Women – 476 days ago

[acd]

Probably not naturally, I'm quite sure there are unnatural things that are more painful though. I'm certain that getting a limb blown or chopped off hurts more. Having cancer destroy all your cells from the inside out probably hurts more as well.

The amount of pain also varies greatly from woman to woman apparently.

How can you be certain?

What is the point of making this comparision again?

Funny how much of a dick measuring contest this has become..
'Oh, so it hurts to give birth? Well it hurts to get cancer or pull my teeth out...or to hypothetically have my leg blown off.'

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Except none of those things are required to propagate the species.
(lol)

[Stu]

I question the OPs premiss, what is a "unit of pain"?

Pain is a completely subjective experience, therefore any objective quantification is semi ridiculous.

As far as the idea that woman are hardier then men because they can endure childbirth, well it sounds logical except that it can not be proven as men, by definition, do to bear children.

The differences between men and women are deep and fundamental. However a woman can experience things as a man and a man can experience things as a woman.

[MissionHouse]

When I was in labour with my son I felt as though I was going to split in half right down the centre from the top of my head to my crotch. The pain was such that I couldn't speak anymore and was trying to communicate with people telepathically. Alas, I think I was the only INFJ in the hospital......I'm glad I went through that, though. It was really interesting. It's a good frame of reference to have. I ended up having an emergency C-section, by the way, which is no picnic in it's own way. I still wish I could have experienced vaginal childbirth. At least he was healthy.

[charlene]

I question the OPs premiss, what is a "unit of pain"?

Pain is a completely subjective experience, therefore any objective quantification is semi ridiculous.

As far as the idea that woman are hardier then men because they can endure childbirth, well it sounds logical except that it can not be proven as men, by definition, do to bear children.

The differences between men and women are deep and fundamental. However a woman can experience things as a man and a man can experience things as a woman.

Totally agree.

Pain is far too subjective to measure. Pain with a limited duration and a purpose- childbirth- is impossible to compare with other kinds of pointless pain such as torture or chronic pain.
...


I had a text book pregnancy and birth so I was very, very fortunate, considering there are 101 things that can go wrong that a woman has no control over. I was very worried prior to giving birth because I am very petite and other women had been telling me horror stories through out my pregnancy. I did all the excercises religiously and learnt all I could about the process of chilldbirth so I could cope better. The labour and childbirth were painful but definately bearable, and had no adverse consequences. I knew it was going to over soon and my only concern was for the health of the newborn. The pain of childbirth serves a valuable purpose. Giving birth should not be easy and a woman should always remember the moment she brought a life into the world.

The real pain started after the birth for me. I was so tired, I just wanted to eat eggs benedict and get some sleep but this wasnt possible for over a month. I had done little to prepare for the reality of having a newborn and was in for a nasty shock. I survived three months of sleep deprivation by running completely on adrenalin and instinct.

Ive always had a great deal of admiration for how women in the past have coped with so much, and continue to do so in less developed countries. It is hard bleeding painfully every month, giving birth and raising children. These conditions have made it a lot more challenging for women to be as 'heroic' as men. Men have a certain biological freedom that women dont. Ensuring the survival of the species is a painful and challenging ordeal.

[JGirl]

Same here, I also had to pull bits of teeth from my gum once with a knife and tweezers that wasn't fun. Dislocating both my arms at the same time was similar to the teeth trouble.

oh yeah?
well i had an episiotomy. so there.

[Feelings]

Women and men can both be racked, waterboarded, and have their fingernails and toenails pulled off, possibly in rapid succession. I guess that evens the score.

OOOHHH THE THREAD KILLER. BAM. Thread hulksmashed.

[This]

How can you be certain?

What is the point of making this comparision again?

Funny how much of a dick measuring contest this has become..
'Oh, so it hurts to give birth? Well it hurts to get cancer or pull my teeth out...or to hypothetically have my leg blown off.'

Except none of those things are required to propagate the species.
(lol)

Well of course they aren't but I thought this thread was about "Units of pain" (whatever the hell that means)

and responses like this are just begging for a challenge:

i heard that childbirth was the most painful thing to go through and that a man cannot physically withstand that amount of pain.

[bickelz]

But pregnancy is the most beautiful time of a woman's life!

Well then it's not a very glamorous life because pregnancy is weird. I'm glad it exists but it's still freaky.

[bickelz]

Women are the hardier sex. ;-p
We live longer on average and have higher thresholds for pain.

I read somewhere a while ago that estrogen increases the availability of endorphins that help cope with pain. High estrogen levels means more endorphins are released.The rush of hormones help during pregnancy and childbirth..And women during childbearing years have higher levels of estrogen that may suggest an advantage coping with all types of pain.

That's probably an evolutionary thing that evolved from being beaten by their men too many times.

/sadist sarcasm

[bickelz]

Left: chimpanzee infant head size relative to pelvic opening; Right: human infant head size relative to pelvic opening


My primal side appreciates that a woman can give birth. My rational side appreciates that I'm a man.

(Well, my every side appreciates that I'm a man.)

Human's have the most dangerous childbirths out of any mammal, it's why we do it in groups. And by groups I mean that the whole family is always around when it happens, not that there's some sort of birthing orgy. But the social aspect of childbirth where the whole family gets together is supposedly evolutionary.

