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17 women share what it really felt like to give birth, and it's mind-blowing

"My throat was making those deep guttural sounds completely without my involvement. It was so bizarre."

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Women share what it felt like to give birth.

Giving birth is a bewildering experience, and only women who have given birth know *exactly* what it's really like.

Every woman has a unique birth story to share, and no two are like. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were 3,622,673 births in the United States in 2024.

To help others understand what giving birth really feels like, women opened up about their personal birthing experiences—and didn't spare any details. These are 17 real-life birthing stories from women who describe exactly what giving birth feels like.

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"It felt like my lower body was on fire." - TKmj2503

"Obviously painful but then it becomes out of body experience i swear. I remember hearing in the distance the midwife comment to the trainee "Ok, we know we are close because the cow sounds are coming now" and in my head I thought 'Who's making cow sounds?' Me....it was me... full breath, deep, cow sounds coming from deep within me for the final pushes 🤣 When you're in that moment, you don't care about the pain. You want it done. Nature is crazy! To all the women who said they were told to be quiet or not make such noises, f*ck them. To any partner looking to be supportive, embrace the raw experience of child birth and join in😅." - Shepford

"My throat was making those deep guttural sounds completely without my involvement. It was so bizarre." - User Unknown

"At first like period cramps, then like over the top period cramps, then I had epidural and felt absolutely nothing till the end." - thelastsurvivorof83

"For me, the contractions were 1 million percent worse than actually pushing the baby out. When you’re pushing it feels like your vagina has been set on fire, but for me anyway, when the midwife told me I was crowning, I knew that the hell and horror of labor was so close to being over so it gave me the motivation to get the baby OUTTA THERE. But the contractions are out of this world painful. And I didn’t have epidural both times as I gave birth at home and had no choice. I didn’t even scream I literally roared like a wild fucking tiger. It’s rough, but weirdly you forget the pain within days of your baby being born." - HolidayWishbone1947

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"Its so weird with the epidural. There's no pain but I could feel the intense deep pressure from the inside. Similar to when I overeat and I feel super bloated and need to poop? But like 5x more intense. There was such an immediate sense of emptiness and relief as soon as baby was out though, so bizarre." - ano-ba-yan

"Like bubble gut diarrhea and the most ungodly menstrual cramps mixed with SI joint pain and 10/10 back spasms, then like when you’ve been constipated for three days and you’re grunting so hard to push a poop out but it keeps sliding back in no matter how hard you push. You swear it’s 110 degrees and you’re sweating and thirsty but they’ll only let you eat three ice cubes. Then twelve nurses come rushing into the room and it’s just coming out and you can’t stop it and you know for sure that your lady bits are going to rip open. Then it actually does tear but the giant poop came out so it’s fine. You can rest now. Things get fuzzy as organized chaos erupts and someone is yelling for a surgeon. Then a yucky, grey, wide eyed jelly fish gets plopped on your chest as a rush of delirious emotions floods your brain and you look at it and say it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your life with tears in your eyes and you swear there’s a golden light shining down on you while the angels are singing a chorus. Then you realize two surgeons are poking around in your hoo haa and the golden light is a literal giant spotlight shining on your under carriage, your playlist has gone rogue and is playing Istanbul Not Constantinople and your husband is ghostly white and looks like he’s about to fall over. The nurse shouts out the time and date of birth and apparently it’s tomorrow? Two days later you get rolled out of the hospital and say 10/10, would do again." - PantsIsDown

"An enormous downward pressure that feels like it’s in your back door but it’s not. Only really painful toward the end. Things become very primal; you roar and scream to manage the overwhelming sensations but really your body is doing the work. The ring of fire is very real and you know when you are in it! Source: induction without pain meds." - clayfawn

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"Like taking an extremely painful dump, essentially. There’s a lot of pressure with tightness around your belly that comes and goes but gets closer together. The pressure is so intense, like you’re pushing all your organs out. Then burning pain when they crown, but once baby is fully delivered, immediate relief. Comparatively, delivering the placenta is nbd. It’s a few contractions then and you’re all done and feel like you just ran a marathon or did intense exercise. So much relief." - Minute_Cookie9771

