Working with Childbirth Pain

What are the four components of pain? Does pain equate suffering? If the signal doesn’t make it to the brain, is it pain? And how can you (and your partner, if you have one!) change that signal before it arrives? Pain specialist Julie Bonapace has answers. Check it out!

What we talked about:

• Pain is not the same as suffering
• The 4 components to pain
• Activating the neurophysiology of pain
• How medical interventions can increase pain
• Gate Control Theory
• Fear-Tension-Pain cycle
• Making birth pleasant
• Changing the signal
• Avoiding medicalizing emotions
• Working with your partner-polarity to strengthen intimacy
• Postpartum benefits to involving your partner
• Acknowledging sexuality in birth

Related resources*:

• Trusting Birth with the Bonapace Method: Keys to Loving Your Birth Experience, Julie Bonapace
• Modern Ideas: The Gate Control Theory of Chronic Pain, Spine Health
• Grantly Dick-Read Childbirth Method on the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle
• Beyond Fear, Tension and Panic: Helping Men Enjoy the Birth Experience, Midwifery Today
• Childbirth Without Fear: The Principles and Practice of Natural Childbirth, by Grantly Dick-Read
• Michel Odent on “love cocktails” in birth (video)
• Orgasmic Birth website (from Debra Pascali-Bonaro)
• The Try Guys Try Labor Pain Simulation, (video) or what happens when you don’t have endorphins, movement, labor support… just straight pain, while you lay on your back 😉

Related Birthful episodes:

• The Purpose of Childbirth Pain
• Flowing With Your Birth Hormones

Courtesy of Julie Bonapace

About Julie Bonapace

Julie Bonapace is a pain specialist and the main author of the Canadian Pain Management Guideline for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC). She is a researcher and childbirth educator who helps parents and health care professionals gain a better understanding of pain management mechanisms and techniques to work with the sensations of childbirth.

Her experience of giving workshops around the world to midwives, physicians, nurses and obstetricians and her work with thousands of expectant mothers and fathers have convinced her of the important resources women have to give birth both by trusting themselves and the process of birth. She is convinced of the value of the midwifery model of care and advocates for midwives throughout different countries, and has been teaching her pain management and birth preparation method since 1989. She’s also the author of Trusting Birth with the Bonapace Method: Keys to Loving Your Birth Experience.

She holds both a master’s degree in Education as well as bachelor’s degrees in social work and social sciences, and has extensive experience training health care professionals throughout the world on natural methods to help parents experience pleasure, satisfaction and safety in birth.

Learn more on her website!