A study of labour pain using the McGill Pain Questionnaire

The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) was used to assess the nature and intensity of labour pain in 29 women. Subjects completed the MPQ during the first stage of labour, and again 24-48 hours post-natally, when they recalled the pain of the first and second stages of their childbirth. Labour pain was found, on average, to be severe. However, it varied greatly between subjects. In particular, one psychological factor--previous experience of pain--was found to be strongly associated with perceived levels of labour pain. Subjects who reported that they had previously experienced significant levels of pain unrelated to childbirth had low or moderate levels of labour pain. Subjects who reported little experience of pain unrelated to childbirth, had high levels of pain.