Photo by Aung Soe Min

Imagine, as a midwife, being called to the home of a client who has been in labor for two days. The mother’s contraction pattern is erratic and the pain she is experiencing is severe and primarily in her back. She is exhausted from lack of sleep, and her labor pain is more intense than the intensity of her contractions would indicate. This woman is 5 cm dilated and not sure she can “do this anymore.”