Is it true that you lose control in labor?


It is true that the labor process cannot be controlled. You cannot consciously control your contractions or the pain associated with it. But you can learn tactics that will help you cope with the pain. You can control how you respond to the pain. However there are cases when everything is beyond your control: when labor is very fast and overwhelming with very little break in between or the other extreme when labor is tedious and exhausting. In other situations beside these, it is a matter of learning and understanding labor and once you accept that labor pain is part of the process of bringing your baby into the world you will work with the forces of labor instead of fighting it. Women also tend to feel a loss of control when everything is done for them; many wish to be 'active participants' in deciding about the care during the labor and therefore feel informed and in control on something so crucial in their lives.