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Motherhood

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."

Image via Canva/kieferpix

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.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"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

birth, giving birth, birthing gif, birth gif, screaming birth Get Out Birth GIF Giphy

"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

birth, giving birth, childbirth, childbirth gif, birth gif Season 8 Episode 24 GIF by Friends Giphy

"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

epidural, epidurals, epidural gif, birth, birth gif Max Greenfield Comedy GIF by CBS Giphy

"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

birth, after birth, baby gif, birth gif, giving birth Season 1 Baby GIF by Outlander Giphy

"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

Modern Families

20-year-old woman agreed to a closed adoption for her baby, then got a wonderful surprise

Opening up a closed adoption is a risky decision. For this family, it paid off.

via CBS News/YouTube
A journal detailing Steven Schoebinger's young life.

At Upworthy, we love sharing the “best of humanity” with our audience, and this story out of Utah, originally reported by CBS News’ Steve Hartman, shows the power of love to break down barriers.

When Schauna Austin, 48, was 20 years old, she got pregnant and knew she wasn’t ready to raise a child, so she made the difficult decision to give the baby up for adoption.

She gave birth to a son she named Riley and only had three days to spend with him before surrendering him to his new family. So, she held him tight for 72 hours straight.

"It was perfect," Austin said about those three emotionally-charged days. "I knew I would have him for a short time, so I made every minute count of it. I didn't sleep for three days." It must have been tough for Austin to give up her son because the grieving process of surrender and adoption can be incredibly difficult.

Riley was given to Chris and Jennifer Schoebinger in a closed adoption, who decided to change his name to Steven.

In a closed adoption, the birth mother, Austin, would not receive any information about the adoptive family. In Utah, closed adoptions are a rarity these days, with about 95% allowing some exchange of information between the birth and adoptive parents. Usually, the birth parents have a good deal of input over whether they prefer to have regular contact or not with the adoptive family.

However, about a week later, the Schoebingers made a major decision.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The Schoebingers decided Austin should be involved in Steven’s life. They wanted to officially open the closed adoption.

You can imagine that it's a big and potentially risky decision for adoptive parents to bring in a birth parent. It could complicate things, stir up difficult feelings, or even bring conflict into their lives. But the Schoebingers weren't worried about any of that.

"It was like, 'OK, this is the way it should be. She was part of our family,'" Jennifer told CBS News.

"You know, you can't have too many people loving you, right? Why couldn't he be both of ours?" Chris added.

Every year, the Schoebingers sent Austin pictures and bound journals showing Steven's journey in deep detail. They even had lists of all the new words he learned each year. The books were titled “The Life and Times of ‘Riley,’” paying homage to Steven’s original name.

adoption, parenting, open adoption, closed adoption, moms, fathers, kids, family, modern families, adoptees The Schoebingers sent Steven's mother photos ever year until the two were ready to meet. Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

The hope was that one day when the biological mother and son were ready, they could pick up where they left off. That moment came when Steven was seven years old and his biological mother taught him to fish.The unique arrangement has been fantastic for both Austin and her biological son. "I was blessed beyond words," Austin said. "I kind of got the best of both worlds, for sure," Steven agreed. It may seem like relationships between children and those who gave them up for adoption would be complicated, but studies show that 84% of adoptees reported high levels of satisfaction when maintaining ongoing contact with their birth parents. It's considered the standard these days unless there are specific reasons why its in the best interest of the child to have the adoption be closed.

Steven is now 27 and in August 2022, he and his wife, Kayla, had their first child, a boy they named — wait for it — Riley. Austin, herself, is now a grandmother.

The remarkable story of Austin and the Schoebinger family proves that when we put walls between ourselves and others, we are often blocking everyone off from more love and support.


People on social media were incredibly moved by the story. Dozens of commenters chimed in on YouTube to express their gratitude for the families involved:

"Steven's adoptive parents are WONDERFUL! They weren't selfish, and did what was best for STEVEN, His dad said it best-----the more love a child has, the better. His bio mom lucked out with this special couple as well, especially when they sent her the books each year! This story was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!" one user wrote.

"Speaks volumes of his adoptive parents and also the love of his natural mother to make the hardest decision on earth," another said.

