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Before I delivered my first child, and as often as the women in my family had warned me of the pain I was about to endure, I never fully realized that a person could experience such immense pain and not die. I didn't take their warnings seriously. I thought, "I can handle it. I'm a big girl. It couldn't possibly be that bad." I am now five deliveries past that frame of mind, and yes, it absolutely does hurt. At least it did for me. Granted childbirth is a varied experience, with some women feeling little more than pressure, and others, like myself, who would describe it as more excruciatingly painful than anything they ever perceived possible.

Before I delivered my fourth child, I decided to investigate different birthing methods that might possibly alleviate some of the pain. Up until that point I had chosen natural birthing with lamaze breathing techniques. And while the breathing techniques had kept me from hyperventilating -as I have a tendency to do- they did nothing for the pain. During my investigation I came across a site explaining the pain of childbirth, that what I had experienced during my previous deliveries was not actual pain, but pressure. Yes, I thought, like the kind of pressure you feel when a truck parks on your foot. The kind of pressure that produces such intense pain that you can't catch your breathe well enough to scream. This, so called, pressure that I felt during my deliveries was liken to the hands of God squeezing my insides out. How ridiculous to say it is mere pressure. I was even more surprised to find out that it was written by a woman -a mother. This showing further proof that the experience varies greatly.

So why does it have to be so painful? Some, like my husband, would blame it on Eve and her enticement of Adam in the Garden of Eden with fruit from the Tree of Life. Some say that it helps to create that powerful emotional protective bond mothers have for their children. I say, that besides the fact that all of your muscles are working in unison to push out a seven pound person (which it would make sense to think that that would hurt), it is a small lesson in life. Life is not easy. It is painful; it is hard; and it is at times, very very messy. The pain that you feel during childbirth pales in comparison to the life long trials that are ahead in raising that life you so miraculously brought into the world. Yes, childbirth hurts. But it is temporary, as are all things.

Learn more about this author, Christol Weber.
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