Lisa went on to have a hard labour, in the sense of hard work. She laboured, with hot towels, with water/rescue remedy in glasses accompanied by bendy straws, her body worked harder than it needed to for each contraction.

They turned out to be painless, just hard work, like running a race or pushing oneself to lift weights to the end of one's endurance. Others around her timed contractions, called the midwife, prepared the birthing pool, filled it up, boiled lots of hot water, took the temperature of the pool, prepared food, and so on. Everyone worked, including Lisa.

Lisa - It was not until a few days after I gave birth that it hit me. I believed it wouldn't hurt and that I'd be able to do it, but I thought it would be complicated, hard work to achieve that! I had been thinking that all along! I can feel the truth of it now, that I did influence my birth experience. Yes, I had a wonderful experience but I know it didn't have to be that hard and complicated and it will be simpler next time.

As for Sydney, she went on to have the most painful experience in her whole life. She was so thankful that she was in hospital and able to get an epidural when it was obvious the gas was not working. Every contraction brought on a pain so intense, she wanted to scream and for some of them she did, until she couldn't take it anymore and accepted the offers to try gas and then asked for an epidural. She was disappointed but accepted it.

Sydney - I had such a traumatic birth. It hurt so much, more than I had thought could be possible for it to hurt. I don't want more children for a while, and if I do have more, I'm getting an epidural right away. Birth hurts. There are no buts about it. It flipping hurts like hell!

(A few years later) Sydney - I have more to add. I have since that first awful birth, had two more babies. I ended up opting for a homebirth and had a wonderful supportive midwife that was my positive barrier against all of those people that said natural birth hurt too much to be possible.

I was able to work through my fears and beliefs - I believed what *I* wanted to believe, not what others said was going to happen.

I achieved my desire and had an amazing homebirth, without drugs! I don't think I would have been able to do it without my midwife's support. It hurt some, but nowhere as much as my first. I guess I would describe it as more intense than hurting.

My last birth was unassisted by accident. My midwife didn't get there in time because I didn't call her soon enough. I thought the contractions were just braxton hicks and it was not until close to the end that they started to get intense. By then it was too late, and I gave birth to a son with my two other children watching on and my husband supporting my back! It was so tranquil.

I feel cheated of giving my oldest daughter a good birth experience, but I can understand why it happened like that now. Fear and belief are powerful things.

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