How Dare a Man...
say pain in child birth is a good thing.
Sounds a little presumptuous. So allow me to say I think he is right.

He called it a "right of passage"* that "helped strengthen a mother's bond with her baby, and prepared her for the responsibility of motherhood."

I'm not really what you would call pro-pain. I'm not averse to taking painkillers when necessary. (excuse me...time to go find something for those intermittent back spasms.)

OK, better now. So yeah...at any given moment during my six unmedicated births I might have had obscenity laced invective to hurl at Dr. Walsh. [And, dear children, contrary to what your father may have said, I never called him a son of a bitch. Not then.] But, having one perspective that Dr. Walsh doesn't, allow me to endorse his statements.


*a proud "right of passage" that. Giving one the opportunity to casually mention to sweating phlebotomists in the throes of a difficult blood draw, "don't worry, I've had six children naturally - trust me this doesn't hurt much."