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Dealing with Labor and Delivery Anxiety

Women expecting their first child may have a lot of questions about labor and delivery. While we do recognize that this is a perfectly natural event that many women experience, we still are a little apprehensive about stepping into the hospital's maternity ward. The more you know about labor and delivery, the more prepared you will be when the time comes.

That’s what I thought originally. When I realized that I was going to have a baby, I had mixed feelings. It wasn’t the right time as far as my career was concerned and my husband and I had only been married for six months. I was kind-of hoping to wait at least two years before starting a family. I also wasn’t looking forward to the labor and delivery.

Of course, I got over some of my panic rather quickly as my daily life progressed and my attentions were pulled to other things. Work would always be there and I had a great maternity leave plan. My husband was really excited about our new family addition and I truly began to feel that I was ready. That was, until I started thinking about labor and delivery and realized that it was inevitable. The main event was coming upon me like a freight train.

Part of the problem (and splendor) with this whole journey is the mystery of the unknown. Becoming a mother for the first time is wonderfully scary, almost like riding a roller coaster. Actually, it’s exactly like riding a roller coaster that makes you feel really, really nauseous. At the end of the journey is labor and delivery. Somehow that didn’t seem like such a great prize.

I'm not saying that I wasn’t thrilled to know that the baby was coming. I couldn’t wait to hold my baby and I often dreamed of the day that I could. I just wanted to avoid the whole labor and delivery thing. However, nature has a way of preparing us for whats to come no matter how difficult the experience may seem.

My little one was five days past due according to the doctor's expected due date. At the time I was having real contractions, I couldn’t care less about labor and delivery. I was really ready to be done being pregnant. Sure, pregnancy is a magnificent experience but after 10 months, labor and delivery seem almost like a welcomed ending.

Here are some things that you can expect during labor and delivery. Yes, there is some pain, actually lots of pain but it is manageable, especially after you get an epidural. The whole labor and delivery process is pretty messy, too but you’ll be surprised by how little that matters when you’re going through it.

The whole thing comes down to the new little arrival. Once you are finished with labor and delivery you really won’t care about anything else as you can finally hold your precious child.

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Dealing with Labor and Delivery Anxiety