We both give birth and overcome pain!

WE WILL GIVE BIRTH AND WILL CONQUER THE PAIN!

PART 1. THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM

From amulets to chloroform
In ancient times, it was believed that the pain that a woman may experience during childbirth was sent by evil spirits, evil spirits, and envious ill-wishers. In order to appease the angry evil force, various amulets were used and rituals were performed aimed at reducing the suffering of the woman in labor. Such magical rituals, through the power of suggestion, helped a woman overcome her fear of childbirth, which greatly alleviated the situation. Herbal decoctions of midwives and healers also had a relaxing, calming effect.
In 1846, anesthesia was first used, and from that moment on, ether and chloroform began to be used to anesthetize childbirth, primarily surgical ones. However, the method, which was imperfect at that time, caused many complications and did not solve the problem of pain relief during physiological labor.
In the 20th century, thanks to improvements in anesthesia techniques and the invention of new anesthetic drugs, pain-relieving methods in obstetric practice have made great progress. However, a number of questions still remain, and the main one among them is whether normal labor needs to be anesthetized at all?

Two thirds fear
The norm is that almost all women giving birth experience pain to one degree or another, which has objective reasons. Depending on the stage of labor, these pain sensations vary.
During contractions (the first stage of labor), the muscles of the uterus contract, causing the cervix to open, allowing passage for the baby. The baby's head also puts pressure on the tissues of the uterus, the nerve endings in them are irritated, and the uterine ligaments are stretched. These are natural processes that should be accompanied by pain, but should not cause pain overload for the mother in labor.
In the second stage of labor, when the cervix is ​​fully dilated, pushing begins and the fetus is expelled. The pain becomes clearly defined and is felt at the site of fetal pressure on the nerve endings in the area of ​​the coccyx, vagina, perineum, and external genitalia. In this case, pain is also a completely physiological phenomenon.
However, the pain that a woman experiences during childbirth is only 30% caused by the birth process itself: irritation of nerve endings during uterine contractions, compression of soft tissues by the fetal head, stretching of the ligaments of the uterus and perineum. After all, nature wisely prepares a woman’s body for the test. Firstly, during natural childbirth, the mother’s body turns on the anti-pain system, blocking excess pain impulses and releasing natural painkillers into the blood. Secondly, before childbirth, the sensitivity of the uterus decreases and the pain threshold increases. That is why low-pain childbirths are not so rare.
But 70% of pain remains, where do they come from? If we do not take cases of severe obstetric pathology, these sensations are caused by... banal fear. If a woman is languishing in uncertainty in anticipation of the notorious death throes, or is overly afraid for her health and the health of her baby, then the stress hormone adrenaline is released into the blood. The muscles tense, the vessels and nerves of the uterus are compressed, and a deficiency of nutrients and oxygen occurs, which comes with the blood. Ischemia develops - a pathological process that is a source of pain. In addition, fear causes a sharp decrease in the pain threshold: even a minor irritant can at such moments cause extremely painful sensations.

I'm not a coward, but I'm afraid
If the birth is complicated or operative, there are no questions: the doctor will select the optimal method of pain relief before performing the necessary procedures. But is it worth it to anesthetize normal childbirth, for example, simply because a woman is very afraid of labor pain? The answer is very simple. First you need to try to fight the fear of pain, and only if there is no effect, you should take on the pain itself.