London – Most women would probably dread the thought of giving birth without their partner by their side.
Credit: Ex-QDMS
Ryno van Wyk, who called in for help from the airwaves to get his pregnant wife, Darrelle, to hospital in time, prepares to go into the labour ward at Parklands Hospital in Durban. A study has found that women do not feel less pain if their partners are present during labourBut they might actually be better off without them. British scientists have found that the presence of a loved one can intensify a woman’s pain.
In fact they didn’t find a woman whose pain was actually reduced by their husband or boyfriend in any of the cases they studied.
University College London researchers working with teams at King’s College London and the University of Hertfordshire experimented on 39 women, who were each given a “pinprick” laser pulse on their finger while their husband or boyfriend stood by.
The electrical activity in their brain was monitored, and women were asked to rate the intensity of the pulse.
The scientists then repeated the experiment with the man standing in another room.
They found that the pain the women experienced was never reduced by the presence of her partner – and in many cases it actually increased.
Previous research had found that women do not use painkillers as much after labour if their partner was with them.
The authors of the new work say those studies were not precise enough.
Dr Katerina Fotopoulou, of University College London, said: “Some of the previous results may relate to the broader meanings and needs associated with childbirth.”
Lead author, Dr Charlotte Krahe, of King’s College London, whose work is published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience today, said that the nature of a couple’s relationship influenced the pain the women felt.
Those who struggled to form intimate relationships were the most likely to feel pain when their partners were close by, she explained.
Dr Fotopoulou added: “Individuals who avoid closeness may find that the presence of others disrupts their preferred method of coping with threats on their own. This may ultimately heighten individuals’ pain experience.”
Daily Mail