Pain Tolerance IG LIVE 


Trish: [00:00:00] My name is Trish Ware, and I am obsessed with all things, pregnancy and birth and helping you to navigate with the practical and the magical seasons of this journey called motherhood. I'm an all day coffee sipping mama of seven. I've had the amazing privilege of delivering many babies in my 15 plus year career as a labor and delivery nurse. 


And as a mama of seven, I'm here to help you. Take the guesswork out of childbirth so you can make the choices that are right for you and your baby. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom of the show notes. 


So let's start talking about pain tolerance during labor. And I want to talk about that because I know that a lot [00:01:00] of you guys have this thought in your brain that, Oh, I have a very high pain tolerance. I'm going to do fine. Or, on the flip side, I have a very low pain tolerance, and I'm not going to be able to handle the pain of labor. 


So what I want to do is encourage you that, honestly, your current pain tolerance level doesn't really matter when it comes to labor. The very most important thing that I want you guys to know is that your pain threshold you can actually change, which makes a very huge difference during your birth. So we've got your pain threshold, that's the minimum amount of pain, the minimum intensity where you start thinking, Oh my God, this hurts. 


I need help. Once you hit your pain threshold, that's when things get real. You've touched something that's hot and you're like, Oh, it's hot. It's really happening. Same with your contractions. Same with your labor. Your pain threshold is where you're like, [00:02:00] Shoot, this is painful. 


And so that's when you start using some of your tools and start using some of your resources, right? Your pain tolerance is the maximum amount, so your pain threshold, minimum amount, pain tolerance, maximum amount. The pain tolerance is where you're like, Oh my God, I need some kind of resources, whether it's your unmedicated pain plan, management plan, whether it's an epidural, whether it's IV narcotics maybe nitrous oxide, movement, whatever it is that you've decided. 


So pain threshold, minimum intensity at which you start to perceive or think, Wow, this is painful. It's painful. Pain tolerance is the maximum amount or level that you can tolerate or bear before you start needing more things to help you cope. So what I really wanted you guys to hear me and why we do [00:03:00] fearless birth experience, why I have a whole module on pain control during, in my full birth program is that you can change your pain tolerance. 


Threshold. Remember I said that's where you start thinking, wow, this hurts. And you're probably like I really just need to have a better pain tolerance. Who cares about my threshold? But that's not true because if you can raise your pain threshold, you're gonna be able to cope longer. You're gonna be able to use those tools and have a much better labor experience. 


Now, if you're telling yourself, Oh my God, I'm not going to be able to handle it. What if I can't handle it? I'm not going to be able to cope. Guess what? Chances are you might not be able to, but on the flip side, if we can start working on your mindset and changing those limiting beliefs, 


if we can flip that, we can start to lift your pain threshold. Another way that you can lift your pain threshold is by being educated. Having [00:04:00] knowledge. Knowledge is power. I just did the most incredible podcast recording with a childbirth attorney, and we were talking about the power of education. 


The power of education is just beyond I can't even tell you guys. I can't even tell you how powerful that is. Education is the number one most powerful thing you can do to raise your pain threshold. Remember, that's where you start thinking, wow, this hurts. If you are uneducated, if you're not prepared for birth and you start having contractions, those minimal contractions, you might be like freaking out in your head and starting to tell your head, your mind, a lot of negative things, which is going to make your body tense. 


And it makes it feel worse. Remember, I said if you're telling yourself you're not going to be able to handle it, chances are you won't. But on the flip side, by being educated, by understanding labor and birth, by having a [00:05:00] realistic expectation, it's going to raise your higher threshold, have a higher threshold, so that what you perceive as painful is not as bad, right? 


So if you go into labor thinking, wow, I have a really high pain tolerance without the knowledge or the realities of what to expect during labor, or even thinking that your epidural is going to save your life, that often means you're going to be completely unprepared. You have to do the work ahead of time. 


On my landing page on my blog, it says, Getting you prepared before the contractions start. Once they start, too late. So education and understanding, understanding labor and birth allows you to have a realistic expectation and therefore a higher threshold. If you go into labor, Understanding the stages of labor, understanding what to expect, understanding how intense it might get, having your body prepared, preparing your mindset. 


