My Italian Birth Experience
The following is an email in response to a dear friend of mine (Dot!!!) when she asked about how my delivery went. If you've any questions about the pregnancy or about anything at all, please write to me at [email protected]
"The birth experience was HORRIFIC! Not so much because of lack of care but just because it's soooo damn painful. They're not big on pain relief during childbirth here especially if you're going to the public hospitals. I could've paid big bucks to have an epidural but I thought, hell, if most of the other Italian women are going au natural, so will I. BIG MISTAKE. Contractions started around 6pm. Just minor ones, laughable ones, ones that gave me no indication that there was a world of pain to come. They started by coming every 15 min and got closer and closer together. By the time they were about 5-6 minutes apart we headed for the hospital. They were still quite barable at that point. It was about 8pm when we arrived and they started monitering the contractions to see if I was actually in labor... I was. Then they carted me off to a room where someone stuck their whole damn arm inside me (or at least that's what it felt like) to check on everything. I was already complaining about the pain of this person sticking a few fingers up there and I was thinking "god if THIS hurts I can't even imagine what the next 24 hours is going to bring". It brought hell, is what it brought! The contractions started coming on pretty heavy at this point. It was about 10:30-11pm. I was put in a labor room and there was myself, Davide and 2 young nurses. The contractions were extremely painful. Painful really doesn't begin to describe them actually. I really didn't think a person could go through that much pain and not pass out....or just DIE. I felt them in my back and only in my back. I'm told that it can be a lot more painful that way. Something about the baby pressing on my spine, they call it 'back labor'. I really felt nothing in the pelvis or stomach area. The nurses were sweet, rubbing my back with every contraction. I tried laboring on all fours, on a birthing ball, in the shower sitting down, on my side, standing up, nothing seemed to ease the pain. It was crippling. Nothing could've prepared me for it. The obstetrician came in every 45min or so to check to see how far I was dialated. I took my prenatal classes with the same obstetrician and thought it would bring me comfort during my labor...it didn't. She just kept telling me to remember what I learned in class, breathing and relaxation techniques. Riiiiight. She also kept telling me "don't yell Erin, don't yell!" Oh the pain. They say you forget, whatever. I may forget but I'll never forget saying "I am going to die tonight". I've not felt a greater release than when they told me I could finally push. The pushing was a piece of cake compared to the contractions. Just to be able to bare down during those painful spells helped sooo much. I only pushed about 5 times and she was born! The first thing I said was "I did it!" I couldn't believe that I really went through delivering this little creature! Me, a mommy. Incredible. It was my greatest feat! I stayed 3 days in the hospital sharing a room with 2 other woman and had no privacy whatsoever but it was free. I don't know if I have the courage to ever do it again but if I do I'm springing for the fucking epidural, you can bet your life on it!
oh and Davide was there with me the whole time. He had said before that there was no way he could do it but he did and he was perect!"
"The birth experience was HORRIFIC! Not so much because of lack of care but just because it's soooo damn painful. They're not big on pain relief during childbirth here especially if you're going to the public hospitals. I could've paid big bucks to have an epidural but I thought, hell, if most of the other Italian women are going au natural, so will I. BIG MISTAKE. Contractions started around 6pm. Just minor ones, laughable ones, ones that gave me no indication that there was a world of pain to come. They started by coming every 15 min and got closer and closer together. By the time they were about 5-6 minutes apart we headed for the hospital. They were still quite barable at that point. It was about 8pm when we arrived and they started monitering the contractions to see if I was actually in labor... I was. Then they carted me off to a room where someone stuck their whole damn arm inside me (or at least that's what it felt like) to check on everything. I was already complaining about the pain of this person sticking a few fingers up there and I was thinking "god if THIS hurts I can't even imagine what the next 24 hours is going to bring". It brought hell, is what it brought! The contractions started coming on pretty heavy at this point. It was about 10:30-11pm. I was put in a labor room and there was myself, Davide and 2 young nurses. The contractions were extremely painful. Painful really doesn't begin to describe them actually. I really didn't think a person could go through that much pain and not pass out....or just DIE. I felt them in my back and only in my back. I'm told that it can be a lot more painful that way. Something about the baby pressing on my spine, they call it 'back labor'. I really felt nothing in the pelvis or stomach area. The nurses were sweet, rubbing my back with every contraction. I tried laboring on all fours, on a birthing ball, in the shower sitting down, on my side, standing up, nothing seemed to ease the pain. It was crippling. Nothing could've prepared me for it. The obstetrician came in every 45min or so to check to see how far I was dialated. I took my prenatal classes with the same obstetrician and thought it would bring me comfort during my labor...it didn't. She just kept telling me to remember what I learned in class, breathing and relaxation techniques. Riiiiight. She also kept telling me "don't yell Erin, don't yell!" Oh the pain. They say you forget, whatever. I may forget but I'll never forget saying "I am going to die tonight". I've not felt a greater release than when they told me I could finally push. The pushing was a piece of cake compared to the contractions. Just to be able to bare down during those painful spells helped sooo much. I only pushed about 5 times and she was born! The first thing I said was "I did it!" I couldn't believe that I really went through delivering this little creature! Me, a mommy. Incredible. It was my greatest feat! I stayed 3 days in the hospital sharing a room with 2 other woman and had no privacy whatsoever but it was free. I don't know if I have the courage to ever do it again but if I do I'm springing for the fucking epidural, you can bet your life on it!
oh and Davide was there with me the whole time. He had said before that there was no way he could do it but he did and he was perect!"