"Thank you for including the birth mom in the raising of your son. I’m adopted and it was a closed one. the struggle of not knowing your birth parents is real. I just spent my first Christmas in 56 years with my Ukrainian birth family. Full circle family is love. Oh what a ride!" someone added.

Ultimately, Chris Schoebinger, the adoptive dad, said it best:

"I think the lesson we learned is that sometimes we create barriers where barriers don't need to be. And when we pull down those barriers, we really find love on the other side," Chris said.

This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

Love Stories

Bride planned an autism-friendly wedding so her daughter could fully participate in the moment

"Weddings aren't about perfection–they're about love. And for us, love meant creating a day that felt good for Sofia, too."

@jodiebevan08/TikTok (with permission)

Bride has an autism-friendly wedding so her daughter with special needs can be a part of her big day.

Weddings are beautiful, sentimental days–but wedding days can also being *extremely* chaotic. So when bride Jodie Bevan (@jodiebevan08) began planning her wedding to groom Matthew, every detail revolved around making it an autism-friendly day for her teenage daughter Sofia.

In a series of TikTok video, bride Jodie documented exactly how she made Sofia comfortable on her wedding day. From her outfit choice to glam, every detail centered on Sofia's needs.

"We planned our wedding day around Sofia's needs as a teen with autism and special needs. From her dress material to a calm hairstyle, to a sensory toy bag. How Sofia would be on our day was my biggest worry but she was honestly incredible and I couldn't be more proud of her 🤍," she captioned the post.

@jodiebevan08

We planned our wedding day around Sofia's needs as a teen with autism and special needs. From her dress material to a calm hairstyle, to a sensory toy bag. How Sofia would be on our day was my biggest worry but she was honestly incredible and I could be more proud of her 🤍 Thankyou again @BTS | Luxury Wedding Content for capturing all these beautiful videos 🤍. #AutismAcceptance #InclusiveWedding #SofiaStrong #SensoryFriendly #SpecialNeedsParent #NeurodivergentLove #WeddingWithHeart #weddingday #weddingdress #weddingflowers #autismawareness #senmum #senmumlife #fyp

"Planning our wedding with Sofia's needs first. We made all of our vendors aware of Sofia's needs beforehand, including the photographer. We got Sofia's photos done first so she could relax," she shared in the video.

Next, she noted the detail paid to Sofia's clothing as the video showed her helping Sofia get changed for the wedding ceremony. "This was the first time she's worn a dress in over 10+ years! We made sure it wasn't an itchy material, not too fussy or long," she added. "She had her comfort clothes to change into after photos were done. These are the shoes she wears every single day but in a white version." (Sofia also held a teddy bear that was dressed in a suit.)

@jodiebevan08

Reading the comments in my last video has made me realise how much more awareness we need for special needs children. I know I am doing a good job at being Sofias advocate. I am her safe place, so what ever I am doing, I’m doing it right 🤍 #sen #autismawareness #autismacceptance #senparentsoftiktok #senmum #specialneeds #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #weddingtok #weddingday

After explaining Sofia's clothing, Jodie went on to give details on hair and makeup. "Hair is a BIG sensory trigger for Sofia, so we went for something very simple, no fuss and went at her pace," she shared. "The amazing hairdresser even managed to curl it! We asked for minimal makeup, just skincare and brows. This wasn't needed but she enjoyed this and I wanted her to feel included."

Finally, Jodie shared how she made Sofia feel comfortable during the wedding reception with sensory toys. "I packed a bag of all things she likes. Toys, pens, paper, iPad, etc and placed this on her eat at the wedding breakfast," she wrote.

@jodiebevan08

Having special needs we’ve always known Sofia will never get married or walk down the isle in a white dress - I cant tell you how much this moment means to me🤍 The moment she spots Matthew too "my matthew"🥹I couldn’t be more proud of her, not only walking into a room full of people she doesn’t know but even wearing a dress when she lives in leggins and jumpers daily! Thank you for capturing this @BTS | Luxury Wedding Content I will forever be grateful 🤍 #senmum #weddingdress #weddingvibes #specialneeds #autismawareness #weddingday #weddingtok #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp

Jodie ended the post with a sweet note about what it meant to include Sofia on her special day. "Weddings aren't about perfection–they're about love. And for us, love meant creating a day that felt good for Sofia, too."

