Meaning of labor pain

This work presents the meaning of normal labor pain as constructed by a group of women who are users of the Unified Health System in Goiânia Goiás Brazil. During the prenatal period pregnant women presented perspectives of a healthy and satisfactory experience of pain and normal childbirth. They constructed ambiguous meanings of pain sometimes as a natural phenomenon inherent to childbirth sometimes as a phenomenon of suffering as portrayed in the sociocultural environment and in prenatal care. After childbirth most women reported satisfaction with their experience of pain during childbirth and with the obstetric care provided in the hospital. Most constructed meanings of pain as a phenomenon inherent to natural childbirth and female domain. The experience of pain favored the revelation of feminine characteristics and the empowerment of women through the change in social status brought about by motherhood. This study is a relevant tool for health professionals in planning prenatal educational activities and pain management strategies for women in labor from the perspective of humanized obstetric care as recommended by the World Health Organization.