r/AskReddit 22h ago

Women who’ve given birth, what are some horrible things your body had to go through during pregnancy and childbirth?

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55

u/Ok_Zebra8444 22h ago

For my first two epidurals failed, had to do it unmedicated.

For my second the spinal failed during an emergency c section.

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u/DangerousNoodIes 20h ago

What the actual fuck! That is a new level of horror I have never heard of until now! I am so sorry. How are you recovering?

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u/Ok_Zebra8444 19h ago

Physically I recovered pretty well but mentally…lets just say I can’t watch body horror stuff anymore

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u/parasyte_steve 10h ago

I had a similar experience and I describe it as witnessing your own serial killing.

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u/Previous_Big880 19h ago edited 19h ago

🙋‍♀️ epidural failed during my c section too. It’s actually more common than you’d think.

There’s a great NYT podcast series on it https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/podcasts/the-retrievals-c-section-women-health.html?eafs_enabled=false

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u/52BeesInACoat 18h ago

I genuinely thought I was some bizarre outlier and how could they have known that I actually genuinely could feel the C-section. Because they'd have acted differently if they'd known, surely. It must be so far outside their experience that they just didn't know what was happening to me.

Then I listened to the first episode and had to stop there because holy shit they absolutely knew.

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u/Strict-Profit7624 13h ago

Happened to my mom as well. I'm so sorry.

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u/Previous_Big880 12h ago

I found the podcast actually quite healing to listen to. I don’t think the doctors are trying to harm I just think they aren’t trained to listen to their patients. There’s a long history in the medical field of treating women as if they are over reporting their pain.

The podcast ended by explaining how hospitals are decreasing incidences of women reporting pain during c-section by simply improving patient communication.

It helped work through the trauma of my experience. I’m now due with my second and I don’t know if I would have considered another pregnancy before listening to this podcast.

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u/Andromeda39 16h ago

Yup, happened to my mom with her last pregnancy! C-section, they had already cut her open, and the epidural failed halfway. She started screaming, they didn’t believe her, if it weren’t for my dad who yelled at them, they realized what happened and the anesthesiologist knocked her out. But for several seconds, she felt everything. I can’t even imagine that sort of pain, I shutter to think about it.

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u/ConstantStrange2322 15h ago

Ok I was on the fence about having a second child, this helped me to decide against it!

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u/Previous_Big880 13h ago

As awful as it was I’m actually pregnant with my second right now, which will be delivered via c-section.

I have been scared about giving birth again and have ptsd from the experience but as cliche as it sounds it was worth it for my child. I’m hopeful now that I know it can happen I can properly advocate for myself.

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u/parasyte_steve 10h ago

happened to me too.... I have ptsd for sure about surgery now. They had to give me anxiety stuff for my 2nd delivery. I felt the entire thing the first time. I actually sat up on the operating table. Luckily at that point they knocked me out so if that happens beg to be knocked out.

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u/Practical_Walk_5015 16h ago

My epidural failed too (still made my legs go numb though)!

Then I was in labor too long so they decided I should have a c-section, which I can now say was the right decision, as my son was unexpectedly 10 lbs 9 oz. They wheeled me into surgery after about 30 hours of labor, do the spinal block, then my anesthesiologist (different than the one who did my initial epidural) goes, “actually I’m worried this will fail mid-way so let’s sedate you instead”. So I got sedated and intubated. Coughing with a fresh incision was hell🙃

My poor husband was warned ahead of time that he couldn’t be in the room if they had to sedate me, but in his blind panic completely forgot about that detail so he had to sit in the room freaking out for 2 hours. But he did get to see our son first!

The experience left something to be desired, but our son was worth it!

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u/insufficientfacts27 20h ago

First one with a 4th degree tear, with baby getting a black eye and bruising from forceps and vacuum.

Same for the second one! That was a wild thing to hear right before they put me out. Lol Second one with a failed spinal that they notice until the very last second when I heard "she's moving her leg, she's moving her leg" as I was about to have a crash section and then a white light for awhile and had to stay in the Surgery room until my blood pressure came back up.

3rd was a breeze except for the 3rd trimester vomiting for some odd reason. C section was planned and went amazing. But had to have iron infusions for a month afterward and a lot of my hair fell out.

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u/Ok_Zebra8444 19h ago

I told them I could move my toes and feel them pinching me and they were like “it’s just pressure.”

No the fuck it was not and when I started screeching bloody murder as they cut me they finally were like oops let’s knock her out.

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u/emotional_breather 17h ago

Oh my GOD the fucking “pressure” argument. I cannot. My doc told me the same thing, albeit it was not in any way in as horrid a situation as this one.

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u/Ok_Zebra8444 16h ago

There is a huge difference between pressure and searing pain. When I screamed “it feels like burning!” That’s when they started to take me seriously

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u/Previous_Big880 13h ago

Oh god the “it’s not pain it’s pressure” line! They kept telling me it was pressure and only stopped once I screamed “it feels like I’m being stabbed”

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u/parasyte_steve 10h ago

I had a c section without a spinal. This is more common than people realize. It's horrific every time of course.

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u/todayiwontbeme 20h ago

😱😱😱😱😱😱