I had 2 C-Sections. My 1st daughter was 10 weeks premature so it was an emergency. My 2nd daughter was 1 week early. My water broke and I decided to have another C Section. I didnt have any contractions with either baby. So I was spared all of the pain associated with delivering them.

I feel the need to reiterate this. :)

Each and every birth is different. Even for the same woman. I labored only with my first and with my third (middle was immediate section after my water broke because she was trying to walk out into the world just like her big sister), and they were worlds different. The first I was induced with Pitocin and so flat on my back in bed. The third was spontaneous labor, during most of which I walked, danced, got in the pool, showered, squatted, etc. Conventional wisdom would have it that labor #1 was more painful, but the opposite in fact was true for me. This is mainly because baby #3 was "sunny side up," which I have since been told makes things about a hundred times more painful than the normal (face to your back) presentation.

There are many things you can do to help minimize the pain, completely outside of drugs (me, I'd have three more posterior babies before I'd let anyone stick a needle in my back again). I'd encourage you to look beyond the mainstream when it comes to pregnancy/birth options. The medical model for birth is not optimal from a biological standpoint (if you'll think about it for a minute, being flat on your back means you're working against gravity to get the baby out), and if you happen to be in the surgery-happy US (where the c-section rate is nearly three times the WHO's goal of 10%) it'll up your chances of needing a surgical birth. I've been there--twice--and, well, there's a reason I fought so hard for my VBA2C. I firmly believe that if I had had the sense to renew my acquaintance with the Bradley Method, which promotes conscious relaxation, I'd have had a much easier time of it with Esther's birth.

Totally apart from that, I tend to think women who go around sharing horror stories with pregnant women (and those who just want to be) ought to be slapped.