And viewers absolutely loved every heartfelt detail Jodie paid attention to for Sofia's comfort. "I’m sorry but the teddy bear in the suit 😭😭😭💖💖💖💖," one commented, and Jodie replied, "He was her plus one 😂😂🤍." Another viewer added, "You say weddings aren't about perfection but I think this is the most perfect expression of love for your family ❤️." And another viewer shared, "My sister has autism and she was my bridesmaid, she’s 13 and it was first time she wore a dress in many years and to say she smashed it was a understatement 💗," and Jodie responded, "That’s amazing! I felt so proud of Sofia even wearing the dress as I knew how big even that was for her 🤍." And another viewer commented, "my goodness this made me so emotional. how amazing ❤️."

Canva

A black dog lies on the floor.

Grab your tissues, if there are any even left after the world sees this video.

With Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" underscoring, we see a young man in pajamas sitting on a bed wearing noise-cancelling headphones. A tail-wagging black dog approaches as the TikTok chyron shares: "POV: Your autistic son was always afraid of dogs until..."

@lifeotspectrum

They were looking for each other ❤️ 🎥: @thecheyenneagains (TT) #autism #therapydog

We see him doing, perhaps, some self-soothing stimming, as he timidly reaches out to pet the dog, but his trepidation pulls him back. It then reads, "A stray dog randomly shows up at your house and changed everything."

As he continues to show interest, but is held back by fear, the dog sits…and waits, "allowing him the patience and time needed to work through his fears." He crosses his arms and the dog…just…keeps…waiting, while carefully sitting close enough to convey that he's safe.

We see a smile from the young man. "Gunner created a safe space and allowed my son to trust," the chyron continues. And then—his smile got even warmer as he bravely reaches out his hand and gently strokes the dog on his head.

man, dog, petting, love, animals A man and a dog stand near a dock. Photo by Joseph Pearson on Unsplash

The music ceases and he now feels more comfortable petting sweet Gunner. The final chyron reads, "Gunner is the best." And if that wasn't heartwarming enough, Gunner the dog turns around, faces the camera and appears to smile.

Originally posted on the @thecheyenneagains TikTok page and then reposted by Life on the Spectrum (@Lifeotspectrum), this video has half a million likes and thousands of comments. It clearly resonates with people in the spectrum community, dog-lovers, and just plain humans with hearts.

One top commenter writes, "Dog understands autism better than 95 percent of people." Another shares how lovely it is to see Gunner show so much patience and understanding. "Gunner read his body language and energy perfectly and said 'it’s ok dude, I can wait take your time it will be worth it.'" Another shares a similar sentiment, "Gunner just knew. What a brilliant dog and probably life-changing for this young man too."

As a follow-up, the OP shares another video of Gunner soothing her son after what she describes was a "tough day." In this clip, she shares that her son's name is Brodey and we see him again gently petting Gunner as the two look at one another.

@thecheyenneagains

Replying to @LuciaR they are so sweet together and Gunner just knows what to do ❤️ #creatorsearchinsights #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #viral #viralvideo #viraltiktok #autism #autismawareness #dog #dogsoftiktok #dogs #doglover

A commenter here writes, "Some dogs show up specifically to heal a part of your soul," to which the adoring mother writes, "He just loves Brodey."

Another shares the belief that the two are soul-healing: "I love dogs so much. This is amazing. Not even trained service dog, yet knows exactly what your precious boy needs. I think you found his soul dog."

And don't think Gunner isn't getting some great TikTok attention. After what appears to be a run-in with some skunks, he gets a bath and a talking to.

@thecheyenneagains

Gunner thought it would be a great idea to try and mess with a 🦨!!! 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 please pray for me #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral #fypage #trending #dog #dogs #dogsoftiktok #doglover #gross #nose #bath #bathtime #clean #baddog

Mom asks him, "Are you gonna mess with the skunks again? Was it worth it? No more skunks. Good grief!" A commenter playfully replies, "He absolutely said yes to both questions."