Labor, pain perception, and marathons

Recently, I have been getting myself pumped up for having this baby.  I wrote down some positive affirmations for myself like:
I am marvelous
This is a woman's work
My body is beautiful and strong
I am participating in a miracle
I am confident in my ability to have a baby
I am capable of anything
I can let my body do its job
I can't wait to meet my baby!

And then I went in to my normal doctor visit (actually, midwife) and from the nurse I got some written information about when to come to the hospital and how to know if I was really in labor and what to do, etc.

The very first line read: "Real labor is painful."
And I immediately thought, "who was the idiot who thought this up?" and then I promptly looked for a pen or some white out.  I will acknowledge that while labor can be very painful for a large portion of women, I also think that it is due in part to thoughts like the one above.

The last thing you want to tell a mother-to-be is that labor is painful, because all she is going to do is panic when she actually goes into labor.  If you curl up into a ball and tense against every contraction, and you are thinking "labor is painful and horrible" THEN OF COURSE IT IS GOING TO BE JUST THAT!

And no, I don't think that labor is floating on fluffy clouds or eating ice cream with a teddy bear while sliding down a rainbow.

If I could rewrite that section on my instruction pamphlet, I would write: "Real labor is hard work."

Think about running a marathon right now.  If you have trained for a marathon and prepared yourself physically and mentally, then running a marathon can be exhilarating and fulfilling, but still requires a lot of work and physical exertion-- you will sweat, you will be tired, and your endurance and strength will be tested.  Most marathon runners will say that their marathon was exhausting, but they won't say it was painful. But if you take someone who has not prepared to run a marathon and who thinks that running is the most abhorrent task in the world, and they will say that every step of a marathon was painful.

On a smaller scale, it is the same with a simple gym workout.  It should be hard, it should require work, but for someone who is conditioned to it, a workout is not painful.

So in preparing for natural labor, I am not so naive as to think it will be comfortable, or easy, or a walk in the park, or the most fun I have ever had in my whole life, but I do think I can do it.  And yeah, I probably am one of those people who get a kick out of doing hard things.  I like knowing that I am capable of hard work.  I like the feeling of accomplishment of overcoming physical exhaustion and pushing myself a little more.  Its why I like running marathons.

Coincidentally, the best marathon I ever ran, in terms of my own personal experience, was my first, and I ran it completely without music or entertainment of any kind.  I didn't even have a running buddy.  I found that without headphones and music, I was able to concentrate on the environment around me, the beauty of the race, the uniqueness of the runners, and the needs and abilities of my own body.   And I still finished very fast (3:55), exceeding even my own expectations of what I was capable of.  And it was not the least bit painful (it was painful the next day...but not when I was running)

So I kind of think of natural labor the same way.  My body is capable of great, hard things.  I want to feel what is happening to my body and my baby.  I want to help my baby come into the world.  I want to work hard to make it happen, and I want that feeling of exhilaration that comes from being instantly released from all that exertion and effort-- kind of like crossing a finish line!