Orgasmic Birth: Discovering Sexuality in Childbirth

Childbirth is usually painful and exhausting, but what most women don't know is that we also are biologically designed to experience physical pleasure in giving birth. Men's sexuality is limited to their desire for intimacy with women, but women's sexuality involves making love, giving birth and nursing. In each of these cases, breasts enlarge, nipples become sensitive, blood flow increases, vaginal lubrication increases, and production of the hormone Oxytocin soars.

Just look at the similarity in behavior between sex and birth. Both result in vulnerability, and the necessity for a safe, comfortable, and loving environment. In both cases women's inhibitions decrease and she breaths deeply, senses pressure and stretching, she sighs, groans, and sometimes screams.

One small survey was conducted to see how many women experience birth as sexual. Of the 151 women, 21% had at least one orgasmic birth¹. But the author of the study suggested that orgasmic birth occurs most frequently in unmedicated labors, which may be why it doesn't happen more often.

What is orgasmic birth? With the usually painful and intense contractions, is it possible to feel pleasure? As it turns out, pain and pleasure are not opposites². Obviously reactions to labor vary from woman to woman and birth to birth, but it is quite possible to experience both intense pain and intense pleasure at the same time.

Science shows us that feeling pain releases stress hormones. When stress hormones are surging through your body, such as in labor, your body will release endorphins. Endorphins are your body's natural pain killer, causing the dream-like "Laborland" state-of-being that unmedicated women feel as labor progresses.

The Laborland state-of-being can in itself bring women a source of pleasure in labor, but as the pushing stage begins, the feeling of pleasure can intensify. One woman described the act of pushing her baby "down into that space just before orgasm when women know how God must have felt creating this planet"³. But this example is not singular. Here is another example of orgasmic birth: "This birth was not only painless, but very pleasurable ... It took us by surprise. As the baby crowned, I knew from Jean's look and sounds that she was having an explosive orgasm, which rolled on and on"⁴.

Some women experience a kind of pleasure that they would not associate with an orgasm. One woman described it this way: "Birth is a dark, private, and secret opening up of our ancient sexual selves ... when the baby comes out all slick and new, we are in ecstasy, enraptured by the most heightened hormonal load we will ever know"⁵.

Why is it that some women feel this way and others don't? Is there a way that all women could feel sexual in birth? Sexual feelings during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding will vary from woman to woman. In any case, it is helpful to broaden your knowledge and appreciation of your sexual self. In the end, whatever you feel or want, is right for you.

There are a few keys to encouraging an orgasmic birth experience. These include finding an environment and care provider with whom you feel completely open to expressing yourself fully in labor, addressing any fears you have about birth and motherhood, remaining unmedicated to allow the release of endorphins, and staying upright during labor and birth unless you are too tired.

Although women who use drugs in labor can still feel empowered by their birth experiences, those who experience the body's natural pain-pleasure riddle find a powerful fierceness that comes up in them as a result of giving birth. That fierceness helps mothers to overcome the challenges of parenting that they otherwise could not picture themselves overcoming.

In appropriate situations like prolonged or stuck labor, and induction, medications are very useful; but in most cases, the mother's body and her baby's body are expecting nature to take its course, and are better able to handle labor that way, both receiving great pleasure from a positive and natural birth.

Sources:
1 - Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin p158
2 - Niles Newton, PhD Northwestern University quoted by www.pregnancyandbaby.com
3 - Pervati Baker in Birth as an American Rite of Passage by Robbie Davis-Floyd p71
4 - The Homeschool Challenge by Donn Reed
5 - Resexualizing Childbirth by Leilah McCracken