• About
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
Pregged.com
  • Getting Pregnant
    • Am I Pregnant?
    • Unplanned Pregnancy
    • Miscarriage
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Pregnancy Health
    • Mental Health
    • 1st Trimester
    • 2nd Trimester
    • 3rd Trimester
  • Week by Week
  • Relationships
    • Dads
  • Getting Ready
    • Labor
    • Birth
    • Postpartum
    • Baby
    • Baby Names
    • Baby Astrology
    • Breastfeeding
  • Shop
    • Pregnancy Products
    • Maternity Wear
    • Baby Gear
    • Diapers
    • Postpartum Products
    • Gift Ideas
  • Getting Pregnant
    • Am I Pregnant?
    • Unplanned Pregnancy
    • Miscarriage
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Pregnancy Health
    • Mental Health
    • 1st Trimester
    • 2nd Trimester
    • 3rd Trimester
  • Week by Week
  • Relationships
    • Dads
  • Getting Ready
    • Labor
    • Birth
    • Postpartum
    • Baby
    • Baby Names
    • Baby Astrology
    • Breastfeeding
  • Shop
    • Pregnancy Products
    • Maternity Wear
    • Baby Gear
    • Diapers
    • Postpartum Products
    • Gift Ideas
Home » Pregnancy » Getting Ready » What Does Labor REALLY Feel Like?

What Does Labor REALLY Feel Like?

  Written by Feature Editor
   Medically reviewed by Kristy June Dinampo MD
  Updated on June 29th, 2023
What Does Labor REALLY Feel Like?

When you ask women what their greatest fears are about childbirth, the pain of labor is at the top of the list.

The catch is that contractions are a necessary part of labor, the discomfort unavoidable.

Unless you are having a scheduled cesarean birth before labor begins on its own, your uterus needs to contract for your baby to be born.

With each tightening, the muscular uterus pulls up on its opening, the cervix. This causes the cervix to thin and open.

Once open, the strong uterine contractions push the baby down into the birth canal and out into the world.

It takes time and progressively stronger contractions for all of this to happen. And it does cause sensations most women describe as painful.

The problem with hearing other women’s descriptions of birth is that pain is subjective – every woman feels it differently based on her own history. How contractions feel to you is a purely personal thing.

It will depend on what pain you have felt before in your life, and whether you have a low or high threshold to painful bodily changes.

So what you might find merely uncomfortable might cause another woman to writhe in agony.

Labor pain isn’t like other kinds of pain.

It’s not chronic like arthritis and it’s not acute like a broken bone. It’s not a signal that something’s wrong, but a sign that things are going right with your body.

Contractions build slowly – allowing your body to acclimatize to changes.

Contractions come and go.

It’s not an entire eight hours of being in pain. Contractions have resting periods in between.

And there is a definite endpoint to contractions with the birth of the baby and placenta.

Because we associate “contraction” with pain, midwife and birth guru Ina May Gaskin refers to them instead as “rushes.” In Hypnotbirthing (a non-pharmacological method of pain relief in labor), they use the word “surges.”

The language we use to describe birth can make a huge difference in how we perceive the sensations.

If we go into birth anxious and dreading pain, we’re likely to feel more discomfort.

If we welcome the sensations as a guide to find a comfortable position or movement, we may be less fearful and describe labor as less painful than expected.

What Do Contractions Feel Like?

Some women describe the contraction as waves – you can feel the wave building and building, lifting you higher until the wave breaks and runs up the beach, then is pulled slowly back out to sea.

Maybe you’re riding the wave; maybe it’s crashing over you.

Or contractions may feel like standing beside railroad tracks – you can feel the train coming toward you in the distance, vibrations moving from the ground up through your body, then the air rushes pushing against you as the train passes you, until finally the train passes away and into the distance leaving you exhilarated.

Maybe those descriptions are too poetic.

Many women simply describe contractions like intense menstrual cramps or gas pains.

Some women go further saying they feel like being stabbed or like someone is trying to pull their internal organs out.

Imagery matters.

Maybe the poetic images will help you think more positively about contractions (and thus stay calmer) instead of fearing them as images of being stabbed and gutted would.

A fight or flight response to labor pain can slow labor down, make it last longer, and ultimately cause more pain so it makes sense to avoid this.

Where is Labor Pain Felt in the body?

The bodily location of the pain may change as labor progresses. During the first stage, women typically feel labor pain in their lower backs, and if often radiates to the abdomen.

Some women feel pain in the upper thighs, hips and buttocks.

For others they only feel the pain in their back or stomach throughout the entire process.

When the baby’s head begins its movement down from the top of the vagina it can feel like a big, heavy cannon ball.

During the second stage (pushing), the pain is centered lower – in the pelvis, vagina, rectum and perineum.

With each contraction, you will be bearing down.

This is hard, tiring work – which is why they call it labor.

When the baby’s head is ready to be born, the quality of the pain may change to a burning sensation briefly as the vaginal outlet is stretched.

This is sometimes called the “ring of fire”.

Pushing through this to deliver your baby can be challenging – we instinctively want to pull away from such pain, but you need to run through it for your baby to arrive.

Finally, contractions associated with the third stage of labor (delivery of the placenta) can vary in painfulness from mild to very painful as your uterus begins to contract back to its original size.

Some women also feel ‘after pains’ when they breastfeed in the early days because the hormones that deliver milk to the baby also continue contracting the uterus and stomach muscles.

Tension in your body will increase the intensity of pain sensations – if you’re fighting against them, the contractions will hurt more.

The more relaxed you are, the more manageable the pain may be.

