Category Archives: On Natural Birth

On Natural Birth

Read: No Gain from Childbirth Pain

 

Why are we still trying to talk women out of epidurals?

“Culturally, we’re obsessed with women suffering as much as possible during childbirth. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been asked if I had an epidural. Nobody has ever asked me about pain relief for any other medical procedure.”

“It now strikes me as absurd that I actually wanted to endure totally unnecessary pain, let alone felt disappointed and ashamed that I didn’t. But that goes to show just how much pressure women face to give birth ‘the right way.'”

“If women want to have a ‘natural’ birth, then all the power to them. But we should all be free to make that choice without the burden of ideology and moralising.”

On the risks of vaginal tearing

“Surgeons repaired the tear, but Debbie was left with a small hole between the wall of her vagina and her bowel, eventually requiring her to be fitted with a colostomy bag.”

Has childbirth pain outlived its evolutionary purpose?