Are there really benefits to going through the pain of childbirth?
There is both physical and emotional value in natural childbirth. First, your body has been designed with an elaborate hormone-nerve feedback process that helps labor progress efficiently and prepares the baby’s body for the stress of birth and life. Feeling increased stretching (and pain!) signals the cervix to dilate which causes more stretching (and pain!). This system also creates the urge to push when the baby stretches the birth canal. When you numb those feelings with drugs, the feedback process is disrupted and left vulnerable to complications. Birth is also a very powerful rite of passage that leaves you with memories that last a lifetime. You have the opportunity to make that experience one that you remember with pride and awe- that you were strong and gave your baby the best possible start in life. Many women today are committed to living their lives in awareness and being active participants in what happens to them. This is your chance to start motherhood the same way.
