. The birthing ball was AMAZING! Worked just like they said it would. And I spent a good amount of time on my hands and knees too. My contractions were off the chart and my nurses finally convinced me to take some fenegren (maybe it’s phenegren)- that helped for about 12 seconds, and then completely stopped working. So I sucked up my pride and got the epidural- it turned out to be a life saver. I was able to go to sleep (I was so drained) and I stopped FIGHTING the contractions so my body was able to relax and open up so I could deliver my son. I had no problem pushing with the epidural either. It worked brilliantly.

My friend had her son about a month before me, she used he hot tub, it worked for her. You have to see what works for YOU. You can go in there with a birth plan, but that is like for the best-case scenario. Think of it as guidelines- try everything you want, and don’t feel like a failure if you have to result to pain meds. For goodness sake, they invented them for a reason! It hurts! :) That being said, labor is nothing to fear- you will not be alone, even if you have no friends or family in there. The nurses WILL take care of you, and will even soothe you emotionally if you’re nice enough to let them. Be kind to your care takers, it’s not their fault you’re in pain. :) Yes, it is going to hurt, but it is not unmanageable, and it’s not so agonizing that you can’t get through it. You are a woman, and we are amazing creatures! You can do it, and you’ll be rewarded with the most precious baby you can ever imagine and you forget instantly.

GOOD LUCK! It’ll be amazing, and you’ll do just fine! If it were really ‘all that bad’ women would have stopped having kids thousands of years ago and we’d cease to exist. ;)