"Like I was being cut with a serrated blade from my rib cage to my vag, and with no cesarean or perineal tears. I imagine it’s what a fish being gutted feels like." - karatekiddo

"Personally I think that contractions feel similarly to bowel cramps. It’s an intense cramping feeling that starts in the internal center of your body - the true trunk of your torso. The pressure is so deep and so hard and so intense that it’s blinding. And at the very peak of the contraction it’s a sharpness, akin to stabbing pain once you are in transition (so, 7-10 cm and effacing to 100% in your cervical status). The pushing itself is a sort of relief because the peaks of pain are blunted, and the reflex if allowed to naturally occur is really sort of nice in comparison. The baby descending into your vaginal canal is a heavy, dull, stretching pressure that is unlike anything I can compare. Sort of bowel-movement adjacent as well? You can feel their little head moving downward. The crowning - a stretch and a pop (if you tear- I did both times) but it’s not all that painful in the moment because of the adrenaline and everything else. I tore to the second degree and truly did not notice enough to care, I just wanted the pressure to stop. Once their head is out, most babies bodies sort of easily slither after. (Shoulder dystocia not withstanding.) And then the cord feels ropey, they set it aside(mine was placed on my belly for one birth lol), and the placenta feels like a huge period clot or jelly sort of just schlooping on out. Not before they 'massage' your stomach to encourage it - the 'fundal massage' sucks and helps the placenta come out. Then you get sewn up if you tore. Then you shake from the hormonal dump. Then you lay there and have a WHOLE lot of feelings." - mildtomoderately

"I had a 9lb, 2oz baby without an epidural. It hurt like hell but your hormones do something wild and your body just takes over. It was an out of body experience. I remember very little of how much it hurt." - Ticklish_Pomegranate

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"I was hallucinating in and out of consciousness the pain was so terrible. I was too far gone to get an epidural when I arrived, the gas made me vomit and the nurse told me to push. I remember thinking 'I'd rather be dead than continue to feel this pain'. It was the worse day of my life." - RecognitionMediocre6

"It’s like that monster turd you once did that started progressing and you know it’s so big it’s going to rip your *sshole. It burns, it stretches, it hurts! But you also know that the only way forward is through and you have to push this monster baby out. Like that but x10. Honestly- labor is the painful part, once it’s time to push and you can direct all that pain into something, it’s fantastic." - foxyloxylady

"I honestly don't know how to describe it. I had a non medicated vaginal birth. Contractions are just your whole belly just cramping up, it builds and just when you think you can't take it it goes away. Eventually they got so intense I just groaned through them. Sometimes making what my husband described as demon noises. I labored in the shower and the water + heat really does help. Then when pushing on the bed it gets really tiring but you do get motivated to be done and just meet your baby. The only time I had a oh shit moment was when she was crowning and I had the searing pain of the ring of fire. I took a minute, rallied and pushed through it. Honestly getting my cervix checked was worse than any contractions or pushing. Then when they push on your belly after, that's pretty awful." - TheSadSalsa

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"Open your mouth as wide as it will go and use two fingers to hook & pull it even wider from the side and that is what it feels like down below as the head is coming out. The contractions are probably the most powerful period pains that you have ever had and the overwhelming urge to push is just like when you cannot stop yourself vomiting, its coming out whether you like it or not. Saying that, its worth it and when you look at your baby, the overwhelming rush of love makes that pain forgettable immediately." - jlelvidge

"Ok I was lucky, I had three natural births each with no epidural or any gas and air. I wasn't against it, I was lucky enough to manage without. And that's the point - birth is very much about how lucky you get on the day with your baby, your body, the right medical team and much more. Contractions hurt a lot but honestly I suffered a large burn on my midsection years before birth and that was out of my mind type of pain that nothing eased. Contractions were bad, but never felt as painful as that massive burn. You feel a pressure build up as you need to push, and the pushing feels like a relief. It's kind of impressive how the animalistic part of your body takes over and you have to go along for the ride. My whole body was getting involved when I had to push, you feel it in your very soul. 10/10, would do it again, it hurts but for me it was okay and never reached my benchmark pain of that burn. And also you will poop yourself but not care." - stuckwitharmor

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Woman gets the surprise of a lifetime after waking up ill. She's pregnant and in labor.

