Do people really forget the pain of pregnancy and birthing?

[Raymie]

Someone on my facebook just said if this was her first pregnancy it would be her last. A man replied 'no you wouldn't, the human brain has a switch that forgets the pain of childbirth to ensure the survival of the species' like we have some trick built it! Is there any truth in this at all? I'm not liking it!

~ Saffy xx

[Sam W]

Hi Raymie,

There's a reason you're not liking it: you're correctly spotting that it's basically nonsense! People who give birth can look back on the process of carrying the pregnancy with all sorts of emotions. Those emotions can vary depending on how carrying and birthing the child went (was it relatively straightforward or were there complications), their own feelings about pregnancy and parenthood, how supported they felt during the process, and a whole host of other things. Too, sometimes the passage of time allows people to focus on the positive parts of pregnancy (including the child that came from it) rather than the painful parts, which may factor into the choice to pursue another pregnancy. Their brains don't suddenly and automatically go, "gee that was great and not painful at all and I want to do it again."Framing it that way really oversimplifies all the reasons why someone may choose to become pregnant again even if it was painful or uncomfortable the previous time (and it oversimplifies the reasons someone may choose not to get pregnant again after having one child). Does that all make sense?

[Raymie]

Thank you Sam! Amazing reply! *heart eyes* That makes me feel better. It does seem like a lot of people do remember it, and swap stories a lot. Sometimes culture makes it seem like our bodies are out to trap into being baby machines!

[Sam W]

You're welcome! And yep, the way some people frame the psychological, social, and biological factors that go into a person deciding to pursue a pregnancy seems to really focus on the person as a baby-producer first and a person second.

[Sunshine]

I vividly remember the entire night my child was born and all the many different sensations and emotions, both good and bad. I heard the "oh, you forget the pain" statement a lot from other mothers, so I suppose that for some people it's true to a degree but certainly not for everyone.

[Jacob]

Omg! So nice to see you Ray!

Glad Sam & Sunshine could put some of that foolishness to rest.