Probably not naturally, I'm quite sure there are unnatural things that are more painful though. I'm certain that getting a limb blown or chopped off hurts more. Having cancer destroy all your cells from the inside out probably hurts more as well.

The amount of pain also varies greatly from woman to woman apparently.

Yeah, it also varies depending on the position she's in when she gives the baby. It's actually supposed to come out better if they squat I read somewhere.

It's kind of the same thing with pooping; it's all about the angle. There's a lot less stress when squatting because the opening isn't restricted in some way. Why would you want to make the fit tighter?

[the]

I question the OPs premiss, what is a "unit of pain"?

Pain is a completely subjective experience, therefore any objective quantification is semi ridiculous.

As far as the idea that woman are hardier then men because they can endure childbirth, well it sounds logical except that it can not be proven as men, by definition, do to bear children.

The differences between men and women are deep and fundamental. However a woman can experience things as a man and a man can experience things as a woman.

What ever a "del" is as seen in the OP, is the unit they use to measure it, if you cared to read the OP in the first place.

[Phebe]

I hated being pregnant, even though I had easy pregnancies. I just hated the awkwardness and especially in the end when I felt like if I didn't sit down all my inerds were going to fall out...

...BUT I LOVED the childbirth experience. Loved it. I loved the pain, I loved the epidural, I loved the pushing and I loved the reward. Both times.
(If you have ever had full fledged food poisoning ... aka stomach cramping and crapping blood .... this is similar to labor pain.) I was more concerned that I was going to poop while all the medical staff is standing down there. Even if I did, it's not like it would matter.

It's the aftercare part they don't talk about much in books. O.o I bet you didn't know they made feminine napkins that freeze like an ice pack after you "break" it. :P
@Jill Hives - make sure you have plenty of these. (You can only get from your doctor or the hospital.)





OK WHO IS READY TO HAVE A BABY NOW!!??? LOL

Pass!

[skippy64]

They get to be a super bitch while it happens. Other than that, no.

Feel free to start imagining you do though.

I wish I had the ability to be a super bitch...then I can stop caring. Imagine all the feelingz I could hurt!
Finally! I get to be happy with loads of attention while everyone's upset.

[Phebe]

What about giving birth to a baby that's on fire? :O

I wonder if any superhero mothers had to go through that trauma. Or what if the baby was born with spikes...? Yikes.

[Stu]

............... is the unit they use to measure it, if you cared to read the OP in the first place.

I read it three times, maybe I am stupid or something.

[this is only temporary]

Stop scaring Jill.

Jill, it is not that bad, it is actually pretty fascinating. Some women have painless/low pain births.

• Look into anything by Ida Mae Gaskin (http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/)
• get a doula
• remember: there is no shame in either epidurals or C-sections
• thousands of years of evolution made it so you can do this
• Look into hypnosis to help with pain and anxiety. (http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/la...sis-childbirth)
• Don't forget: they have gooooooooooooooood drugs.
• Don't worry! You'll be okay, just ignore this lot. (;

And yes, women are superhuman and in addition to the aforementioned superpowers, we make milk. That's actually pretty cool when you think about it.

[JGirl]

Well of course they aren't but I thought this thread was about "Units of pain" (whatever the hell that means)

and responses like this are just begging for a challenge:
Originally Posted by JGirl
i heard that childbirth was the most painful thing to go through and that a man cannot physically withstand that amount of pain.

i wasn't saying that as fact - i had heard that years ago. i was just passing it along. i think @acd is right though with regard to estrogen levels having something to do with endurance of pain.
it's not a pissing contest anyway lol

[Jill Hives]

Stop scaring Jill.

Jill, it is not that bad, it is actually pretty fascinating. Some women have painless/low pain births.

• Look into anything by Ida Mae Gaskin (http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/)
• get a doula
• remember: there is no shame in either epidurals or C-sections
• thousands of years of evolution made it so you can do this
• Look into hypnosis to help with pain and anxiety. (http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/la...sis-childbirth)
• Don't forget: they have gooooooooooooooood drugs.
• Don't worry! You'll be okay, just ignore this lot. (;

And yes, women are superhuman and in addition to the aforementioned superpowers, we make milk. That's actually pretty cool when you think about it.

HAHA thank you, I'm alright though. I've done this once before, to be honest what is scaring me more than anything is not having health coverage. I honestly don't have a clue what is going to happen in regard to that right now.

[This]

i wasn't saying that as fact - i had heard that years ago. i was just passing it along. i think @acd is right though with regard to estrogen levels having something to do with endurance of pain.
it's not a pissing contest anyway lol

I know, I wasn't trying to call you out or anything, lol. I just always like to find exceptions to statements like that. I saw this thread as being more about pain than about child birth from reading the OP so I figured we were talking about pain.

[JGirl]

I know, I wasn't trying to call you out or anything, lol. I just always like to find exceptions to statements like that. I saw this thread as being more about pain than about child birth from reading the OP so I figured we were talking about pain.

when you have women and pain in the same sentence you will almost always end up talking about childbirth. it's our biggie. grinzz