Women 'should go through pain' in childbirth, says male midwife

by Duncan Gardham © Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009
The pain involved in childbirth serves a purpose and more women should go through it in order to prepare themselves for the responsibility of bringing up a baby, according to Dr Denis Walsh.
Dr Walsh, a senior midwife and associate professor in midwifery at Nottingham University, said: "A large number of women want to avoid pain. Some just don't fancy the pain [of childbirth]. More women should be prepared to withstand pain.
"Pain in labour is a purposeful, useful thing, which has quite a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for the responsibility of nurturing a newborn baby."
Celebrity births, TV programmes and films such as Knocked Up, give the impression that childbirth is a highly medical process, when in fact the pain is natural, healthy and temporary, according to Dr Walsh.
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