The True Difficulties of Childbirth 

      Some people, boys in particular, seem to underestimate the power of women and their abilities, calling them sissies and wimps.  I feel that all men should understand how powerful we truly are, and the best way to describe that is the process of giving birth.

      I awoke at one in the morning, unable to understand what the pain was that I was feeling.  Was it contraction?  Is that what they feel like?  All I knew was that if I was in labor, I wanted to shower and do my hair so that I’d be cute for pictures.  (I had no idea what was coming.)  So, at one-thirty a.m., having contractions, I showered and tried to do my hair.  I never finished getting ready because the contractions were so strong.  After waking my mom up, she drove me to the hospital.

      The walk from the car was excruciating.  Why had I waited so long to come in?  I struggled getting into the hospital gown, and was frustrated and in pain.  I finally got in the bed and strapped to the monitors, but the nurses insisted on waiting until I was dilated to a four before giving me my epidural.  So I lay on that white hospital bed writhing in pain for hours, until about 9 a.m.  It’s all a blur to me now.  When I finally got my epidural, I was in so much pain that I didn’t even feel the gigantic needle entering my back.

      Instantly, I felt the relief from the medicine and was able to relax.  Exhausted, I drifted off to sleep until the real action started.

      Childbirth was the hardest thing I’d done up to that point in my life, and the part described was the easy part.  Whoever said women were wimps?