Simulation Allows Man to Experience Childbirth
Starting out with the provocative statement that research shows men can stand a lot more pain than women, a doctor begins an experiment in gender bending that makes for a pretty enjoyable watch.
Using electrodes that simulate contractions (whose accuracy is vouched for by a mother of four), the father of twins sets out to see if he can withstand the pain of childbirth. Two hours in, he couldn’t care less about which gender can withstand more pain. And even assuming these contractions are realistic, this man’s “birth” experience is clearly nothing like the real thing, which could only be posted on YouTube at the risk of an obscenity trial.
Still, it’s kind of fun to see how the experiment ends.
Would any of you men willingly experience simulated contractions?
Photo: MomLogic
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Tags: contractions, experiment, man experiencing childbirth, men, pain, simulated childbirth, video, women, youtube
15 Comments
Eric commented on Oct 16 09 at 10:21 amSo ‘all the research’ (I don’t really know) that points to men having a higher pain threshold is invalidated by this wimp? I’m really not sure how this ‘test’ relates to anything. Women couldn’t stop the childbirth process at any point but this guy could. That’s not really a test of tolerance. I have no interest in experiencing ’simulated contractions.’ It looks like it hurts a great deal, and takes a long time. Should the technology become available for you ladies to experience what it feels like to get kicked in the stones, I’d advise you pass on that too.
GP commented on Oct 16 09 at 12:39 pmThis is foolishness. Did they inject him with hormones that are released by a woman’s body during labor? Lots of physical changes take during labor that create a “more than the sum of its parts” kind of situation. Stuff like this is why people are afraid of birth and say silly things like, “I want the epidural!” before they even get in the hospital door.
joanie commented on Oct 16 09 at 3:13 pmI think this experiment is hilarious and pretty cute as well. Regardless of the full labor experience, he’s certainly dealing with the relentless pain and inescapability of contractions, which I remember as being pretty significant. Good for him for doing it, and thanks for passing it along.
PS: There are very good reasons to be afraid of giving birth and afraid of feeling prolonged pain. I think calling fear of pain “silly” is intolerant nonsense.
GP commented on Oct 16 09 at 3:47 pmIf more women took the time to find out how their bodies worked and paid less attention to all the fear-mongering about the pain, I think labor would not be such a scary proposition. I recommend Grantly Dick-Read’s (don’t laugh at the name!)”Childbirth without Fear”. Most of what makes labor so bad is what hospitals and doctors put women through.
mommiedear commented on Oct 16 09 at 3:51 pmWTF!? WHY? It still doesn’t ake sense as to why he wants to know what this feels like. In the name of research people do some stupid embarassoing things! On www truuconfessions.com moms will aptly describe what it feels like to give birth!
jenny tries too hard commented on Oct 16 09 at 5:08 pmmeh. I say the old “If you want to know what childbirth feels like, pull your bottom lip over your head…and swallow” works well enough. Do doctors and scientists seriously have nothing better to do?
emmet commented on Oct 17 09 at 1:42 amI had actually always heard that women had a higher pain tolerance than men, and that childbirth was cited as the reason for that. It’s possible that the studies I read and the ones he cited focused on different types of pain (sort vs sustained duration?).
yesplease commented on Oct 17 09 at 12:14 pmI do think this shows how ridiculous it is to expect women to go through labor silently (I was told I was “wasting my energy” when I grunted during the pushing phase).
Regan commented on Oct 19 09 at 12:33 pmThis experiment lacks the basic element of birth - lack of control. You never know how labour will progress or what risks you’ll face. Given that, lots of women would opt to avoid the pain if given a chance - the only thing stopping us is the increased risks of complications. Since we don’t have a chance to say ‘ok, enough. call off the birth’ and so we endure. You’d think evolution would make the process a little painful in order to encourage more births, but I think that’s why sex is fun and fertility is a hidden process - once you’ve made it as far as labour evolution doesn’t give a fig about your feelings, other than you complete it.
joanie commented on Oct 20 09 at 5:21 pmUm, most of what makes labor hard is that it hurts. For a very long time. That has nothing to do with doctors or hospitals.
Judy commented on Oct 27 09 at 5:56 pmComments
Men have, absolutely, no idea! One of my male co-workers once asked,
“Aw, it doesn’t hurt that bad, does it?” To which I replied, “Imagine a water melon is growing in your stomach, getting bigger and bigger every month and at the end of 9 months, it is going to come out your rectum. Do you think that would hurt a lot?” That changed his opinion! The pain of childbirth varies from woman to woman. My pain level was so excruciating the first time, I wouldn’t put myself through it again. Apparently, it’s not as bad for some women as it is others, otherwise, most women would, probably, only experience it once and take measures to see that it never happened again.
MamaBlue commented on Oct 27 09 at 6:26 pmI would have to say, Eric, that comparing child labor to getting kicked in the stones is a little uneven, unless you plan on getting kicked in the stones every two minutes for twelve hours.
Rhiannon commented on Nov 13 09 at 1:52 pmLabor is fine. It hurts, but is totally manageable. It is pushing out the baby that hurts. All that stretching and ripping and big things fitting in small places. Seriously, don’t stress the contractions.
Maura commented on Dec 22 09 at 12:46 amCommentsI’m not sure as to why there is still such a debate about which sex can take more pain. They had done experiments during at least one of the World Wars concerning torture and gender…women came out WAY on top with that one! The men gave up info so much sooner than the women…if the women even gave it up at all. I’m so sick of hearing about men and getting hit in the crotch! When you are kicked on a continuous basis for 9-20 hours without passing out…then talk to me!! My labor for my twins started at 6am, and I had them at 12:42am and 1:08am the following day. The exper. doesn’t take into account the pain of having a bowling ball head pushing your cervix open while having 2nd and 3rd stage labor pains on top of it…so many different pains going on at the same time. My ex used to wuss about when he had a mild cold, and said he had new respect for women after watching my undrugged labor. Suck it up guys…you lose!!!
Anastasia commented on Dec 22 09 at 11:39 pmCommentsOK, lets face it that every woman’s labor feels different, and for most, contractions are horrible things that hurt so much you could saw off your own leg and you wouldn’t even feel it- (at least that’s how if was for me…) but for other women (REALLY LUCKY WOMEN like Rhiannon) contractions aren’t that bad. I didn’t hurt pushing- I didn’t even feel myself tearing- but I sure did feel the contractions!!! And that’s how it was for me for all 4 of my kids deliveries. I only had an epidural with the 4th because I “wanted to enjoy it” as my midwife put it, and because of the epidural taking away the pain of contractions I DID enjoy it. I’m glad this experiment was done because it gives men insight into what we go through, but I really wish my husband could feel the pain so he’d be more sympathetic and stop asking for more kids!!!
Still, pregnancy with sciatica for 5 months was worse than giving birth! I know men who felt that pain for 3 days and were in the hospital asking for the soonest surgery to fix it!
