When Fear Can Lead to Pain in Childbirth
Alexia cleared her own tokophobia and developed a method that has helped women clear theirs for more than 10 years.
When Fear Can Lead to Pain in Childbirth
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When I first found out I was pregnant for the first time, along with the delight at my news, I was also utterly terrified. It wasn’t the idea of having and raising a child; it was the idea of giving birth! I’d tell anyone who would listen that I’d want to be given all the drugs in the world just to cope with the pain!
And then one day I was having a conversation with someone while I was on a course (the advanced course of the method behind the head trash clearance technique), who told me that she had a pain-free birth with no drugs. Pain-free? With no drugs?
What?
I didn’t realise that such a thing was possible. This deserved further attention.
And so began my journey of discovery of natural, pain-free births. This led to me developing a range of products to help women clear their fears, using myself as the guinea pig. It worked for me: I went from being a terrified, panic-stricken emotional mess when it came to thoughts of childbirth, to “Amazonian woman of nature” (the midwife at my birth said this, not me! I’m sure it was a compliment!) who was so excited when my waters broke that I was finally going to meet my poppet that I gave birth at home without drugs in six hours.
But I digress. Let’s get back to the pain. So how can fear affect the pain of birth?
Everyone has seen enough births in their time on TV and in the movies and they always look like complete and utter nightmares. Midwives are screaming PUSH! PUSH! PUSH! Mothers are screaming in pain. Add to that all the birthing horror stories that women are more than happy sharing and you’ve got yourself a perfect recipe for complete and utter terror of childbirth.
It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I believe some women have harder, more painful births partly because they’ve been conditioned to expect it. You never see a childbirth without fear in a movie… you know the ones that are calm, peaceful and magical. And yet those births happen too.
For many women, by the time they get pregnant they have seen enough “painful” births and heard so many horrific stories, that they just expect the same will happen to them. Understandably this makes them scared. Who wouldn’t be? I know I was. But I didn’t know any better. I thought that that’s just the way it is. The whole idea of a childbirth without fear just seems silly and downright impossible.
The idea is that, in labour, fear can create pain: the more fearful you are, the more pain you may feel. This is known as the fear-tension-pain cycle, first described by the obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read.
The fear – tension – pain cycle
When a person is in fear, their state of mind triggers the body to go into the fight-or-flight response. When the body is in this state, it is flooded with adrenaline to help the person either to escape (run away) or fight. As such, the body tenses up and blood is sent to the extremities (legs and arms) to help with the fight or flight action. This state is meant to be used sparingly by the body as the body suffers when it’s subject to this level of stress for prolonged periods.
So, let’s imagine for a minute… You’re about to drop and you’ve decided to take a walk while on holiday in the Bush in Oz when labour kicks in. So, you find a nice spot under a tree. Things start happening… but your man spots a dingo and says you’ve got to run. That mahoosive muscle that’s been squeezing the little fella out decides that now is not a good time and tightens up, thereby allowing all the blood to go to your legs so that you can scoot off at high speed to ensure you and your baby’s survival…. stay with me…. So, your lady wotsit is now well and truly tightening and closing up. So, how do you think it would feel to go against nature at this point and continue to push the little fella out? It would hurt!
While you’re in a state of fear and stress, your body may not feel safe enough to let labour progress, so it can slow down or even stall.
So why does stress stop labour?
Adrenaline is a bully
When you’re stressed, your adrenal glands release a load of adrenaline into your body. Adrenaline sends blood to your extremities so that you can defend yourself or run away. The thing is, adrenaline inhibits the flow of other hormones, namely endorphins and oxytocin.
Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers. Not only do endorphins alleviate pain, but they also promote feelings of love and happiness.
Oxytocin is known as the pleasure hormone. It is present during lovemaking and is the hormone that triggers the labour process and keeps it moving resulting ultimately in the birth of the baby. Unfortunately, it’s also a very shy hormone and is easily scared off.
So when adrenaline floods your system, not only does it mean that there are fewer endorphins flowing (no pain relief) but oxytocin stops flowing too, which slows labour down, maybe even stopping it.
Once I’d got my head around this lot, it was pretty obvious what I needed to do: I needed to clear my fears!
A note: this applies to healthy women having healthy, complication-free pregnancies. There might be a whole load of other things going on with your body and baby that can create complications in birth, so clearing your fears is no guarantee of a particular birth, but I believe it gives you and your baby a better chance of a calmer one. So if you’ve diligently given up alcohol, and made extra effort to eat all the right things – for baby – then isn’t it worth considering taking the time to clear your fears too?
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Do you have fears around childbirth? Were you able to free yourself of your fears before the birth? If so, how did you do it? Let me know in the comments!
Fear and pain in childbirth: FAQs
Why does fear cause pain in childbirth?
Fear floods the body with adrenaline, which works against oxytocin – the hormone driving labour – and sends blood away from the uterus while tensing the very muscles that need to soften. Tense muscles working against each other hurt. That’s the theory of how fear becomes pain.
What is the fear-tension-pain cycle?
First described by obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read: fear creates tension, tension creates pain, and pain confirms the fear – so the cycle tightens with every contraction. The idea is that breaking the fear link loosens the whole cycle.
Is a pain-free childbirth really possible?
Some women report low-pain or even pain-free births. In my experience, the common thread is going into birth without fear. It isn’t a promise or a performance target.
How do I stop being scared of giving birth?
Work on the fears themselves before working on birth techniques – fear-first birth preparation, on our partner site Fearless Birthing, explains the approach. I believe that with the fear cleared, everything else you do to prepare works better.
Keep reading
- 3 lies about childbirth we’ve all been told
- 5 reasons I hate hypnobirthing
- No need to give birth on your back
About the author: Alexia Leachman has specialised in tokophobia and reproductive anxiety since 2015, and has personal experience of tokophobia. She is the founder of Fear Free Childbirth and hosts its podcast. She developed the Head Trash Clearance Method, which she uses in her work with women and teaches to perinatal professionals. She is the author of Fearless Birthing and Betrayed By Your Biology and a contributor to Childbirth, Midwifery and the Media. Alexia’s book Fearless Birthing is about preparing for birth without fear. More about Alexia ›
Fear Free Childbirth is a publication and is not a substitute for medical or mental-health care. If you’re struggling to cope or in crisis, please contact your GP, midwife or a qualified professional.
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