Labor and delivery curiosity!

[anyakitty.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have always been SO curious about the nitty gritty details of labor and delivery. I am fascinated by those shows that come on TLC sometimes depicting natural and home births. I don't ever plan on having children but I just simply must know:

1. Is it really as bad as it is in the movies? Do people really scream/go crazy from the pain? Can you compare contractions to menstrual cramps to give me an idea of how much worse they are?

2. This is the big one... do a lot of women tear? How does THAT feel? Do they stitch you up or do you have to just let it heal or does it just simply depend?

3. After you give birth vaginally, is your vagina really never the same ever again? Is this only a physical, inside thing but also a visual, outside thing?

Please, don't spare me any details, I want it all no matter how questionable. It's either this or asking my boyfriend's sister who is pregnant for the second time and I'd rather not, haha. Thanks in advance!

Comments

[storychick.livejournal.com]

Depends on the state. Here in WA, our midwives can prescribe ultrasounds and all the typical testing (if you want it -- and I got more informed consent from my midwives than I ever had from another doctor). You do not see an OB/GYN unless something comes up out of the realm of normal, then you consult (and perhaps transfer, if needed). Midwives only deal with normal birth, so if complications beyond a certain point arise, they refer you on to the surgeon/specialist.

In some states, though, midwives are illegal or alegal and so cannot prescribe. Some have docs they work with under the table but many don't. In some states only CNMs can legally practice and they generally (though not always) work only in hospitals, so you'd still have a hospital birth, but they can prescribe as well.