You guys know I talk about this all the time. [00:06:00] My full birth program, we've got a three part framework. It's knowledge, mindset, and advocacy. If you go into your labor understanding how intense it's gonna get, and preparing your body, having tools at your disposal, and having your mind ready to manage that pain intentionally, you're gonna be so freaking blown away by how much pain you'll actually be able to tolerate. 


100%, no doubt about it. And that is what, this is why we do our free stuff, this is why we do the full birth courses. Let me see, so Alyssa said just had a baby two days ago, it was plain and epidural and all three of them didn't work. Breath work really helped. Yes, you have to have a plan, a pain management plan B. 


I teach this as well. Yes, I can do all hard things. That is beautiful. I love it. Okay. So the next thing that I want to talk about is [00:07:00] that by taking charge, you actually begin a process inside of your mind that helps you be more prepared to cope by taking charge. And I want you guys to think about this practically. 


Think about anything you've ever done that's new to you. And think of something that you did that was new to you, but you absolutely were not prepared for, you didn't do any research, you just showed up and you winged it. And tell me how your mindset was, how you handled it. For some of you guys, maybe a very select few, it's fine. 


But for the majority of us, if we do something new that we're not prepared for, Our mindset goes down the toilet. However, if you're prepared, if you fill up your labor tool bag with tools and coping mechanisms, having something to use during each stage of labor, when you show up at the hospital or you show up at your birthplace or those first contractions show up, you're gonna freaking rock it. 


you [00:08:00] can change your mindset. By changing your mindset, you lift your pain threshold. If you're just joining me, make sure you go back and watch this whole thing. It'll be on YouTube. It will also be on Instagram. Filling, feeling informed can raise your pain threshold. If we can raise your pain threshold, it takes longer to hit your pain tolerance max. 


If you fill up your labor tool bag with tools and techniques and methods to cope, You are going to rock your birth. Because if I can help you change the way you view the pain, if I can drastically raise your pain threshold with you, it's going to create a much better birth experience, which is what we all want, right? 


We all want that. And I can tell you over the course of my 16 years as a high risk labor and delivery nurse, the majority of my patients came in to labor with no tools, no techniques, no methods at their disposal to be able to [00:09:00] achieve the escape that you need to achieve during labor. Because that's what I'm going to teach you inside my birth program is all the tools you need to go somewhere else. 


So that you're using those tools, but you're not focused on, Oh my God, this is so horrible. I feel horrible. Oh my God, what do I do? No, we're going to have you so freaking calm and peaceful, hence the name of my birth class, Calm and Confident, so that you are going to just blow through this birth and be so confident. 


We don't want you to get into the fear, pain, tension cycle. We want you to get into the calm, peaceful, release. cycle. And that's what I'm going to teach you guys this week. How we get you there. How do we get you there? Because there's a method to it and there's a process and a framework and a, I have a nine step process of what we do inside the birth room to get you there. 


And I'm going to teach you how to flip how you look at the pain of labor, [00:10:00] because that really helps. matters. Now, if you're one of my Fearless Birth Experience registrants, make sure you go into your portal. I put a video, I put a daily affirmation, and I put a journal prompt for you guys. I want you guys to do it. 


Do those things. I am so passionate about helping you guys have the best birth possible. I had a wonderful pregnancy with my first baby, but I ended up with preeclampsia at 40 weeks. She's 10 months old now. We're planning baby two. Worrying about hypertension during labor again, possible. It's possible that it could happen, but it's also possible that it won't. 


Actually, Ashley, one of my team members, she's my community manager, she's on this live right now, I think. And she is pregnant with number two, and she is not having all the things that she had the first time. It's very possible to have a very uneventful [00:11:00] pregnancy. Alright you guys, have a great day. 


Hey there, I hope you enjoyed this short little Instagram live that I did. Talking about your pain tolerance, your pain threshold, your mindset, and how you can get prepped for labor. And how Dinking important. Your mindset is if you have not taken a birth class girl, do it. You can join my birth class using the Code Pod 50 to save $50 off today. 


Link is in the show notes or go to labor nurse mama.com/calm. Alright, you guys, hit subscribe, write a review, and I'll see you again next Friday. Bye for [00:12:00] now.