She had no idea she was pregnant.

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Woman didn't know she was pregnant until she gave birth

Many women find out they're pregnant within the first few weeks. Morning sickness, extreme fatigue and a growing belly are usually fairly unmistakable signs that you should run to grab a pregnancy test. In fact, most people don't even get to the growing baby bump before suspecting pregnancy due to the extreme fluctuation in hormones that makes even mild morning sickness unmistakable.

Of course uncharacteristic mood swings and food cravings also play into the suspicion of pregnancy, even for those around you. But surprisingly, not everyone experiences these tale-tale signs of early pregnancy. Kayleigh Tilley and her partner Nick Jerrom had an unexpected delivery on Christmas day–a baby girl. No, the pair didn't think a Christmas baby was a possibility because they didn't realize a baby even existed.

Tilley is one of those women who didn't know they were pregnant until mere hours before giving birth to a healthy baby. The English couple had met just a year prior and spent their time going on adventures and spending time with friends like any new couple. There was nothing amiss for the pair over the course of nearly nine months.

baby i'm sorry GIF by truTV’s I’m SorryGiphy

The 24-year-old new mom explains to "This Morning" that she didn't physically change nor did she feel sick until a few weeks before her daughter Holly was born.

"It was only two weeks before that I was sort of really unwell," she says before explaining further that she thought it was indigestion. "Yeah, cause we went out for like a couple of drinks as well but I didn't have like a lot to drink so it wasn't enough to make me sort of feel unwell. But after about two or three days it all went so I went back to work as normal and then it was only Christmas Eve that it all started."

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Tilley woke up the night of Christmas Even with extreme stomach pains that resulted in the pair calling an ambulance to take her to a local hospital. It was there that she received the news after doctors had run several tests. The woman was eight months pregnant and primed to give birth any minute now. This life altering news was delivered while Tilley's boyfriend was in the hallway so he had no idea what was going on until he went in the room and saw his girlfriend looking shocked.

"Forty-five minutes later I was like a bit worried and I was like 'can I see Kayleigh, is she alright.' Eventually I went in and saw her, she was quite white, pale and she literally, first words were I'm going...they told me I'm going into labor. I was like how's that...how's that happen," Jerrom tells the co-hosts.

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Tilley is very petite, so it would seem a pregnancy would be difficult to miss but she did not put on any additional weight or have any signs of pregnancy. Her lack of knowledge about her pregnancy made her nervous as she had been out drinking, white water rafting and more throughout the pregnancy. Thankfully, baby Holly was perfectly healthy and what Tilley experienced isn't unheard of.

This type of pregnancy is called a cryptic pregnancy and happens in about every 1 in 250,000 pregnancies. It can occur when someone doesn't get symptoms of pregnancy, have irregular cycles or in some cases continue to have a regular "period" throughout their missed pregnancy. Some people also don't easily recognize pregnancy symptoms and write them off as something else.

While Holly's debut was not something her parents planned for, they all appear to be thrilled that she's here and so are the people in their lives who also got a shock at the baby's arrival.

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Mom's reaction immediately after an unmedicated birth vs. 4 days later tells a whole story

So many moms have had this flip-flop experience.

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For many women, childbirth is the hardest and most empowering thing they'll ever do.

Childbirth is a life-altering experience no matter how you do it, and, thankfully, these days we have choices in how we give birth. Epidurals have given women the option to remove much of the pain of childbirth and modern medicine has made c-sections safer than they used to be. However, there are still many women who choose, for various reasons, to labor and give birth without any medications at all. Some even choose to do it more than once.

