- Title: CHINA: Chinese hospital gives men a taste of birth pain
- Date: 20th November 2014
- Summary: JINAN, SHANDONG PROVINCE, CHINA (NOVEMBER 19, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF JINAN AIMA MATERNITY HOSPITAL SIGN READING (English/Mandarin) "JINAN AIMA MATERNITY HOSPITAL" PROSPECTIVE FATHER, SONG SILING, WALKING TO SOFA PADS BEING PLACED ON SONG'S STOMACH VARIOUS OF SONG GRIMACING IN PAIN NURSE ADJUSTING PAIN LEVEL
- Embargoed: 5th December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- City:
- Country: China
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABXX7AQLJB3BBCZJ3OGXGN8HPL
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- Story Text: When it comes to bringing a new life into the world there are few who would argue that women don't get the raw end of the deal. But now a hospital in China's eastern Shandong Province is giving would-be fathers a chance to get some idea of how it feels to experience one of the tougher aspects of becoming a parent - giving birth.
After frequent complaints from female patients that they weren't getting enough sympathy from their partners during pregnancy, the Aima hospital in the provincial capital, Jinan, decided to offer taster sessions where men could experience something of the pain of giving birth.
The activity has proved hugely popular with scores of men attending bi-weekly sessions.
Pads attached to a device are placed above the abdomen carry electric shocks that the hospital says create a feeling similar to that of giving birth. Once the electric current begins to flow, the fathers-to-be writhe in agony as the nurse gradually steps up the intensity of the pain on a scale of one to ten.
"Basically it felt really painful, I feel like giving birth to a child is actually really not that easy, it felt like my heart and lungs were being ripped apart, it was basically really painful, you can't even describe how painful it was," said Song Siling who was brought to the session by his wife, and made it to level seven.
"Before if they hadn't had this pain experience, they'd probably feel like giving birth to a child it not exactly difficult, they probably feel like it's just giving birth, right? right?" said mother-to-be Liu Yun.
While the men may have felt what they were experiencing to be agony, the simulation is only a shadow of the real thing, said nurse Lou Dezhu.
"This machine uses electric currents to stimulate the skin in a way that simulates the pain of labour, it doesn't have any dangerous after-effects. For this experience the main thing is to let men experience the pain of a woman giving birth. Even though this pain is still far less than the pain experienced by women when they are giving birth, but still, if men can experience this pain then they'll be more loving and caring to their wives."
Wu Jianlong, who braved the pain right up until level ten, says the experience has radically altered his views on childbirth.
"Because all women have children and it usually takes quite a long time, I thought of it as being something really natural, something really normal that they can get through. But since experiencing this activity I feel like it's really not easy for a woman to give birth to a child. It's just painful, like something's coming out from your stomach, painful," he said.
Compared to Europe and North America, Chinese men are relatively absent from the process of giving birth. Some state-run hospitals still don't allow men to witness their partner giving birth. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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