Carrie Purcell

Um, I think it is fair to say that, um, it is more painful than a period.

In some of the qualitative research that we have, um, that colleagues like, um, Carrie Purcell at university, at the Open University have led on, there's evidence around, um, it being more describable, more akin to early labor pains, like this kind of intensity and character, rather than it being, um, uh, uh, like a period or like a bad period, which is often how it sometimes gets described as.

The things that influence that as well are, you know, if you already have a chronic pain condition or you suffer with, um, painful periods anyway, you're more likely to experience a more intensely painful experience.

If you've never been pregnant before, it's more likely to be perceived that as being intensely painful compared to if you have had a vaginal birth, particularly in the past.