It’s entirely possible to use drug-free comfort measures to get through labor.

Relaxation techniques, breathing changes, aromatherapy, movement and touch call interrupt or change the pain signals.

If you change the quality of the stimulus, you can change your physical reaction to it.

Is there such a thing as painless labor?

Pain medications – analgesics and anesthesia – are often used to relieve the pain of labor.

You need to get to a certain point in labor, however, before getting them.

You might think that a cesarean will save you from labor pain – but keep in mind it’s major abdominal surgery.

The recovery will most certainly be uncomfortable at best.

Rather than searching for a pain-free option, focus instead on ways to manage your discomfort – take into account your own personal reactions to pain and plan accordingly.

Women’s wisdom about birth is powerful.

Talking to other mothers – learning how they managed contractions, what helped, what didn’t – can help to alleviate the stress of the unknown.

Sources:

  1. https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/types-of-contractions
  2. https://www.babycentre.co.uk/x25006039/what-will-contractions-feel-like
  3. https://www.thisisinsider.com/what-does-birth-feel-like-2018-1
  4. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a22577215/what-do-contractions-feel-like/
  5. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/labour-signs-what-happens/
  6. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/stages-of-labor/art-20046545

Related Posts

  • The Chinese Gender Prediction Calendar – A Guide
  • Faint Pregnancy Test Line is Very Light – Am I Pregnant or Not?
  • 7 Remarkable Facts About Baby Eye Color
Trending Now
9 Ways to Have a Baby on a Tight Budget

9 Ways to Have a Baby on a Tight Budget

Sadly a money tree has yet to be discovered which means that more and more of us are on tight budgets. Couples who have dreams

Should I Buy a Home Fetal Doppler? Are They Safe?

Should I Buy a Home Fetal Doppler? Are They Safe?

Fetal dopplers for home use are now widely available and many parents-to-be understandably like the idea of being able to check on baby whenever they

Read more...
Molar Pregnancy – What is it and Why Does it Happen?

Molar Pregnancy – What is it and Why Does it Happen?

A molar pregnancy is a rare abnormality which is caused at conception — that moment when the sperm meets the egg. But what exactly is

Read more...
10 Common Causes For a Late Period (Including One Science Can’t Explain!)

10 Common Causes For a Late Period (Including One Science Can’t Explain!)

Your period hasn’t arrived as it should and panic starts to set in! Now, wait! Before you go into meltdown and start thinking about dirty

Read more...
9 Freaky Things That Can Happen to Your VJ During Pregnancy

9 Freaky Things That Can Happen to Your VJ During Pregnancy

The female body can do some seriously freaky things during pregnancy and sadly, your lady bits are NOT immune. Not only do most bodily parts

Read more...
7 Secrets That Will Help Your Labor Go More Smoothly

7 Secrets That Will Help Your Labor Go More Smoothly

Almost every mother looks forward to the day her baby will be born with a mixture of excitement and fear.  What will happen that day?

Read more...
Eating Saffron in Pregnancy — Is it Safe?

Eating Saffron in Pregnancy — Is it Safe?

Saffron is a bright crimson-colored and very expensive spice, also called Kesar. It’s a dried form of part of the Crocus Sativus flower, which grows

Read more...
Can I Take Antihistamines While I’m Pregnant? (Claritin®, Zyrtec® etc)

Can I Take Antihistamines While I’m Pregnant? (Claritin®, Zyrtec® etc)

Written by our resident Pharmacist, Yeniset Santana. Antihistamines are a common over the counter medication that most of us have used at one time or

Read more...
21 Brilliant Ways to Reduce Anxiety in Pregnancy

21 Brilliant Ways to Reduce Anxiety in Pregnancy

Is anxiety taking over your pregnancy and stopping you from enjoying it? Would you like to take back control and find ways to reduce your

Read more...
Preventing and Treating Yeast Infections in Pregnancy

Preventing and Treating Yeast Infections in Pregnancy

If you have never experienced a vaginal yeast infection then you are a very lucky woman.  A yeast infection in pregnancy isn’t anything serious but

Read more...
7 Questions About Ectopic Pregnancy Answered

7 Questions About Ectopic Pregnancy Answered

When you get pregnant the fertilized egg implants in the uterus which is where your baby can develop and grow. But in an ectopic pregnancy

Read more...
What Does Labor REALLY Feel Like?

What Does Labor REALLY Feel Like?

When you ask women what their greatest fears are about childbirth, the pain of labor is at the top of the list. The catch is

Read more...
6 Ways to Have a Healthy Baby (During Pregnancy)

6 Ways to Have a Healthy Baby (During Pregnancy)

You’re pregnant — or you want to be. So even if you’re usually the most laid back human on the planet, you might be starting

Read more...
Does Sex Feel the Same After Giving Birth Vaginally?

Does Sex Feel the Same After Giving Birth Vaginally?

Sex after giving birth. It’s on every new Mom’s mind at some point during or after pregnancy. Will it hurt? How long until you’ll be

Read more...
11 Gentle Ways to Start Labor Naturally

11 Gentle Ways to Start Labor Naturally

Picture the scene – you’re somewhere between 38 – 42 weeks pregnant and nothing seems to be happening. Not even getting any pre-labor symptoms. You’re

Read more...
Join the Pregged Community
Follow us
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
Disclosure

Some of the links on Pregged lead to sites we are affiliated with, such as Amazon, and we may earn revenue from them.

The material on this website is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, or in place of therapy or medical care. Use of this site is subject to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Links
  • About
  • Contact
  • T & C’s
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2023 Pregged.com. All rights reserved