In today's society it is an accepted practice to try and eliminate pain in every aspect of life. In my opinion pain is good for it helps to establish character. Try not to be afraid of pain but realize that God has given us pain for a reason.
Pain is an isolated event, but pain can be comforted and understood by others. It is the job of anyone helping someone in pain to pray, support, and comfort them.
In II Cornithians Paul explains how that God is the God of all comfort. God allows us to go through things in order that we can comfort others. We can take the comfort God has given us to help others. That is why I feel it is important to have a woman help another woman through the birthing process.
The first mention of childbirth was with Eve in the garden. Eve is probably the most talked about woman. God told Eve that in sorrow she would bring children into the world. Eve did not realize it then but sorrow can mean a type of suffering physically and mentally.
In labor there is a reason for pain. Think about it a minute, pain allows the woman to know where she is at in the birthing experience. There are stages in labor where pain plays a major role in determining how the labor is going. Labor usually starts with easy waves of contractions and is described as mild. As labor processes the intensity or the waves of the contractions are described as mild to moderate. Labor continues to bulid into severe contractions. See how the role of pain allows us to discern where the mom is at in labor.
In childbirth doctors have tried to eliminate pain because it is time consuming and also, it is very hard to watch someone in labor. Every human wants to help others by eliminating discomforts and pain. But LABOR is LABOR. It is not something you can eliminate. You can tolerate pain or make labor easier if you prepare for the birthing experience by understanding what is going on at each stage. Some authors feel that pain is not necessary for birth and I agree to a point. Labor is difficult and the word pain is describing how labor feels but pain is not very descriptive. Pain is a generic word used to describe discomfort.
There is a Bible verse that says, "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. I Timothy 2:15 Different Bible teachers claim this verse for women in labor. "saved from what?" is my question. If you study out childbirth in the Bible the words travail, anguish, and sorrow show up. You see that God has used these terms to describe labor. My fear for young mothers is that if the labor is hard, and they have not prepared for it, the moms will become dissillusioned with the Word of God. I would rather work with moms having the realization that bringing a child into the world causes pain or discomfort. I explain that pain is good and not to be feared.
In a normal birthing experience pain medication is not needed. But when medication is needed it is broken up into three different categories: analgesics (pain reliever), anxiety suppressant (tranquilizer) and anesthesia (numbness). An epidural is an anesthesia.
The analegesics and anxiety suppressants have side effects. These drugs work as a depressant on the central nervous system in the mother and in the newborn. Mother's who have been given these drugs have lower amounts of oxygen levels in the blood which mean lower amounts of oxygen for the baby. Studies have also shown a lack of mom's participation in the birthing and bonding process and that it can also affects the ability of the newborn to nurse.
Epidurals on the other hand do not allow for mom to stand, walk, squat, or move around. The most common side effect is that it lowers mom's blood pressure, it only works on one side, or it does not work at all and remember that the mom have been a higher chance of cesarean birth or forcep delivery if an epidural is given. But epidurals are necessary if the mom has unusal labor contractions, has a need for a cesarean, or a forcep/vacuum delivery.
Paul uses the struggles of childbirth to illustrate how someone comes to know the Lord. God uses things clearly seen in nature to describe things spiritually. I have often explained to my clients that when they are going through labor God is using their example of obedience as an illustration to the world and angels. What a great honor.
So, labor is not something to be feared. When a marathon runner runs the race he is well prepared. Prepare yourself for the birthing process, realize that it is a challenge and allow God to use you. Pain is good!!
Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
