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Hi Samara - Well I just had my little girl 4 months ago and I really cant explain what the pain is like - I didnt think it was like period cramps at all but cant think of how to explain it. It was painful enough that I opted for an epidural - however I lasted about 10 hours before asking for that and to be honest did a lot better then I thought I would. I think you just need to think positive and only read and listen to POSITIVE birth stories - also you will find you will probably have a lot more strength then you thought. So anyway I probably havent answered your question at all haha but you will be fine and just keep thinking the reason for the pain is that you get a beautiful bubba at the end of it - and believe me when they place him or her on your chest you forget all about the pain because you cant believe you and your partner made something soooo perfect - ahhhh tearing up a bit thinking about it..... hee hee sorry but I still get emotional... Good luck

Thanks for responding bellybubble & cute name! That thought popped in my head yesterday And I had to ask. Congrats on your little girl!!

Hello Samara! I, just like you would get menstrual cramps so bad that if I didn't take any aspirin or anything I would throw up. I too would have the greenish hue. In my opinion, if anything I think awful cramps kind of help us when we get contractions, because they don't start off really bad. So since we're already use to having pretty painful cramps we might be able to tolerate labor pain better. It also helps like bellybubble said, to just be positive and the biggest thing is RELAX!!!! The more you get nervous, the more you tense up, and that can in effect actually increase your labor pain. I had my first child a little over a year ago with no pain meds, I have nothing against people who end up using pain meds, it's each one's preference. I was walking around window shopping with my mom and sister, got home and for some reason felt really tire, so I went to bad at like 6pm, at 12:30 midnight at night I woke up to the twinges :) We got the hospital at 2:30am (told my husband to relax, take a shower, I did too) and out he came that morning at 8:08 am. So all in all, if you put a plan in your head on what you would like to happen the day you go into labor, you'll feel much more relaxed and can concentrate on getting as comfortable as you can:) Good Luck!!

good point o7sugar. If we can take the monthly cramp pains for years we can handle contractions. I don't think I want to use drugs. But who knows I'm not even pregnant yet. I just bought a basal thermometer to track my ovulation. Oh yeah & I just ordered the what to expect when your expecting book & a pregnancy cook book. I can't wait! Neither can my hubby

i have to say it was probably only about twice as bad as my worst cramps. i've had a d&c that i didn't take pain meds for and it was only about twice as bad as that. of course i still got my epidural which completely got rid of all the pain. i knew when i was having contractions because i could feel my baby's head pushing on my cervix but the epidural is a blessing lol.

I was just talking to some friends about this same topic, and the consensus was the same; if you have really painful periods, you have more tolerance for labor pain. I get horrible periods, and when I went into labor with my first, I just felt crampy for a few hours. It wasn't as bad as a normal period. I went to the hospital because I couldn't feel the baby moving. She was fine, they told me, but I was 4 cm dilated with contractions 3 mins apart. It came as news to me, because I expected contractions to be so much more painful. The baby came soon after that. I probably could have toughed out labor without interventions, but they don't give medals for not using pain meds, so I decided to have an epidural. Even with all of the contractions and discomfort, I left the hospital thinking, "That wasn't a big deal. That wasn't half as bad as everyone said it would be." Every woman is different. I don't guarantee that labor will be easy for you, but for everyone out there who says it will be horrific torture (I heard a lot of that too), there are lots of us who had good experiences. I do believe that painful periods give you great pain tolerance when it comes to delivering babies.(It's certainly the only perk, though!)

Tell Yah What, I am in the same boat as your self when I get my cycle, when Im not on BirthControl. So When I arrive home from after our delivery I will let you know. My Grandmother wow had the same thing in common as you and I said that the pain that we actually get is there to prepare us, She said of course labor contracts are pain ful, how ever we are used to pain once a month that not alot of people even experience. I will keep you posted.

Thanks Mahana & Mrs.Bartman, I really hate my cramps, but hey if it helps with labor I'll take it!