There is truly nothing anyone can tell you that will fully prepare you for labor and childbirth. Just as every pregnancy is different, so is every labor. It can be extremely long and painful or rather short and mild, or any combination of the above.
I have been through the labor and childbirth process four times, once with twins. My first two labors were rather mild compared to the last two. All were rather short, 3 hours from start to finish being the shortest, but with that one the pain was the most severe.
I had my first child at a very young age. Because I had no idea what to expect during labor and birth I enrolled in a class through my doctors office. I was told exactly what happens during the labor and birthing process, the ways the baby turns and shifts while traveling through the birth canal. I was also taught some breathing and relaxation techniques. However nothing in this class prepared me for what I was actually going to go through, and never once did I actually use any of these techniques.
Being my first child I didn't know what contractions would feel like or how to tell if it was truly labor. My first few hours of labor were spent trying to figure out if it was real or false labor. Once I arrived at the hospital and was told it surely was labor, I was in too much pain to think about breathing and too excited to attempt relaxing. I did have a labor coach who made a few feeble attempts to get me to use my techniques but I quickly quelled their advice with threats of bodily injury.
Fact of the matter is childbirth is one of the most difficult things a woman will ever have to do in her life. It is excruciatingly painful, confusing, terrifying, disgusting, but also very exciting. With all these emotions, hormones and feelings it's impossible to even think about let alone attempt these techniques you were taught, not to mention these techniques aren't going to erase the pain or make it end any quicker.
A woman's body is made to have children. It's what we were created for. Even if it is our first child, our body is prepared to do what is necessary. It's like breathing only more painful. Your body will do what it needs to do without being told. Women who have had children can attest to that. They have probably noticed when the time came to finally deliver their child they could feel their body pushing on it's own without her conscious contribution. You don't need a class to know what to do in labor, your body will show you the way.
Regardless if you take a class or not, the end result is a beautiful miracle placed in your arms that is covered in slime and screaming like a banshee but you just can't help but kiss it and cuddle it and be thankful it has 10 fingers and 10 toes. As soon as that moment arrives the past nine months and most importantly the past 24 hours is but a distant memory.
