# Can pain tolerance get higher over time?



## Celticqueen (Feb 17, 2007)

I got into a conversation with my mother in law about birth. She gave birth to 12 children naturally and was telling me she has low pain tolerance. Quite frankly, I get very upset and jealous about those statements from women because my confidence level drains to nothing since I screamed bloody murder for 8 hours straight.

But it got me thinking...Can a person develop pain tolerance over time?


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## Birth&Bunnies (Jan 3, 2007)

Love you, but your nuts. Speaking as your Doula, you had induced to transition mode cxns when you barely were in active labor. Anyone in transition for that long would be crying. OH and the scoliosis that gave you awful back labor, give all the facts silly.


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## Celticqueen (Feb 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Birth&Bunnies* 
Love you, but your nuts. Speaking as your Doula, you had induced to transition mode cxns when you barely were in active labor. Anyone in transition for that long would be crying. OH and the scoliosis that gave you awful back labor, give all the facts silly.

(one handed typing)

Winter!







Ok, I know, I know I had induced labor but that still has to do with pain tolerance, right?


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## Birth&Bunnies (Jan 3, 2007)

You need to do some positive affirmations about your birth.

I know I did my best...
I did not fail...
I accept my ability to birth my baby the best way I could under difficult circumstances...


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## BirthFree (Nov 2, 2005)

Uh yeah, I had transition ctx for 12 hours, I DO know your pain.
A different labor will be a different experience. TRUST ME.

Really. You'll feel like an entirely different person.
Besides, time dulls the memory for people - when I'm 60 I'm sure I'll think it was nothing that first time either.


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## 2Bmumof2 (Dec 31, 2006)

I do think it can be more of a mindset that plays a big difference in the pain that we feel.... if you "fear it" it's going to hurt like hell.. but if you expect it....welcome it..... accept it....and work through it vs fighting it. that it's going ot be a whole different experience.
Mind over matter!

That's just My opinion and experience between my two births .


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

I think there's a HUGE difference between the first birth and subsequent births due to the "been there, done that" factor. I remember with my first, I was totally freaking out that there was no way this (meaning an 8.5 lb baby squeezing out of my body) was going to work. I thought I was prepared, but when it came down to it, it was completely uncharted territory. That fear can work against you, both from a pain standpoint and a getting the baby out standpoint.

The second time I was much more able to let my body do what it needed to do! There is still pain, but you know you're not going to break in half or anything.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

yes, huge difference in the experience of transition cxn second time around. i not induced the first birth, and felt like i merely survived transition. i was induced the second time--so logically should have been more intense--and i managed transition with ease!

now, pushing posterior ds was a whole new ballgame......but i bet even that would be easier if i ever had to do it again.


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## Jenlaana (Oct 28, 2005)

Having not been through your birth there's no way I could try to tell you how much control you could have over it, or how much less it could hurt, etc - all of our experiences are so personal and different. You pain is real, and that someone else processed it differently, like your mother, makes it no less real or no less painful for you, or for her.

Speaking solely on pain tolerance increases however, pain tolerance absolutely can be increased or decreased over time. It is not time itself that makes the difference, but our experiences that change how we process pain. For instance... if you hate getting shots, and have white coat fear, then getting blood drawn at the doctor's can be quite painful. If you really wanted to get a piercing, ears, belly button, etc, and were looking forward to it for a long time, then the pain would be, most likely, much less. Fear, which is a huge component of birth, especially first births, or births after trauma, plays a very large part in pain.

Also, there are many ways to combat pain response. Ever see the men that walk on hot coals or broken glass or a bed of nails in other cultures? That takes training, and meditation, but they are proof that it can be done. Hypnobirth is a good example of this in action. But none of these methods are a sure thing, and they can take years to understand and be able to practice.

I hope you can find your inner peace, and be able to accept that you did the best you could given the resources you had available. That is all any of us can do, in the end.


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## Celticqueen (Feb 17, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BirthFree* 
Uh yeah, I had transition ctx for 12 hours, I DO know your pain.
A different labor will be a different experience. TRUST ME.

Really. You'll feel like an entirely different person.
Besides, time dulls the memory for people - when I'm 60 I'm sure I'll think it was nothing that first time either.









Thank you. That post made me smile







I hate being alone.


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## dannic (Jun 14, 2005)

I agree. How we experience birth matters. Letting go of fear, having done it before, educationg myself, and seeking support from others WHO UNDERSTOOD BIRTH along the way all really helped me. IME, the birth wasn't less painful, but my ability to cope, relazx, and go with it had increased. I guess that could be called higher pain tolerance, lol.


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## ApprenticeMomma (Apr 5, 2005)

I have a naturally high pain threshold, I used to have all my dentistry done without anaesthetic (mental I know!) and i was pretty fine throughout my 24 hour first labour, but funnily enough, I did not cope as well with my 4 hour second homebirth, I think it was so fast it was very very intense, I must have dilated pretty fast.

So I really think not only is it your mindset/emotional state of mind, it is also the way labour progresses.

You will be amazing!!


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## lovetobemama (May 16, 2007)

yes, I think pain tolerance can increase. I also agree with what everyone is saying about your mindset, and level of fear, and each birth being different.

