

To think there are worse pains than labour?

(346 Posts)
coraltoes Thu 07-Feb-13 15:37:54

Having recently badly broken a bone WIBU to say actually, it hurt a fuckload more than giving birth? I honestly thought nothing could hurt more than labour, but lo and behold something did! (for less hours admittedly but nothing amazing to cuddle at the end). The bone had to be pulled back into place with gas and air and a local block, which made me nearly vomit.

Come and share with me your injury horrors and tell me whether they trumped your labour pains. please do not thik i am trying to undermine ladies with horrendous labours, i am sure some of you would put me to great shame :D

Mumindoha Thu 07-Feb-13 16:15:11

'After Pains' - some women (myself included) get them after giving birth as the uterus 'pings' back into shape. But it 'pings' more slowly and painfully after each birth. After my fourth baby - Owwww MUCH worse than labour and the pain put sent me into shock. I was going to have another but the after pains put me off

SirBoobAlot Thu 07-Feb-13 16:15:13

Suspected endo, along with PCOS, left over SPD and CFS / Fibro pains. Currently can't move my left leg without nearly screaming, and have thrown up four times in the last 24 hours in pain. Been getting gradually worse for the last two years.

Yes, would rather be in labour. At least there is a break between contractions and a baby at the end.

calandarbear Thu 07-Feb-13 16:15:48


I've had two children, first 9lb7 back to back vaginal delivery, second 9lb6 back to back vaginal delivery.

Both labours pale into insignificance when compared to the torn muscle in my shoulder that didn't mend well and means I can't lift my left arm above my head without feeling like someone is trying to slicemy arm off with a sword just removed from a blacksmiths fire

ShowOfHands Thu 07-Feb-13 16:17:17

Labour with dd was the most excruciating pain in the world. I would have happily performed my own cs.

CS recovery both times was a doddle, no pain at all.

Labour with ds was painfree (even though at 38hrs it was significantly longer than with dd).

Just goes to show really. Different labours, different pains, different experiences.

Shesparkles Thu 07-Feb-13 16:17:48

I was lucky and had relatively pal free labours, but have also had an episode of palindromic rheumatism. Now THAT was worse than labour , and when I said so to the comsultant, he did say that a lot of women described it as such. It must be right then!

I had a corneal abrasion that hurt like fuck constantly for three days and took over a week to heal properly. I said more than once I'd rather be in labour.

hydronephrosis which is where instead of going down, it goes back up. For some reason, I have in labour and I can assure you it's fairly comparable.

Although one helpful doctor joked about my hydronephrosis that I didn't need a doctor as much as a plumber hmm

yellowsnownoteatwillyou Thu 07-Feb-13 16:21:07

Am pregnant with first and was pondering how bad labour will be and if i would cope, however I managed to walk into hospital 5 hrs before my gallbladder burst, I think I will be ok, if that's supposed to be worse. grin

Alwaysasking Thu 07-Feb-13 16:22:24

Oh definitely, the most painful thing I have ever done, a million times worse than my experience of giving birth without painkillers - was scratching my eye with a chocolate bar wrapper! It was a dairy milk bar and the corrugated sharp bit at the end scratched my pupil. Honest to god I wanted to die for 3 days and was screaming in pain at times. I know it sounds ridiculous but I have given birth, had my tonsils removed aged 23, had my nose straightened surgically after breaking it and scratching my eye trumped them all.

JamieandtheMagicTorch Thu 07-Feb-13 16:22:33

I had almost no break between contractions (both labours) The fear had just enough time to well up between each one, but nothing more than that. I struggle to think of anything that could hurt more, EXCEPT for being tortured.

SunnyL, you'll be fiiiiine! smile

Rilson Thu 07-Feb-13 16:24:51

Tooth Abscess,pissing out a kidney stone and then the pain of TMJ after my last wisdom tooth was taken under a local. She gauged it out instead of pulling.It then got infected and she tore the ligaments in my jaw with the force.

They are my most painful experiences. I gave birth 3 times and 2 of those without pain relief and I had 3 of my wisdom teeth pulled under a local,1 was cut out and stitched. Labour and those 3 teeth being removed were a walk in the park compared to the top experiences!

MumOfTheLittleMonsters Thu 07-Feb-13 16:25:05

I don't think everyones births hurt the same amount. I didn't feel anything more than a bit of an ache until 5cm, but then lots of people are screaming in pain at 2cm!

Also pain is much worse when it's not "for anything" and there's no forceeable end point of the pain like with labour. I had no pain relief during labour, and I dont think I coped too badly, but with the after contractions a day or 2 later I was crying in pain and practically begging the nurse for paracetamol.

stopgap Thu 07-Feb-13 16:25:13

Before having a baby I'd had:

Kidney stones
Three burst ovarian cysts
Horrific periods due to adenomyosis (think vomiting, diarrhea and contractions)

Giving birth, drug-free, back-to-back labour, was a walk in the park.

JamieandtheMagicTorch Thu 07-Feb-13 16:25:36

I did not mean that to sound flippant. Sorry. I support a charity that supports victims of torture.

MumOfTheLittleMonsters Thu 07-Feb-13 16:26:13

*I mean in labour there is a foreseeable end point

sweetheart Thu 07-Feb-13 16:28:27

Dislocating my knee was much, much worse than my labours. I still feel actually physically sick even thinking about it nearly 2 years on.

curryeater Thu 07-Feb-13 16:30:12

Yes, I agree that the end point thing with labour is really important and why it is bearable, but the main point is that while you do not know when the end point is (before you are pushing), you must NOT ask yourself "when will this be over?", because then you will think "it could be 3 days!"

I have had cystitis worse than labour - but maybe I just think that everything a bit embarrassing and not resulting in cuddly babies is worse than labour. I hated the cystitis worse than labour, but of course it wasn't that bad I suppose.

NinaHeart Thu 07-Feb-13 16:30:53

Dislocated kneecap. It made me howl like an animal while the concious part of me thought "who on earth is making that shocking noise?

(Have had three children with no pain relief)

JamieandtheMagicTorch Thu 07-Feb-13 16:33:09


that is true. And cystitis is awful

SoWhatIfImWorkingClass Thu 07-Feb-13 16:34:10

I coped better during childbirth than when I had the most excruciating toothache last year. There really is no pain relief for toothache at all and unlike giving birth there's nothing nice at the end of it, only a nice bill.

PleasePudding Thu 07-Feb-13 16:40:03

Massive breast abscess just under the nipple vs back to back labour- both fucking horrendous.

And accidental chilli/fanny contact - pretty painful too

SoWhatIfImWorkingClass Thu 07-Feb-13 16:44:09

I think I will end up having a back to back labour this time around as he's not for budging. After hearing people's experiences of this I am quite scared!! Ah well, I'm a brave girl I'm sure I'll cope lol.

CaseyShraeger Thu 07-Feb-13 16:48:51

Kidney stones were worse than most of labour but not as bad as transition <gets remarkably specific>

Pain like standing on a plug or a piece of Lego?

Least with labour you are in pain for a reason grin

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