One mom perfectly captured the experience many women have had after giving birth unmedicated in a video captioned, "So hard but so worth it after." The first few seconds show the mom immediately after her the birth as the nurse is cleaning up the baby. "Ah, gosh dang," the mom says. "That was terrible." Shortly thereafter, a woman's voice off camera asks, "Should I do it or no?" and the mom laughs through a shaky smile and bluntly says, "No."

woman just after giving birth unmedicated13M views · 85K reactions | so hard but so worth it after😂🤣🥹 #unmedicatedbirth #unmedicatedlabor #midwife #birthstory #noepidural #epidural #birth | My Infertility FightMy Infertility Fight/Facebook.

But it's a whole different story a few days later, when she's seen all smiles holding her newborn. "Me 4 days later already planning on doing it again with my next baby," the text overlay reads.

How did she go from "Terrible, nope" to "Let's do that again!" in a matter of days? Having had three unmedicated births myself, that flip-flop is all too familiar. It's common to reach a place of "OMG WHY DID I DO THIS I WILL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN" sometime in the labor and birthing process as your body is pushed and stretched to its limit. There are moments you're convinced it's impossible and you're pretty sure you can't take another minute of it. How long it takes to get past that point and experience the rush that counteracts the pain varies person to person, but for many women (certainly not all), the overall experience is empowering and exhilarating enough that they end up wanting to do it all over again.

Contrary to popular belief, research indicates that women don't really forget the pain of labor. Like anything else, experiences vary from person to person, but speaking for myself, I still haven't forgotten the pain of childbirth two decades later. The pain part was as gnarly as people describe it, but I prepared for it and did what I could to manage it mentally and physically. Ultimately, I came away from my first birth feeling like a literal superhero with no limit to what I could do. It's hard to describe the power of that feeling, but it's what made me do it two more times.

The mom's video got people asking why on Earth someone would choose to put themselves through the pain of childbirth if they don't have to. "You don't get extra points for that," and "What are women trying to prove?" are common sentiments when someone talks about giving birth without meds, but moms make that choice for a variety of reasons and it's rarely to prove anything to anyone. Sometimes it's because medications come with some risk and they want to avoid those risks, even if they're small. Sometimes it's because women are curious about what the natural process of labor and birth feels like and they want to fully experience it. For some, it's similar to why people run marathons—to see what they and their bodies are capable of. Some have bad experiences with meds or simply don't enjoy the idea of feeling numb or not having control over their body.

Here are some moms' explanations for why they chose unmedicated childbirth:

"I was 100% natural both times because I wanted to fully experience it. The thought of an epidural petrified me more than child birth as well. Like 500x more scared. Wasn't out to prove anything to anyone. WAY before social media was a place to share these things. I just wanted full control."

"Honestly, I did mine naturally purely because as a woman I have always been curious about the feeling of labor and delivery. It’s just something I had to experience and honestly I really enjoyed my experience. I wouldn’t say I suffered either. The pain was manageable."

"I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I was also very worried about the first few days of my baby’s life being with me having a spinal headache which I got from a spinal tap. I did unmedi[c]ated for a 35 hour birth with 12 hours on pitocin for my daughter. My son I labored 30 hours unmedicated then tired an epidural for a few hours since I was heading to a C-section. I hated the epidural—I felt so out of control with it. I so much preferred unmedicated."

""Sometimes it just goes too fast! With my first there was no time, and I hadn't planned on getting anything. I have high pain tolerance, so wasn't worried. The gal in the hospital room next to me had had an epidural. I was the 4th mom to room with her in a week. She was going on her second week flat on her back with a bad headache and other side effects. She was not allowed out of bed, and could not hold her baby without assistance. I decided if I had more children all births would be natural. A woman should be free to choose without people judging her one way or the other."

