The Severity of Labour Pain

The Severity of Labour Pain

Studies have shown that when painful life experiences are ranked in order of severity, labour is rated very highly. Only causalgia (severe burning pain which sometimes follows nerve trauma) and pain following an amputation exceed labour pain in severity.

Surveys have shown that women who have a history of dysmenorrhoea, or painful periods, are more likely to experience severe pain during labour. Other surveys have shown that labour is significantly more painful during a first labour than with subsequent births. This difference may reflect physical changes in the birth canal resulting from a previous delivery.

It is impossible to predict how long labour will last. The duration of labour tends to be less as the number of children increases, but this is only a broad guide. An induced labour is often longer than one of natural onset - although this is by no means always the case. The size and position of the baby also seems to have an influence. It is often presumed that a short labour will be more tolerable than a long one - but this is not necessarily so. The author has met many mothers who have found that a short labour was more painful and unpleasant than a longer (but less intense) one. Many women find that pain intensity increases dramatically once the waters (membranes) have broken.

When the delivery is over, women's recall of labour pain often alters. Mothers then do not always describe their pain in a negative fashion but concentrate instead on the positive outcome. The phrase 'no gain without pain' seems to sum up this attitude.