Stories about orgasmic birth have been around probably as long as people have been giving birth to babies in the first place, but few of us understand what orgasmic birth really is. Birth and postpartum doula trainer Debra Pascali-Bonaro told Parents that there's a connection between birth and sexuality, and that with the right mentality, one can approach birth itself as a sexual act.
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If the idea of birth as a sexual act makes you pause, don't worry: We get it. However, there are plenty of people who claim that they've experienced exactly that. Here's a collection of stories from Reddit about orgasmic birth.
Some people aren't quite sure.
As Redditor MaeBeWeird wrote in the subreddit BabyBumps, they've experienced a post-birth glow … but it might not have been orgasmic.
"I wouldn't say the birth was orgasmic, but with all three of my babies, the period of time directly following the birth was very similar to that post-orgasm 'OMG everything in the world is wonderful and amazing' feeling I get," the commenter wrote. "This only lasted an hour or two, but totally awesome while it lasted."
Another described a 'satisfying' sensation during childbirth.
A Redditor who has deleted their account wrote, "No literal orgasm, but it it felt… 'satisfying'… and good when pushing, and especially right after finishing a push."
A doula stepped in and offered a story from a birth they witnessed.
"I'm a doula and have seen an orgasmic birth," the commenter explained. "You 'let go' in the same way you would during an orgasmic. In the birth I witnessed, the laboring mom was in transition and kissed her husband sensuously for a couple minutes and had an orgasm instead of feeling the pain of transition. It was incredible."
Achieving orgasmic birth might just be mental.
A commenter who has deleted their username since posting added: "These women might say that they weren't necessarily experiencing pain at that point, perhaps because they are relaxed, supported, in a comfortable environment. I think for a lot of women, orgasm is very psychological (for me it is!), and the pains of labor can be treated the same way. These women aren't stronger or something than other women, maybe they just were more prepared to 'let go.'"
Doctors are undecided.
Charlotte, North Carolina's Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones told Parents that she's "fascinated" by the possibility. She told the magazine, "She believes it's plausible that a woman could experience orgasm during delivery but notes that since all women experience orgasm differently, and all women experience childbirth differently, she believes achieving orgasm during delivery would largely depend on the type of orgasm the mother is able to achieve when not in labor."
Oxytocin might play a major role.
Ultimately, Kelly-Jones points out that oxytocin is released when we orgasm as well as during labor and delivery. As she put it, "And we know that orgasm can be pain-relieving … which is probably due to the hormonal effect of oxytocin."
In conclusion: orgasmic birth might be real …. but it might also depend on who you ask.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
