Hi momtobe,
as you are probably well aware, rumours and tales of terrible experiences are common in school. I remember when I was at school and we had vaccinations the next day. Everyone was telling us that the injection they use for it was like 4 inches long and as thick as a roofing nail and after the vaccinations our arms would swell up like a balloon and would hurt for the next 2 weeks. As we all found out the injection was only 2 and a half inches long and was so thin you could barely see it, and it didn't hurt a bit. Most of the people telling you these horror stories about your 5 month appointment know nothing about pregnancy. Let me tell you now after the birth of my daughter, 1 miscarriage and the current 4 and a half month pregnancy I have now, I have never been to an appointment and been uncomfortable with anything the doc has done. At 5 months you will probably need to have an internal exam, which is very quick and doesn't hurt a bit. Probably also an abdominal exam which also doesn't hurt, and depending on when your doc does your ultrasounds then you may be asked to have one of those aswell. The biggest thing you will need to be prepared for is the labour, and even that isn't such a big deal which you will realise once you are at that stage. It is all going to depend on you, and how relaxed you are at the time. My labour honestly wasn't painful, because I stayed relaxed the whole time, and I swear to this day that is why the pain was reduced so dramatically. (i also had the help of mild pain killers). It makes me angry though when you hear people who haven't had children, telling you the pain is so bad it will near on kill you. That is so not true. I have been in more pain at the dentist, and that is no exageration. Please don't listen to school bullies with all their old wives tales, ask your mom and your gran and get the truthful stories from people who you know have been there.
Good luck
