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Hi Brianna, I would have to say that I have a fairly high pain tollerance, I played tackle football for 4 years in junior high and high school, and I can honestly tell you that the worse pain I ever felt was during labor. It isnt as bad if you are able to keep focused on something else besides the pain and are able to breathe through your contractions. I was able to go through 5 of the 9 hours of my labor with no medication but ended up getting an epidural. after that I had no pain until after I had the baby and the epidural wore off because I had severe tearing down below. but the pain wont kill you, but it does make time go by alot slower if you are in a lot of it. I would say if you can make it to 8cm with no meds, than go all the way, cuz your doing great. Im soon to have my second son and im going to try and go without meds this time because labor should be shorter, but we will see. :-)

I have a high pain tolerance. I know that for a fact because with the last birth they toldme the contractions were off the chart and asked if i felt it..yes i felt it but i could handle it. I think i had some oxygen but that was about it. Now when it came to the absess that i had last year on my tooth...omg...I was ok for 2 days before i started seeing stars but thats an infection pain rather than st8 pain.

i had drugs, it didnt hurt but i felt alot of pressure, but other then that is wasnt as bad as i thought it was going to be. good luck u can do it

I don't know what my pain tolerance is but I am pregnant with my fourth. I had induced labours with the first two and I felt I needed an epidural. The third I had naturally without medical pain relief and I can tell you that the most pain I really felt was no worse than the pain I had right before my epidurals. Transition was really tough but it was such a short period of time that it didn't matter. It wasn't comfortable and without the payoff of a baby at the end I'd consider the most horrible discomfort I've ever felt... but it didn't matter how bad it hurt once I had my tiny baby in my arms...

My lamaze instructor said something before the birth of my first child that has stuck in my mind - when you get to the point where you feel like if the pain gets any worse you won't be able to handle it - it's not going to get any worse than that, and you're almost done. Hope that helps.

If you've suffered an absess tooth for a few days labor is a BREEZE!

I have wrote this a few times.I am not bad with pain,won't rush to have a pill like some.At the birth cla__ses I was curious about labour.In labour it was the worst pain could have imagined.I felt guilty at wishing my baby would shrivel into soup,even if that meant she died.I remember thinking to focus on a baby,but I did'nt know her before she came along and was happy,so not knowing her was fine,if you get my meaning.I love my daughter,course I do,but it really felt like my legs were being pulled apart from all directions,people were trying to calm me,help me focus,but I was the one in pain,tried different drugs they did not take.Asked for an epidural but that did'nt take.It's all very well if women have a good experience with labour they'll say,it's only a short time for a lifetime,or this pain was worse,or have an epidural you won;t feel a thing.I don't mean to scare you,but its not always as easy as that,you cannot imagine the pain I had,it put me off having another.The only time I would consider it is with a c-section,yes its a major op,but a common one.Even with an infection I cannot imagine it being worse than having what felt like your legs being pulled apart,afterwards they say its all over,I did'nt think so,when you went for a pee it stung,and hurt to sit down but I could live with that,but not giving birth.

Ok - I usually don't post, but I gotta give my two cents... I have a high tolerance of pain - child birth was not that bad. For me it happened so fast that there was no time to give me anything for pain. My water broke and an hour later, there was my son. Yes, the contractions hurt - not gonna lie, but the worst pain the the world? Nope. I have felt the worst pain in the world a few years ago. I had an ectopic pregnancy and my tube burst. I was bleeding internally and that, my friends, is the WORST pain in the world! Giving birth just does not hold a candle!

No-one know what the worst pain in the world is,my aunt may have said having 75% of her liver being cut away,getting infected,then dying that I would think is pretty bad.Childbirth is re-nowened for being pretty high up there regarding pain.Yed,you have your meds but they don't always agree with you or take.I understand entirely with the lady who wrote before you,saying she could'nt imagined such pain,I remember the overwhelming love when I saw my baby,but also tried to remember the feeling.Everything stretches in prep for labour,but opening your mouth,and tugging on it to stretch further until it may rip which is common is like the v____a.So to say childbirth is not that bad,it depends on who you ask.Typically a mother will "forget"her pain she was in,thats normal and natural.I won't.

PJ, that was so fast it doesn't really count. There's a huge difference in pain short term and pain long term.

I had two kids naturally, and I have friends that say labor was like menstrual cramps. For me it was hell, I was 21 with the first and I thought I was going to die that day. The second one came Sunny-Side-up (face up instead of down) which was even worse. I can hardly remember anything that happened but I was vomiting a lot because of the pain. But I really wanted to add that if someone says " I had been in labor for 36 hours" does NOT mean they have been in I-want-to-die pain the whole time, it does not get REALLY painful until about 7 cm dilation. Oh and once you are fully dilated you can tell that the pain stops and shifts to pressure pain from the baby going down. I am having my third now and I am going to go without drugs again, even tho I know I will be screaming at the doctor to get me drugs during labor, but I am usually unable to sign the consent for the epidural and I told my husband not to sign it unless there is an emergency and they have to give it to me. Giving birth is awefully painful but once it is over you forget about the pain and I feels good to have a child without drugs afterwards. And believe me I turn into a Bxtch when in pain and start begging and bargening for drugs.

I don't think it has as much to do with women having different pain tolerances as having different att_tudes going into labor. Labor pain is a kind of pain that if you tense up and panic, it gets much much worse, but if you relax and let it do it's work, and find positions and activities that aid the process, then you won't experience as much dramatic pain. Also, something to keep in mind is that labor pain is a good pain with a purpose, not a bad pain that means something is wrong with you. I would score migraine headaches WELL above the worst pain of labor - and I was stuck at 7 cm for quite a few hours because my daughter was posterior. For what it's worth.

I had my first son naturally, no drugs involved. Knowing then what I know now, I would've done differently, but he got stuck behind my pelvic bone so I had 3 hours of PAINFUL contractions with no progress until he had to be vaccuum-pumped out(ouch again). This time, if things look difficult again, it is going to be meds, meds, meds!

I had my first baby without any drugs and I feel that my pain tolerance is about average. I took a Bradley cla__s and found that it helped a lot. I focused on it being a good kind of pain that would produce my baby. transition was hard I remember but by that time it is almost over. After her birth I felt wonderful, alert and ready to go home! I am pregnant agin and due in Nov and I am planning on having another bradley birth

I was told that giving birth is the worst pain you could ever put your body through. its worse than surviving a train wreck. alot of the ladies that say it isnt so bad probably had a fairly fast labor. I could easly deal with the pain for a few hours, but when your in labor for 12, 18, 24 hours, there is just no way. lol but then again we are all women and we will survive, right?

I just wanted to add my bit.Giving birth hurts like they say,no matter how much you learn,people forget as they say,my case it was'nt so much forgetting,I had prtoblems down there afterwards,felt like had shoved a spade up there to try and get her out.I was in pain when I tried to go a toilet,felty like my insides were coming out,hurt to sit for too long.2nd birth I had a c-section,thought I nearly had to have one with my 1st,ok I was in pain a bit afterwards,but it was much more controlled,I enjoyed the birth,with pain afterwards you get help feeding from the nurses,which I did'nt get to same degree with v____al,and thats not easy to start with.I would go for a c-section,but in a way am glad to have done both ways to say never again!