Why is labour painful?

Question

Why is it that the process of giving birth is so painful? I'm not talking about the actual birthing of the baby, I'm talking about the contractions of the uterus which cause the cervix to dilate. Why are they painful? Are there nerve endings in the uterus? If so why, what useful purpose does it serve for labour to be so painful?

Answer 1

If there were no nerve endings in the uterus it wouldn't be able to move, much like your hair. I believe you're asking if there are pain receptors there. It is not the uterus itself that "feels" the pain, as much as everything else around it, its like cramping anywhere in your abdomin. You have to be able to feel it as normally pain means there is a problem so you have sensory receptors all over.

Why is labour so painful? Because its not the way the body normally works and it goes through amazing things to make itself do it. If you watch any werewolf moving, it always hurts them to morph... same idea. Not all women describe contractions as painful as much as uncomfortable.

Answer 2

Yes, labor is, for the vast majority of women, painful. A lot of the pain has to do with the babies position and normal mechanics of birth but a big part of it--and why you get so such a wide variety of answers--is that the level of pain tends to be a subjective experience. Some women have high pain tolerances. Llabor can be more painful than it should be because of the mother's fear. Fear creates tension within the body which works against the opening up the body is trying to do creating unnatural pain. Few women in the western culture learn how to completely release tension and therefore go through more pain than nature intended (I'm not judging I'm one of those women). It's just that it is very much a mind-body connection.The truth is that although there is a lot of hard work involved the moment your baby is born the pain will probably be a memory filled instead with endorphins and the amazing experience of holding your child. Epidurals do tend to work on a lot of women. However, there are a lot of women whose births I have personally been at that the epidural did not take, or there was still pain in small areas, or they could still feel a lot of pressure-which they weren't expecting and freaked them out, still others have suffered from back aches every since getting an epidural. It works for a lot of people but is not by any means a risk free procedure or a 100% guarantee.

Answer 3

The muscles, which have been supporting the contents of the uterus for 9 months, are now being contracted to drive the baby out. They are working against a solidly packed liquid container and are cramping. The dilation of the cervix is a result of the pressure, the muscles of the cervix trying to resist opening. So a parallel question would be: Why do my leg muscles hurt when they cramp, what useful purpose does that serve? The answer is that the pain does little other than alerting the mother that it is time to give birth.
Unless, of course, you consider the pain to be punishment for eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil as the Bible implies. (or as the authors of the Bible explained women's monthlies and labor pain in their limited science, depending on your viewpoint.)

Answer 4

To get the fetus out, your uterus has to contract, restricting blood flow and causing pain. Though how intensely you feel this pain is subjective, there are several factors that can influence how uncomfortable labor will be:

THE SIZE OF YOUR BABY AND OF YOUR PELVIS

The bigger the fetus and the smaller the pelvis, the harder the uterus has to contract. A large baby can also put more pressure on the nerve endings, causing more pain as he passes through.

THE BABY'S POSITION

Most babies travel through the birth canal face-down. One who's faceup presses against your back nerves, since the hardest part of her head is flat against your pelvic wall. (This is often referred to as back labor.)

YOUR PHYSICAL CONDITION

Some experts believe that women who are in good shape have easier labors, possibly because their muscles are stronger or they've built up better endurance.

BIRTH ORDER

Those who've delivered vaginally before have shorter labors in general — 8 hours on average versus 14 hours for first-timers. The ligaments and muscles in the pelvis have loosened up and are less likely to provide as much resistance the second time around.

INDUCED LABORS

Pitocin, the drug that's used to jump-start labor, can cause some women to experience stronger contractions from the get-go (as opposed to a gradual buildup).

EMOTIONS

A woman who's completely unprepared and has no support is much more likely to experience severe pain. So talk to new moms, read about what to expect beforehand, and make sure your partner is able to give you the comfort and reassurance you need.

Answer 5

I am not sure why nature intended it to be painful, however the spasms are ripping the lining of the uterus away from the uterine wall so it can be expelled. It is essentially like ripping your stomach lining out when you vomit. Part of the process is designed to rip open the placentia to exposed the baby to air upon exiting the birth canal. That initial exposure to air is important in brain development. The other portion is to expel the afterbirth and start the healing process. It reduces the chance of infection and death.

Answer 6

Your uterus is basically a big muscle that is contracting and relaxing to push the baby out. Just think of it as a continuous muscle cramp.

Answer 7

Gees...I figure if my uterus is to extract a 7 - 8 lb. baby, it has to contract (charlie-horse) for quite a while. I never looked at it like pain....i looked at it like "one less to go till the baby's born".

Relaxing external muscles and breathing reall helped.

Answer 8

Another point that no one has made yet is that in labor, part of the pain is from the fact that the pelvis actually shatters and comes apart to make more room for the baby to come out.

Answer 9

the baby's head is big, that's the price we pay for having a big brain. As for feeling pain its part of the body's defence system, unpleasant as it may be it serves an evolutionary purpose.

Answer 10

Uterine contractions are essentially like extremely powerful muscle spasms. And as any athlete can tell you, a muscle spasm can be quite painful in itself no matter where it is.