Having never had broken bones or any serious injuries or chronic illnesses before I had my kids - yes, childbirth was the most painful thing my body has ever experienced.

Yet after a 20 hour labour with our first one, I told my DH less than an hour after she was born that I wanted another one asap. Such is the power of happy birthing hormones!

I get asked about the pain factor alot from the mum's I work with...there are some doulas and midwives that like to minimise references to pain and give it other names - while I understand that intellectually and appreciate that there are women for whom this approach works, I don't talk about pain in that way. Primarily I guess because that wasn't my own experience of it, my labours hurt! I guess I don't feel that you can prepare for something unless you know what it is, so I tend not to sugar coat it. But in saying that birthing is painful, the pain is also transformative and it has a purpose - we come through it transformed from women into mothers. It also plays an important role in keeping mother and baby safe during birthing and in triggering responses and events that are important in the process. So for that reason we can embrace it and know that it's not something to fear. It is most definitely not the same as having your leg chopped off.