Is Pain-Free Childbirth Possible?

Filed in archive Childbirth on March 27, 2008

© cantaloupe99

The short answer: No.

Of course, the real answer is much more complicated. It all depends on your level of pain tolerance and what you define as painful may be tolerable to another woman. Natural drug-free birth advocates will tell you that childbirth is a natural phenomenon and that your body is made by nature to cope with such an event. I agree. Even I aimed for a drug-free delivery for my first child.

However, I hold a pragmatic view about pain-relief during childbirth. Instead of totally dismissing the concept, I think expectant moms should also consider the eventuality that sometimes the labor and delivery do not go according to plans and they may need medication. In a new study published in BMC Medicine showed that a lot of women underestimate the intensity of the pain they will experience and sometimes hold an unrealistic ideal for a drug-free labour. In fact, in one study reviewed, more than half of the women interviewed who said they would not use pain relief actually did use it.

If you can go through labor and delivery drug-free, then good for you and your baby. But if it turns out that you need it after all, well, I don't see anything wrong with that either. It doesn't make you less of a mom.