To think there are worse pains than labour?

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



persimmon Tue 12-Feb-13 19:29:13

A heavy, old, solid wood door once shut completely on my hand, crushing my poor fingers to fuck. This was almost 20 years ago and i still have faint marks across my fingers.
That hurt a damn sight more than labour.

redrubyshoes Tue 12-Feb-13 21:09:59

Compound fracture of the elbow. Had the arm snapped straight to take an x-ray.

I passed out with the pain of a local anastaetic (sp?) which didn't work and then a needle going in to aspirate the blood sack that had formed.

The sack of blood was drained without LA and then the broken joint was snapped straight to take ANOTHER x-ray. I passed out again and a nurse pulled me up by the broken joint and shouted at me for passing out and put me in a chair alone which I promptly fell off.


That really bloody hurt.

Labour was a five hour doddle and 20 years later my elbow still aches when it is rainy and cold. My fanny doesn't. grin

Wafflenose Tue 12-Feb-13 22:38:08

I thought nothing could top labour pain, which was horrendous (24 hour first with gas and air; 10 hour second one with no pain relief, even though I was screaming for the gas) - until I broke my elbow when my youngest was 8 months old, so labour still fairly fresh in my mind.

I slipped and put my hand out, and my whole bodyweight fell on my straight arm. Elbow smashed to pieces. I have a very high pain threshold, but was screaming the place down. It was Saturday, and the fractures were so complicated that they had to wait for the expert to come in and fix it on the Monday. I was in hospital for 4 days, and still crying in pain when I went home, partly because it wasn't plastered after the op and I had to start moving it right away to try to save my career. It still hurts. Fortunately, nobody tried to pick me up by it - ouch, redrubyshoes.

Would rather go through labour ten times over than do that again.

redrubyshoes Tue 12-Feb-13 23:02:12


Did you have to start physio the next day? They wouldn't plaster a broken joint and it was cracked straight again the next day and for six weeks after.

Three times a week for three months! That was twenty years ago and I still have a knob of bone sticking out at a weird angle and I am still pissed off with that nurse that dragged me up on a (very obvious) compound fracture.

I fainted with the bloody pain and not for effect!

Wafflenose Tue 12-Feb-13 23:16:35

Yes, I had to start physio the day after the op. They originally said plaster for 6-8 weeks, but the surgeon overruled that and said I had to move it immediately. He also explained why I'd never fully straighten it again, but I am very determined, and managed it after two months. I can't put any weight on it though. They screwed two pieces back on, and removed another two. I have a 3.5" scar (and honestly didn't care how bad it looked, just wanted it fixed) and yes mine is lumpy too!

SeymoreInOz Wed 13-Feb-13 00:03:50

Not sure if this has been mentioned up thread but the weird thing about labour compared to other types of pain is that you can't really remember it.

DS was born 10 weeks ago with gas and air. I can remember that the transition was the worst part and begging for a general anaesthetic, but I can't really remember what it felt like or how bad it was. If I got pregnant, I wouldn't be worried about going through it again.

I can vividly remember the pain of a tooth abscess 10 years ago though.

redrubyshoes Wed 13-Feb-13 00:04:31


I can't do press ups and my elbow does a very noisy 'crack' when I try. Twenty bloody years since I broke it!

damppatchnot Wed 13-Feb-13 00:17:51

I've had three children but by FAR the worst pain was when I shattered the two bones in my wrist while falling when pregnant with dd1

I had pins inserted through surgery whilst awake with a block on my arm then it quickly wore off and no morphine but only 2 paracetamol and I was head banging the walls with the pain

gaelicsheep Wed 13-Feb-13 00:24:02

SeymoreInOz - conversely I remember labour pains vividly from both times and would never EVER put myself through it again.

Having said that, there are two pains that I consider worse than MOST (definitely not all) of labour. Firstly breastfeeding. Secondly, putting my neck into spasm.

However I tend to think that we somehow deal with whatever pain is thrown at us, and it usually feels like the worst it could be at the time. Obviously I'm not talking about a papercut lol. I think it's hard to compare from memory after the event.

RyanGoslingsMissus Wed 13-Feb-13 05:39:03

Kidney stones.

Would rather go through 62 hour labour, Synto drip without epidural and 2 crash sections than have the kidney stones again.

TheSmallPrint Wed 13-Feb-13 07:15:27

I broke my foot and it was painful but not that same intense deep down relentless pain. The only pain that was worse was an ear infection which eventually burst my ear drum. I would have happily chopped my head off after lying awake all night with that pain. Never again will I dismiss my DCs ear complaints as something minor!!!

ButtonBoo Wed 13-Feb-13 07:41:46

Yep - gall stones. Absolute, unbelievable pain. Proper white-out pain. Trumped my labour and delivery!

CeceliaStrange Wed 13-Feb-13 08:13:20

Labours are so different, my first was long and painful, so tired and thought it was an awful birth.

I remember thinking in my second is was like giving birth for the first time, out of your head pain and losing it a bit. It was an urgent straight to drip induction and I wasn't ready in my head as I 36 weeks. 3pm at work, 5pm drip started. Then way too strong continuous contractions suddenly from nothing and going 4cm to birth in under half hour. But that wasn't even the was stopping the pph there and then with manual clot removal and no pain relief. That was a three person pinning me down job. That was the kind ofpain that leaves you shaking in shock after.

I've had a few broken bones (clumsy!) but 53 hours of spurious but relentless and then active labour with DS, ending up with a drug free birth in flipping stirrups plus episiotomy was pretty flipping sore and a lot worse than any broken bones, migraines, tonsillitis, bad sprains I can think of.

Of course I'm preparing to go through it all again in 25 weeks time so not sure if that makes me a crazy masochist hmm

Blimey that sounds really awful Cecelia sad You poor thing x

Alamaya Fri 15-Feb-13 20:42:52

my gallbladder pain hurt far much more than both my labours.

Although my tattoo hurt more than both my labours.

I loved my labours lol

Snowkey Fri 15-Feb-13 20:50:02

Have broken my arms 3 times, chipped thumbs broken fingers but when I went into labour dh asked me how I knew it was for real and I said because if I wasn't in labour I was dying and I meant it - it was beyond hideous pain. My midwife didn't feel labour pains, my mum's cousin had 10 kids and was a midwife too and never felt labour pains - I think it's impossible and a bit pointless to compare pain between 2 people.

pmTea Sat 16-Feb-13 20:52:40

LaQueen - yes I sadly also know what that feels like...aspirin my arse

digerd Sat 16-Feb-13 21:14:29

My labour was also back to back, but decades ago so didn't know and also no epidural. I too looked around for a hammer to hit myself over the head with to put me out as they wouldn't do it. Also saw the window and thought if I throw myself out of it that will knock me out.
I felt as if I was on the torure rack having my bum pulled apart for 3 days, and couldn't understand why I didn't pass out. Pethidine injections and gas and air didn't even touch the edge of the pain. But once I felt the urge to push all pain disappeared and she shot out face up towards me. Didn't even feel the pain of the tear, as nothing compared with the pain of the 1st stage.
Had lots of tooth root abcesses but pain killers got rid of that pain.

digerd Sat 16-Feb-13 21:15:37

oops 'torture wrack'

Vunsure Sat 16-Feb-13 23:30:30

Just had acute tonsillitis and loved labour in comparison!!

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