Here are 5 Reasons That We Should Appreciate Labor Pains

Five of my seven deliveries have been natural, and it’s my preferred mode of operation. “But why on Earth would you want to go through that pain if you don’t have to?” I’m sometimes asked. It’s a reasonable question. Maybe this post will help give you some perspective.

Unpleasant as it is, labor pain has a couple of very important functions,
and can even save you from birth complications and needless surgery.

Pain can clue you in to how far along you are. I can easily push a broom or mop around during early labor but find it difficult to even talk when I’m having a contraction at the end of active labor. Your pain level is a pretty good indicator that it’s “time to go” if you’re having the baby somewhere besides home. It can tell you when you’ve gone from active labor to transition.

Here’s a great story to illustrate this point. A friend of mine was having extremely painful contractions but they were 30 to 60 minutes apart. When she gave this information to the hospital they advised her to come when the contractions were more regular and closer together. She hung up the phone and waited again. A contraction came that brought her to her knees. Disregarding the hospital’s advice she told her husband “Let’s get in the car NOW.” Sure enough, the baby came minutes after their arrival. Pain, and not timing, was the tip-off. And that’s not an isolated case, because I have yet another friend who only had 3 very painful contractions in the course of her labor! Her midwife wisely judged the situation by how painful that very first contraction was, even though two hours had gone by before the next one came.

Pain can alert you when something is wrong. With my third child I labored for quite some time in one position and that seemed like a good decision until the pain became unusually sharp and there wasn’t any progress. Thanks to a change in position suggested by the midwife, my daughter quickly began to descend, and she was born two pushes after that. I often look back and wonder how I would have picked up on those distress signals had I been totally numb.

Pain helps you to work more efficiently. Pushing can be more effective when you can feel what’s going on, as unpleasant as that is. Epidurals don’t just mask pain; they can completely obliterate the sensations of pressure, bearing down and crowning of your child. With my second epidural, it was surreal to be coached through pushing while everyone watched my contractions on a computer screen. I couldn’t feel anything, so I just obediently did what I was told. Unfortunately, working in the blind can have downsides, which I discovered when I woke up to busted blood vessels all over my face!

Pain makes the birth experience even more memorable. Painful events become strongly cemented in the mind. Experiencing pain during labor marks the event in a memorable way. When great suffering is followed by great joy and relief, it’s almost magical. It’s amazing to go from intense pain to intense peace as your hold your newborn. Just minutes ago you were in agony and feeling as if it would never end; now just minutes later you are quietly going about the business of being a mother – putting on the first diaper, giving the first taste of milk, putting tiny socks on those little feet. Without the pain, the aftermath isn’t so earth-shattering. A marathon runner might want to collapse right after crossing the finish line, but when he hoists the trophy high it feels that much more special because of how his body suffered physically and mentally to reach that goal.

A warm stove feels better when you’ve just come in from the freezing cold. Water tastes better if you drink when you’re parched and dry. A hot meal is heavenly when you’re ravenously hungry. That feeling of “the agony was worth it!” is both humbling and exhilarating after labor. And to those who say “I felt just as exhilarated after giving birth with pain medication,” I would counter that if it’s your only birth experience you have nothing to compare it to. Who knows how much more amazing it would have been without drugs?

One of Christ’s apostles, John the Evangelist, was inspired to pen a very memorable verse nearly 2000 years ago that captures this truth:

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child,
she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” (John 16:21)

Pain can have spiritual value. Labor is very intense and it takes a great deal of focus. The whole process literally takes over a mother’s mind and body. So naturally I realize that lofty spiritual thoughts will probably NOT be foremost in my mind on the big day. I make sure to “offer up” my pains in a sacrificial way before active labor hits. Give it to the Lord ahead of time and perhaps He can use your suffering to help another person.