Childbirth ‘torture’ for men
Print Edition
A hospital in eastern China is offering fathers-to-be a chance to experience the pain of childbirth after several new moms complained they got little sympathy from their partners.
Free sessions are held twice a week at Aima maternity hospital in Shandong Province and about 100 men have signed up to be “tortured.” Most are expectant dads but there are thrill seekers too.
For the simulations, pads attached to a device are placed above the abdomen, giving electric shocks. The test subjects writhe in pain for up to five minutes as a nurse gradually raises the intensity.
Song Siling, who is trying for a baby with his girlfriend, shut his eyes and grimaced as the needle on the electrode monitor inched forward with a beep.
“It felt like my heart and lungs were being ripped apart,” said Song, who made it to level seven before frantically waving to the nurse to turn off the system.
Others dropped out within minutes.
Despite their discomfort, on-duty nurse Lou Dezhu said the simulations could never match the torment of childbirth.
“Still, if men can experience this pain, then they’ll be more loving and caring toward their wives,” Lou said.
Wu Jianlong, who braved the pain right up to level 10, said the experience radically altered his views on childbirth.
“I had thought of it as being something really normal that women can get through,” he said.
Chinese men are often not in the room when their partners or wives give birth. Some state-run hospitals do not allow expectant dads to enter, even if they want to.
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