More than 250 babies are estimated to be born every minute on Earth, according to UN estimates.
That works out to about 130 million each year.
There have been births every day since humanity began. Yet, many things about birth remain a mystery to those who haven’t given birth.
It’s likely that women would be given a lot more credit if the secrets about birth were more widely known.
What most people do know is that childbirth is painful.
One of the most painful things a human can experience. We’ve all seen the movies and TV scenes of women sweating and screaming right before bringing a bundle of joy into the world.
But many people might not know exactly why childbirth is so painful. Labor pains are caused by contractions of the muscles in the uterus and by the pressure on the cervix.
This cramping pain is felt in the abdomen, groin, and back. It can also be felt in the thighs and the sides. Labor pain can also manifest as an achy feeling.
“Women experience labor pain differently — for some, it resembles menstrual cramps; for others, severe pressure; and for others, extremely strong waves that feel like diarrheal cramps,” KidsHealth.org reports.
“It’s often not the pain of each contraction on its own that women find the hardest, but the fact that the contractions keep coming — and that as labor progresses, there is less and less time between contractions to relax.”
The contractions that cause the pain are needed to thin and open or dilate the cervix, as well as move the baby down and out of the birth canal. They also push out the placenta.
Ten centimeters. Women have to endure enough contractions and the labor pains they bring in order to get their cervix to dilate 10 centimeters.
This is typically large enough so that a baby’s head can fit through it.
But it’s hard to get a full grasp on what the impact of this is like on a mother. That’s why SCV Birth Center shared a picture that shows exactly what 10 centimeters looks like.
That photo ended up going viral and was shared all over the internet.
Steffanie Christi’an posted the photo which ended up getting 181,000 shares.
“This is what 10cm of dilation looks like. This is why we deserve all the things,” the photo’s caption read.
And many women seconded Steffanie’s notion and were tagging their significant others to let them know.
“I deserve more presents and naps,” wrote one woman on Facebook.
“The bigger dilation the bigger the carats! Let the church say Amen… and Amen again,” wrote another.
“All the Snickers,” said yet another.
The responses were pretty hilarious. You can see Steffanie’s original post below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157053015344547&set=a.58039989546&type=3&theater
