The complexity of labor pain: experiences of 278 women

Abstract

All women giving birth over a period of 2 weeks in a major city of Sweden, except non-Swedish speaking women and those with elective Caesarean sections, were asked about their experience of pain 2 days after the birth. The sensory (pain intensity) and effective (negative or positive experience) dimensions of pain, as well as need for pain relief during labor were explored. The 278 women who returned completed questionnaires (91%) reported high levels of pain, 41% worst imaginable pain, in spite of wide use of pharmacological pain relief. Only 9% had no analgesia. Pain was not an entirely negative experience, 28% assessing it as more positive than negative, suggesting that coping with pain is a rewarding experience for some women. More than 30 different explanatory variables were included in regression analysis to explain the variation in pain intensity and pain attitude scores, but only five contributed to the respective model. Most of the variables explaining pain intensity, namely anxiety during labor, expected pain, expected birth experience, midwife support and duration of labor, differed from the variables explaining attitude to pain. These were pain intensity, anxiety, expected birth experience physical well-being during pregnancy and emergency Caesarean section. The explanatory values were relatively low, especially for the model explaining pain intensity (R2 = 15%). The findings are discussed in the light of the different character and meaning of childbirth pain compared with pain related to disease.

The impact of Childbirth experiences on women's sense of self: A review of the literature

“…Indeed, women's perception of pain during childbirth has been found to be unrelated to how they assess the experience as a whole, which can even be seen to be pleasurable or erotic (Bergum, 1989;Lundgren & Dahlberg, 1998;Niven, 1988;Rabuzzi, 1994;Salmon, Miller, & Drew, 1990;Waldenström, Bergman, & Vasell, 1996). Labour is therefore an internal experience and part of that experience is that the woman's body functions outside her control (England & Horowitz, 1998;Lundgren & Dahlberg, 1998;Simkin, 1992).…”

A Passion of the Soul: An Introduction to Pain for Consciousness Researchers

“…The sensory aspect of pain is clearly present. Still, it is not sensory intensity that differentiates the behaviors of women in labor but rather the meaning of pain and emotion associated with it (Waldenstrom, Bergman, & Vasell, 1996a;Waldenstrom, Borg, Olsson, Skold, & Wall, 1996b). Some express agony, and others take control and cope actively.…”

Releasing and relieving encounters: experiences of pregnancy and childbirth

“…Pain is hard to describe and contradictory. This is verified by Waldenström et al (1996), describing pain as not an entirely negative experience. With her theory of suffering, caring theorist Eriksson (1993) offers a deeper understanding of pain.…”

“…Pain during childbirth affects the total birth experience (Séguin et al 1989, Mackey 1998, Waldenström et al 1996, Reading & Cox 1985, Waldenström 1999. Pain is associated with a negative experience (Séguin et al 1989, Waldenström 1999, Mackey 1998, and post-partum mood (Reading & Cox 1985).…”

“…On the other hand, Salmon et al (1990) found that the degree of pain could not alone define or exhaust the experience of childbirth. The complexities of pain during labour have been described by Waldenström et al (1996) Even if pain during childbirth is characterised as a very severe pain (Melzack 1993, Niven & Gijsbers 1984 it is not described as an entirely negative experience (Waldenström et al 1996). Additionally, pharmacological pain relief need not always be connected with a positive experience of childbirth.…”