Pain and suffering in childbirth. A look at attitudes, research and history

"I think it is a manufactured culture that women get brainwashed into and then it drags us along." Human beings are different from other animals in that we have highly developed cultures that shape the way we view ourselves, other people, and the world we live in. Every aspect of our lives is affected by our culture, and it is much easier to observe cultural differences in others than it is to identify our own cultural expectations and norms. We believe that our own culture is normal and natural, when indeed very few human activities are purely instinctual and/or natural. In that sense, all culture is manufactured, we are all brainwashed, and we are all subject to blind spots in our vision of reality. As midwives we view ourselves as the guardians of normal birth. We believe that our mission is to be with women as they accomplish the magnificent feat of giving birth. Thus we have the responsibility to try to remove the blind spots from our vision as much as possible. We must attempt to tell the whole truth about birth, the truth that includes transformation, mastery, satisfaction, personal power, and the difference between pain and suffering. At the same time, however, we must respect the choices women make even when we may not personally agree with those choices. Women who choose pain medication deserve the supportive presence of a midwife just as much as those who opt for a less interventive style of birth experience.