As someone in my early thirties who is seriously considering starting a family soon, pretty much the last thing I needed to hear in the whole wide world was that a study had determined that women who are scared of labor tend to have a longer, harder time pushing their babies out. Really?
This is just so unfair on so many cosmic levels. Someone up there must be playing some sort of cruel joke. I mean, come one–stories like this sort of convince me that God has to be a dude, cause a woman wouldn't do this to us!
Also, who ISN'T afraid of labor? Fine, if you are a second or third time mom, I get the whole "Been there, done that" mentality–but if it's your first baby and you're not in the smallest bit scared, then something is wrong with you. Or you're just lying to yourself.
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Why? Well because, unless I am mistaken, labor–you know, the physical act of pushing out a brand new human being through your vaginal canal and into the world–is a pretty unique experience. Even if you've been there in the hospital with your BFF or family, you never really 100% know what your getting into until your there, doing it. Am I wrong?
Well, actually, maybe I am. Shockingly enough, only 7.5 percent of the women involved in this study who were going in to labor were "scared" as determined by the scientist's questions. Maybe nine months of growing a baby in your body wears you out to the point where you're all like: "You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the hell up out of here, baby!" Cause I totally get that.
The upside of this whole study is that even though it took on average 47 minutes longer for the "frightened" women to give birth, most of them were still able to have successful vaginal deliveries, "Therefore, elective cesarean delivery should not be routinely recommended," said Dr. Samantha Salvesen Adams, of Akershus University Hospital in Norway.
So, there you have it. Even if you ARE batsh*t scared out of your mind about pushing a baby through your body and into this great, wide world, you will probably be just fine anyways. Which I guess we already knew, what with the thousands of years of human reproduction under our belts and all.
Were you or are you scared of labor and giving birth? Share your story in the comments below!
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