Why is Birth Painful?

So I am going out on a limb writing this because I am obviously not a woman and will never have the capability to carry a child within myself or have the wonderful opportunity to give birth to a baby.  However, as I prepare for a child to enter into my life, it seems that these days, despite many mothers opting for more natural births and trying to shy away from pain medications, labor and birth are infused with pain.  From the second that a woman gets pregnant, others will start telling her of how uncomfortable she will be (which I can't argue with) and how painful the labor will be once she is ready to give birth (I can argue with this).  When a woman starts to near the end of her pregnancy,  she begins birthing classes and talks more frequently with her doctor, pain seems to come to the forefront more and more often.  Did you know that as of 2007, 31.8% of all births were by c-section?  More frightening to me is the fact that somewhere between 50 and 70% of all women make use of an epidural during their labor.  The criticism I am most likely going to receive here is that labor is supposed to be painful.  Yes, because that is what everyone tells women when they become pregnant, labor is painful, deal with it.  But why is it painful, why is it that only women in Western societies and the developed world experience pain during childbirth?  Why is it that women in Africa or some other undeveloped region have no pain while giving birth?  The answer is not a simple one, rather, it is one that must be traced through history to find its source.

Birth is a natural process which until about 4-500 years ago was devoid of pain.  It wasn't until women started to be demonized by religious figures and essentially turned into second class citizens that birth became painful.  Women were ostracized and labor became a curse that women were meant to go through in order to have their children.  Fear of the process started to be infused into the mentality and consciousness of women in European countries.  As such, it has perpetuated to the present day and most women still, at least on a subconscious level, fear labor and giving birth as the most painful times of their lives.  It shouldn't be painful.  Why would a process by which we grow our family and extend the human race be painful.  If you look at birthing classes and the medical profession, everything about labor is essentially based on pain.  Even the most natural birthing instructors will tell you, "labor is painful so your going to have to deal with it."  Medical professionals seek to push their medications to reduce pain at any point possible.  Lets look at an example of how repetition of certain aspects of an event can affect a person.  If you kept on hearing horror stories about bungee jumping and how it was the worst experience people could ever go through, would you go bungee jumping?  Probably not, but if you heard from the same people that it was the most liberating experience ever, you would most likely entertain the thought about going bungee jumping, maybe even be excited to try it.  How is birth and labor any different.  If you go into the whole process expecting it to be painful, it will be.  Fear and tension cause the pain, not the actual process itself.  Yes, there may be discomfort at the way a woman's body has to adjust to bring a baby out of the womb, but if a woman is in a relaxed state, fear has been eradicated and tension is non-existent, then labor will not be painful. 

The mind is an amazing mechanism that can be utilized to reduce pain.  Take a look at hypochondriacs.  By believing that they are going to get sick or that they always are sick, these people are more likely to become sick because of the way they act and mentally approach things.  Or take a look at professional athletes who sustain an injury and are capable of playing out the rest of the game because they are focused on the game, not the pain they could be experiencing.   I am not the authority on labor and pain, but it seems to me that once you start doing some research on giving birth, its origins, and the fact that we are the only species of mammals to experience pain while giving birth, it starts to make you wonder if in fact, labor should be painful at all.  I am not by an means saying that it is as easy as telling yourself that labor will not be painful.  There is much work to be done to ensure a completely relaxed state void of fear and tension, especially when giving birth in a hospital where everything is based upon pain and how to avoid it, not how to give birth without it.  I feel that women, especially those that fight for women's rights whether it be in the workplace, politics, or religion should take their fight to the personal realm and fight the notion that labor is painful.  You would think that women would want to give birth without experiencing pain, but apparently most simply try to deal with it or push it away with meds like the epidural or narcotics.  If women want to fight for freedom, they should fight for their right to be free of the fear and pressure that society puts on them to experience pain during birth.  It doesn't have to be that way.  Do some research for yourself and see how birth can be a wonderful experience, not one that is encroached upon by pain.  Call me crazy, but from a man's perspective, I would think that more women would want a pain-free birth than one surrounded by fear and tension.