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The Fear Of Childbirth, Labor and Pain
Women who are pregnant for the very first time might be fearful of childbirth, labor and pain. This fear is completely normal. Although people will tell you that women have been having babies forever and that you will survive and forget about the pain, that's little consolation when you face the unknown. Some people find that learning all they can about the process will help with that fear.
Fear of that unknown can plague your mind throughout your pregnancy. Whether you are a proponent of natural childbirth or are planning to have pain medication if necessary, the fear of now knowing how painful childbirth labor pains will be can be frightening. Some people equate labor to extremely painful period or menstrual cramps. Others tell you that it really didn't hurt as much as they expected it to.
People all have various levels of pain tolerance and as such will experience differing opinions on the childbirth labor experience. The best thing that you can do is to educate yourself. Reading information in books at bookstores, or at the library as well as researching from the vast amounts of information available online can all help you prepare yourself for the unknown.
Modern medicine can make the pain very tolerable in childbirth labor. It's possible to have an epidural as soon as true labor begins and this can take you through your childbirth labor process with you feeling barely any pain at all. Or, you could find that through breathing and relaxation exercises, you are able to tolerate the pain of childbirth without medication.
Whatever your preference is for how you birth your baby, you will be in good company. There are many websites, resource books, women's groups and discussion forums dedicated to any facet of pregnancy and childbirth you can think of. There are websites dedicated to natural childbirth, planned c-section, vaginal birth after c-section, unassisted birth, and water births and home births. There are videos for download of childbirth footage as well as places where you can read birth stories.
Learning all you can about childbirth labor and delivery can help you to prepare and alleviate your fears of giving birth. Talking to other expectant mothers will reveal that you are not alone in your fears. Some women have fairly easy labor while others complain that it was excruciating pain. Most everyone will agree that once you hold your baby, the pain is a distant memory. Regardless of the unknown factors in the process, your outcome of a new, beautiful baby will definitely make the experience worthwhile.