ouch!

recently i decided i needed to do some work on my baby belly so i started an ab workout.  wow!  i hurt and ached in places i didn't even know had muscles!  bending over was a struggle, laughing too hard hurt, i was in pain.  so the next day what did i do?  i did more ab workouts.  what?!  am i crazy?  why would i purposely put myself through that pain?  is it because i know what the pain indicates?  that the pain has a purpose and at some point will cease.  how did i handle the pain?  sometimes i would put pressure on it, other times just close my eyes and relax.
hmmmm...could this be similar to labor?  why yes!  labor pains have a purpose.  our body is working hard and we can feel it.  why do we think that pain for a workout is acceptable but not pain during labor?  part of it is what we've been told throughout our whole life...labor hurts, do what you can to avoid it.  but with working out what are we told?  no pain, no gain.  we know how to ease our pain, i gave a few examples.  what if we took what we already know (and maybe learn a few more) and implement it in our labors.  accept the fact that we are working hard and we're going to feel it.  that no pain, no gain is a good mantra and we can relax and work through it.
coincidentally did you know that it was men that told women they had pain in childbirth.  now men may know alot of things but they certainly do not know what giving birth feels like.  Let's remember labor is hard work and treat it that way, not like it is a problem.