Will you share your labor story?

[DaniJ]

I am writing a book about a teen mom, and I am having trouble deciding how the labor/delivery will work, like what choices she will make along the way. I do know that she has a very quick labor (like 3 hours, so REALLY fast.)
I am interested in hearing your labor stories. Especially anyone who has had a fast labor. How did it start? My character first notices she's in labor when her water breaks, and the contractions start immediately after, although I know many mothers don't experience their water breaking naturally.

It would be helpful if you could talk through each step, each thing you did to relieve the pain, whether you used the ball, or a tub, or went for a walk, and what helped or didn't, and did you try different birthing positions? What was annoying, and what was soothing when others were with you? Like if someone was talking softly, did it help you relax, or irritate you?
Also, how would you describe the pain, and how did it change if you had any sort of medication, like the gas or an epidural?

Haha wasn't sure what to post this under... Almost put sexual health, but I'd imagine labor doesn't feel very sexual as much as it does fitness... haha

[snowangle]

I'll tell you everything I know about my mom's labor experiences. :P Her water didn't break naturally; her doctor had to break it for her. She told me she walked around the hospital to help move her labor along (and she got to hear the screams of other women giving birth as she walked by their rooms... a bit unsettling).

She said she appreciated that my dad kind of lied to her during labor haha. When she was pushing, they counted to 20 (or maybe 10, I forget) and she'd have to push the whole time. It was really tiring for her, but my dad encouraged her by telling her "Okay you're halfway done" even if she really wasn't haha. But he kept her going. She got really irritated at my dad, though, because he kept walking in front of her focal point without realizing it. She was in too much pain to say anything to him, so she just punched him in the stomach. Normally she's very gentle, so she must have been in a LOT of pain.

Speaking of which, she had both children naturally without pain meds. She described the pain as her abdomen being twisted into a vice - like an intense tightening. She said that as long as she stayed relaxed and did her breathing, the pain stayed localized to her abdomen and was 100% more tolerable than tensing up. I did rip her badly when I was born, but luckily her doctor had given her a local shot of novocaine so she didn't feel it. She got a lot of stitches though and recovery wasn't fun (she said she could barely sit lol).

Hope I helped!