The semantics of childbirth

[nova22]

A lot of times I see people using different words to describe the same things regarding labor and birth...

- contractions / surges
- painful / intense
- water breaking / membranes rupturing / waters releasing

Out of curiousity, does it help you, personally, to use more soothing words to describe labor?

For me, "contraction" isn't a negative word. Neither is "breaking" as in "my water broke"...actually when I think of "break" I think of lunch breaks or breaking a cookie in half to share, so it's sort of a positive image. I do use "intense" rather than "painful" because as soon as I use the p-word, I start feeling it more.

Hopefully this post makes sense. What do you think?

[Snowdrift]

Hm, I'm with you totally. I also don't like "pain" (the word, I mean. Not too keen on the feeling either, but as you say it is a perception issue there.)

Contractions and water breaking don't bug me though. To me contractions are more descriptive of the physical process. Throughout this whole process of slooooowwwwlllyyy moving into very labor I've been visualizing my uterus actually contracting and it has helped me sort out some of these new sensations.

As for water breaking I prefer that term just bc it's what I'm familiar with and it's not medical sounding.

[NYCVeg]

The one that really bothers me is "delivery"--as in, "Where are you being delivered?" As someone else said, I'm not a pizza!

I don't like to think of myself as "being delivered" (or even "delivering")--I think of myself as birthing.

[dharmama]

I tend to use the word discomfort more than pain to describe labor/birth but that is because honestly (and I know my experience is *very* different than most women's) I don't find labor/birth painful.

With my first birth the only "pain" I experienced was the burning of crowning. With this birth my only "pain" was after birth when involution began (ouchie!! ).

I also say surges rather than contractions because surge helps me to connect to the experience on an energetic/spiritual level. To me contraction is simply a physical sensation which can't even begin to describe the awesomeness (is that a word? ) of what I experience.

Oh and I had delivery/delivered too. :

[Peppamint]

I use contraction all the time, doesn't bother me. I say "water breaking" even though when I'm online I use the AROM/PROM/SROM terms.

As for pain... I guess I've used the term a lot, but mostly to refer to the fact that my homebirth was almost painless compared to my hospital induction. The ctx I've had that have hurt, I've called meanie ctx.

I don't like delivered though... unless used like "I delivered a son" but even then I just prefer to use "birthed", like Amanda said. When I talk about ds' birth, I saw he as waterbirthed @ home.

[KindRedSpirit]

I just really confuse everyone,and use all of them(Exept delivered)Some do feel like a contraction to me,some like a rush or surge,and some like pressure,some are interesting sensations,and some are pain....

The water breaking,I think is funny.How do you "break" water? I have been known to use the term though.I've only felt/noticed my bag of waters release once,and I'm not sure how to describe it.Not a break,not a pop or explosion,but more than a release...I need a thesaurus!I guess it was really a splash!I heard an inner plosh sound with my second,as I was pushing, and assume it was the bag.What happened to the word 'caul'?It seems like I heard the bag called a caul before....