Your body is designed to give birth, have faith in it.

Will I deliver my baby easily ?

A woman’s body is designed for giving birth. To begin with, a woman’s pelvic bones are broader than a man’s. A woman’s pelvis is heart-shaped, whereas a male pelvis is apple-shaped.

After the baby has passed through the cervix or mouth of the uterus, it makes its way through the vagina. The vagina is made up of folds and is therefore capable of unfolding, just as the pleats in front of a saree can unfold. As the baby passes through the vagina, it opens up to make way for the baby. The more relaxed a woman keeps the muscles of the vaginal passage, the less tension the baby's head encounters during birth.

The cranial or head bones of the baby are not fused. As the baby’s head negotiates the birth canal, these bones can mould to the size of the vaginal passage. They can also override each other if necessary. At birth the bones come back to their original shape. It is because of this that some babies are born with funny bumps on their heads, which smooth out in a few days.

The body releases hormones to control the process of birth and make it pain-free.

An interesting fact is that uterine contractions and their associated ‘pain’ form a very short part of the total labour. For instance, if you have 1-minute contractions every 5 minutes, it will mean that in 1 hour you will have 12 minutes of contractions and 48 minutes without them. At the start, contractions could be every 15 minutes and last for 30 seconds. So in hour, one would have only 2 minutes of contractions.

Source: Questions And Answers on Pregnancy by Nutan Lakhanpal Pandit

How will I be able to handle the pain of labour ?

When in labour, the uterus contracts. Stimulus is received and sent to the brain by the nerve endings in the uterus. If the brain interprets it as ‘fearful pain’ the protective mechanism which advocates flight or fight will take over a woman’s body. As a result, the woman, incapable of flight, will fight each contraction by building up muscular tension throughout will also become rigid and offer resistance to the uterine muscles working towards birth. This is perceived as pain.

However, if the woman understands that the strain her body is undergoing is part of the physical strain associated with the expulsive efforts of her uterus, of which she has no reason to be afraid, the contractions will be a new experience for her. The muscles of her uterus will work unhampered by fearful tension and with each contraction get closer to birth, so that the woman will have a shorter, less painful labour.

Hence the pain a woman will feel in labour will greatly depend on her brain’s interpretation of ‘pain’ as either something fearful or as something to work with.

Source: Questions And Answers on Pregnancy by Nutan Lakhanpal Pandit

Is labour very painful ?

In case of unbearable pain, nature’s safety mechanism makes one pass out, i.e. lose consciousness. In labour, a woman is rendered unconscious by drugs, but never by pain. The right attitude to contractions can make it pretty easy to bear.

“Pregnancy-The Complete Childbirth Book” by Nutan Lakhanpal Pandit explains how to use breathing & Relaxation in labour. It also explains different positions that one can adopt in labour and massages that can make labour comfortable. Having a companion in labour also helps in one’s ability to cope with pain.