And that's really the crux of it—there's no need to judge someone's experience, no matter how they give birth. Every birth is different, every person has different preferences, and people shouldn't knock another's choice simply because it's not the one they would make. Instead, let's celebrate the fact that we do have choices that our ancestors didn't have and give one another the grace to share our birth experiences in all their glory without making assumptions or judgments about them.

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Moms explain the rarely discussed dissociative post birth phenomenon called 'the labor pause'

"When you just had a baby but you're too busy dissociating to enjoy the moment."

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The dissociation that can happen post-birth may have a name

Bringing a baby into the world is an experience you just don't understand until you've done it yourself. There are no current words available that could accurately describe the emotional, physical and mental state of growing and birthing a child. Many people have tried to explain to new expectant moms what the process is like but words often fall short.

This failure of accurate descriptive words isn't the only reason explaining the child birthing process feels impossible. Every person's experience with birth is completely different than the next persons. There are similarities, of course, and those are the things we hang onto as "normal" but everything isn't always discussed. "The labor pause" is a common phenomenon that is rarely talked about and difficult to explain.

When a new mom posted a video of her directly after giving birth appearing dazed, writing in text overlay, "when you just had a baby but you're too busy dissociating to enjoy the moment," a prenatal educator steps in to explain. The educator runs MamaShakti Prenatal and she shares that the phenomenon the mother is experiencing is called "the labor pause."


"Immediately following the birth some women have described feeling shocked and a little disconnected from reality, whilst others have described feeling wide awake, alert and euphoric," the Practice Issue says.

While there doesn't appear to be an official name for the moments of dissociation some mothers feel right after birth, the prenatal educator calls the post-birth condition, the labor pause. Parents flock to the comments to attempt to explain what this labor pause feels like and why it happens. Some of the answers are amusing and some make this moment after birth make so much sense.

"Your brain is resetting, it's deleting how bad delivery hurt so you will do it again," someone jokes. Another mom emphatically agrees with this hypothesis, writing, "I remember the whole time thinking… there’s no way I’m doing this again, this is literal torture and then somehow a few months post partum I remember it hurting but can’t exactly “remember” if that makes sense… oh.. and want to do it again."

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One mom explains, "Its crazy because you go from the most excruciating and terrifying experience (mostly for your first) to basically feeling fine, 10 pounds lighter, and then suddenly theres another human in the room. To feel that much pain for so long and then BAM everything is fine. It is super weird."

"In this mind state while she is mentally adjusting and trying to make sense of the ordeal and yes, trauma, if anyone were to try to take that baby right then, she would probably freak out and become a literal mama bear. She would mentally regress to "protect at any cost" because in this moment, she's just going by instinct, like an animal. Not saying this in any derogatory way, just stating a fact, she's not mentally aware of anything, her brain is reconciling and so it's, in this moment, reverting to a humans base instincts. Id, ego and i can't remember the last one," another woman analyzes the new mom in the video.

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A doctor in the comments explains, "It’s common. Form of shock. Best thing to do is ask the patient to recognize objects in the room, such as do you see that cup next to the sink or notice the color of the wall, or see the socket. Do not ask what she wants or draw attention to the child. Motherhood will kick her right in the a** and they will be inseparable."

"I repeatedly screamed "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!!!!" For what felt like a minimum of 30 seconds immediately after my child was born. My THIRD child. It wasn't even my first rodeo, I knew full well how that happened. Crazy hormonal/ psychological experience to push a baby out," another laughs.

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"I had no idea this was a common thing. Right after I pushed my son out I couldn’t look yet, I needed to breathe and then I felt bad for not crying and being overly emotional. I thought I didn’t have a connection or something. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. This boy never ever leaves my side and he is part of my soul," one mom shares.

The labor pause doesn't happen to everyone but it's a very common experience, even if the birth is via cesarean section. There seems to be something about the quick transition from one body to two separate humans that does something to your brain. Maybe your brain is deleting the painful experience or maybe it's digesting everything that took place. Either way, feeling like you're not really there for a few minutes after giving birth is completely normal and has no impact how much you love your new little one.

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