are birth contractions same as miscarriage pains?

[freedomfighter]

just wonderd if any1 had had a miscarriage and then gone on to give birth and could say whether the pains were the same/worse/better...i had two immensely miscarriages and am just worried that the birth contractions will be the same... did speak to midwife and she said that its hard to say, but implied miscarriage pains worse cos the uterus is doing unusual things!!! am due in january...

[kittyschristmascrackers]

I had my first miscarriage at 12 weeks. It was very, very painful.

When I went on to have my first vaginal birth ( I'd already had 2 sections) a few months later I can say that the miscarriage contractions were similar to those in early labour, but nowhere near as painful as those towards the end.

So I would say although similar because your womb is contracting, real labour is more painful. You have to remember also that when you are labouring with a healthy, live baby, it is completely different to miscarrying a pregnancy.
Both are painful but one pain is positive and the other not. Hope that helps

[freedomfighter]

thnx kcc, its just so i know kinda where to get my head regarding pain!! and as u say, there is the difference between one being negative pain and the other much more positive getting a baby at the end of it!

[kittyschristmascrackers]

Freedom fighter, it really is a different reason for the pain and that makes all the difference. After my first miscarriage I was detirmined to go for a vbac because I felt I had experienced, with the miscarriage, some of what contractions might feel like. When it came down to having dd I didn't think of the miscarriage. They were 2 separate events. Good luck with everything , I'm sure you'll be fine.

[cece]

With labour there ar egaps in between as well so you get a bit fo a breather... well untill things reallyu get going!

[Donbean]

I would say for me that no, they are totally different.
Labour pains are worse, stronger and more intense.
At the same time SO SO SO exciting because with every pain, you are getting closer to holding and seeing your precious baby.
Miscarriage pains were very painful (ive had 2) and associated with it was the emotional pain and extreme distress.

[freedomfighter]

thank u... there was me sort of hoping would all be less painful or same!!! but does seem to be theme that labour is more positive and that miscarriage is more distressing cos of the loss. i also found that miscarriage was about fear - i didnt understand what was happenin or what would happen next and that was scary where at least with birth i know the stages and what to expect...

[NotAnOtter]

yes but birth much worse!

[realjolly]

hm, difficult to say, as pain also relates to emotions, well, in my case, therefore are perceived different.
Must say, my m/c's I did not perceive as very painful, but wiht teh first I had a D&C anyway, and with the 2. I was so early on....
However, when pg with es I was, almost halfway through, in immense pain, honestly I thought I was having permature labour (wasn't even 20 weeks, and I was shitscared and totally stressed out and in agony. Lovely friends of mine, who had Baby's before, made lovely comments along the lines...oh, if you think the stretching of the ligaments is painful, well, you'll have another thing coming when you are actually in labour!
Well, am not going to lie, the labour was painful, but I experienced it completely differeently and coped really well,used water (bath), then tens machine and had some gas and air for the last hour, even though they had to do a painful procedure, it really wasn't all that bad!
I mean, o.k. the pain, is likely to have been worse, measured on a scale of 1-10, BUT I did not experience it that way!
Not sure if that amkes sense at all!