But I do know that I hate and fear the dentist as much as I ever did, but over the years, I have gotten better and better at tolerating the pain involved, and don't even take painkillers for most procedures any more.

So hang in there...pain tolerance can definitely increase!


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## SublimeBirthGirl (Sep 9, 2005)

There is nothing "natural" about induction. Hats off to any women who pull off hours and hours on Pit without an epidural. I had it for about one hour and by the time I was off I was begging for an epidural.

I think pain is largely mental in how we deal with it. My homebirth hurt just as much as my hospital birth, but it felt so much more tolerable because I was happy and content and safe and secure in my surroundings.

Even with 2 waterbirths under my belt I say if I had had to be induced - probably especially with with my 2nd since I have this aversion to hospitals now - there is almost no chance I'd have done it without drugs. The way I feel now, if I were ever forced to have a baby in a hospital again I might just opt for an epidural from the get-go. The idea of having such a vulnerable, emotional experience in the hospital makes me uneasy now even though I've done it!


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SublimeBirthGirl* 
There is nothing "natural" about induction. Hats off to any women who pull off hours and hours on Pit without an epidural.


I'll tell you why I like to mention my Pit birth without an epidural. It isn't because I am superwoman....but because it actually didn't hurt anymore than my birth without pit. In fact, as explained above, my pain experience up thru 10 cm was significantly less with my pit birth (second birth) than my natural first birth. I know that is not the case for all women....I know that pit is unnatural and can cause unnaturally painful contractions. But that wasn't the case for me, and I think that is significant. It is different for different women and different births, and women need not give up all hope of an unmedicated birth if they find themselves in the position of consenting to pitocin. Maybe they will need an epidural, but maybe they won't.


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## AngelaB (Nov 20, 2001)

I have to mention position of the baby plays a huge roll in the amount of pain I feel. My 10 lb baby hurt far less than my 6 lb 10 ozer did descending and coming out and I think it all had to do with position. I had my 10 lb ds 1st and expected that kind of labor again and was quite suprised. I didnt do the exercises like I did with my 6 lb baby either so he was wonky coming out.
Angela


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## DucetteMama21842 (May 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ledzepplon* 
I think there's a HUGE difference between the first birth and subsequent births due to the "been there, done that" factor. I remember with my first, I was totally freaking out that there was no way this (meaning an 8.5 lb baby squeezing out of my body) was going to work. I thought I was prepared, but when it came down to it, it was completely uncharted territory. That fear can work against you, both from a pain standpoint and a getting the baby out standpoint.

The second time I was much more able to let my body do what it needed to do! There is still pain, but you know you're not going to break in half or anything.









Exactly. Even as different as each labor is... you're like , "Oh.. this pain is pretty familiar... I'm okay". I totally think you can build up a pain tolerance.. and that you can improve how you do each time you labor. I'm a living testimony to that. But it's okay to express pain during a natural childbirth. Sometimes it can be painless... and we know it's pain with a purpose... but that doesn't always mean we shouldn't admit that parts of it HURT LIKE HECK!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunnmama* 
I'll tell you why I like to mention my Pit birth without an epidural. It isn't because I am superwoman....but because it actually didn't hurt anymore than my birth without pit. In fact, as explained above, my pain experience up thru 10 cm was significantly less with my pit birth (second birth) than my natural first birth. I know that is not the case for all women....I know that pit is unnatural and can cause unnaturally painful contractions. But that wasn't the case for me, and I think that is significant. It is different for different women and different births, and women need not give up all hope of an unmedicated birth if they find themselves in the position of consenting to pitocin. Maybe they will need an epidural, but maybe they won't.


Your post almost made me cry. What a gorgeous attitude and inspiration. I hope your word gets out so that people won't be bullied or mythed into thinking with pitocin that they HAVE to have an epidural. It's their CHOICE.


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## lifescholar (Nov 26, 2006)

I don't know if pain tolerance increases over time, but I would bet that the level of confidence goes up, and the amount of fear about birth goes down, which makes a HUGE difference as to the experience of labour!

With my first, I didn't think I was all that scared of labour, but looking back, I was terrified of tearing, plus I was anxious about becoming a single mother at a relatively young age (I had just turned 23, and had only graduated from college 2 years earlier).

I think I probably have an average pain tolerance. Although, when I had my Foley, my nurse said she had never seen a woman handle it so well. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced, but I just used all my power to withstand it, and I did!

I went 49 hours before getting an epidural. By the time I got it, I'd been on oxytocin for about 7 hours, and I'd had AROM 12 hours earlier. There were PAINFUL contractions. But, I am so incredibly proud of how I handled it for as long as I did. In the end, I got the epidural so I could sleep. When I found out that I was still 3 cm dilated, 24 hours after having my Foley, I knew that I couldn't keep going for as long as it was going to take to get to full dilatation.

Now, I no longer fear birth. I no longer fear labour, either! I am honestly excited to experience labour again, and I know it will be an entirely different experience. I don't think my pain tolerance has increased, I just know how to work with my body through labour, and that will make the experience LESS painful!


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