‘Birthgasm’

Abstract

Childbirth is a fundamental component of a woman's sexual cycle. The sexuality of childbirth is not well recognized in Western society despite research showing that some women experience orgasm(s) during labor and childbirth. Current thinking supports the view that labor and childbirth are perceived to be physically painful events, and more women are relying on medical interventions for pain relief in labor. This review explores the potential of orgasm as a mode of pain relief in childbirth and outlines the physiological explanations for its occurrence. Potential barriers to sexual expression during childbirth and labor, including the influence of deeply held cultural beliefs about sexuality, the importance of privacy and intimacy in facilitating orgasmic birth experiences, and the value of including prospective fathers in the birthing experience, are discussed. The role of midwives and their perceptions of the use of complementary and alternative therapies for pain relief in labor are examined. While there are indications of widespread use of complementary and alternative therapies such as hydrotherapy, herbal remedies, and breathing techniques for pain relief in childbirth, orgasm was not among those mentioned. Lack of recognition of the sexuality of childbirth, despite findings that orgasm can attenuate the effects of labor pain, suggests the need for greater awareness among expectant parents, educators, and health professionals of the potential of orgasm as a means of pain relief in childbirth.

What Is So Appealing About Being Spanked, Flogged, Dominated, or Restrained? Answers from Practitioners of Sexual Masochism/Submission

“…Pain, Pleasure, Altered States of Consciousness, and Transcendence The narratives studied confirm that prolonged and mild/ intense pain received in an erotic and consensual context can induce sexual excitation and profound modification of state of mind, including trance and ecstasy. The benefits are reminiscent of those reported after unanesthesized body modifications (Juno & Vale, 1989;Myers, 1992) and natural childbirth (Davis & Pascali-Bonaro, 2010;Mayberry & Daniel, 2016). "Sacred" states of mind reached through physical pain are also reported in religious traditions (Glucklich, 2001) and voluntary involvement in highly painful activities in such contexts is often easier for the non-initiated to understand.…”

“…Prolonged, intense, contextual, anticipated, and consensual sexualized painful stimulation seems to induce analgesia and ecstasy, just like runner's rush, cross-fit's high, orgasmic birth, and other pain-related euphoric phenomena (e.g., Buckley & Dip, 2003;Mayberry & Daniel, 2016;Raichlen et al, 2012). As Mains (1984) explained more than 30 years ago, physical pain is associated with the secretion of endorphins (or "endogenous morphine"), which have both analgesic and euphoric effects.…”

Tools for assessing labour pain: a comprehensive review of research literature

“…There is a broad range of evidence that childbirth can be experienced by woman as positive, rewarding, joyous, and even pleasurable. 49,53,57,104 Without providing women the opportunity to register this in a pain assessment tool, it not only limits the ability for researchers to report such experiences but may invalidate the woman's own experience and inadvertently prompt her to reinterpret her pain negatively.…”

Oxytocin Massage Through Bakera Culture Approach As A Method To Increase Milk Production

“…Breast milk (ASI) is baby food that other foods and drinks cannot replace. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) advise the consumption of gold (Trisakti & Alifahmi, 2018) ensure adequate nutrition for children (Mayberry & Daniel, 2016). Breast milk has a significant influence on fulfilling the baby's nutrition and immunity.…”