"Do not burden a pregnant woman with your own traumatic birth story," said Kathleen Pape, a licensed mental health counselor.
Maybe your pregnancy was a breeze, but the recovery was traumatic. Still, it is best to keep all of the details to yourself.
"No woman needs to be frightened like that before an event that they cannot avoid," Pape said.
Don't lie, though. No one should feel pressured to lie to the pregnant people in their life. It is possible to be there for your friends without telling them the graphic details of the worst part of your pregnancy.
"With close friends, it is okay to reassure the pregnant that childbirth may be more painful than she imagines, or that it is okay to receive needed interventions, or that there is no way to predict how the delivery might go and that you love and support her no matter what happens," she said.