"The pain of childbirth." You've heard the horror stories and you've watched Hollywood movies dramatizing labor and birth with mothers-to-be screaming in agony. No wonder you're afraid.

Fortunately, there are ways of coping with labor pain. Knowing what you can do to deal with the pain can help alleviate some of the dread and make the childbirth experience more rewarding – and less frightening.

"Thinking about how to deal with the pain of labor is best done prior to the actual labor," says Nancy H. Sullivan, a certified nurse-midwife in Portland, Ore.

Understanding your options for pain relief places you at an advantage as you head into childbirth. Having unrealistic expectations about labor and coping with the pain of labor can lead to disappointment. Every woman's labor is unique and the way each woman experiences labor pain is unique.

Angela Warner* of Brooklyn, N.Y., never doubted she would have a natural birth. Her water broke at 11 p.m. and by 1 a.m. her contractions started. "They were eight minutes apart right away," Warner says. She walked, took a long shower and drank some tea. "The shower felt great," says Warner. "It really helped to ease the pain."

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.