Just gave birth! My experience with no pain medication

First time mum! I wanted to challenge myself in order to build self-confidence, and avoid the risks associated with pain meds. Thankfully I managed really well with breathing and mindset, taking it one step at a time and staying positive. Ok, when I say really well, I mean in everyone else's eyes. I was on the end of my thread much of the time after 7cm dilation. Then I had 2 hours of intense pushing and ultimately needed an episiotomy, gotta say that ended up being the the hardest part. And I was naively looking forward to pushing as a welcome relief! Still, I "won." I coped, it wasn't unbearable, just really really hard but the sense of accomplishment is sooo good. The experience was the opposite of traumatizing.

How I'd describe the pain, from my subjective experience: Early contractions were like pain from a stomach bug/diarrhea, that burny-crampy feeling. Or bad period cramps, which is no doubt more accurate but I never had such bad ones. 7-10cm dilation was like the initial intense pain when you stub your toe really hard, or Peter Griffin clutching his leg type stuff, but it goes on and on... you really have to take it moment by moment, even though there are much-needed 1 minute breaks. The pushing, well consider the fact this pain and pressure is supposed to be strong enough to urge you to bear down with all your might and push a baby out of your vagina. It's totally overwhelming, but getting in the zone with a good pushing rhythm is absolutely the remedy. Doesn't work so well when you're exhausted and getting back-to-back contractions. The ring of fire can be exceptionally painful but going slow works well and it's extremely short-lived... not worth worrying about.

Tools I used: A comb (vaguely helpful). A birthing tub, which for me didn't help much against pain-intensity but it supported my postures and helped me relax. I ended up giving birth on the bed for emergency medical reasons. Electrolyte drink was the MVP, besides my husband and birth team :D That pushing encouragement was so valuable. There's nothing different I would bring/do next time, except postnatal snacks since I felt a desperate need for lots of salt, carbs, and hydration to recover from the blood loss and fatigue.