Of all the Mother’s Day events this year, I think this one was the most befitting – putting men through the pain of childbirth. A local TV station in Nanchang City, in south China’s Jiangxi province, had about 20 men volunteering to put themselves through the excruciating pain of labor . They were hooked up to a special machine that simulated the pain using electric shocks. Needless to say, the men couldn’t even last 30 seconds.
The theme of the TV show was to have men submit to the pains that women endure during childbirth. The challenge consisted of 10 levels of pain, with an agony scale ranging from 50 to 500. Electric shocks were sent into the abdomens of the male volunteers in order to achieve the desired effect. Predictably, the men were writhing in pain within seconds, begging to stop the experiment.
Iain Inglis, a 31-year-old British singer who lives and works in China, was among the volunteers. He gave up as soon as the pain-o-meter hit the 100-mark. “It was too much for me,” he said. “The pain was terrible!” Lee Hao, another volunteer, said: “This was incredible. I couldn’t stand much of it at all. I understand now why my wife screamed for drugs when she was giving birth.”
Only one man, Zhou Nan, was able to withstand the pain all the way up to the 500 mark. “I am the father of triplets and wanted to understand the great pain my wife experienced when she was giving birth,” he said. “It was horrible. I have nothing but deep admiration for all mothers after this ordeal.” According to the event organizer, “This can help people realize how great mothers are.”
As realistic as the experiment sounds, it does have one major flaw – the men can choose to stop when the pain gets unbearable, while in reality, mothers have no such option. But I do think it’s a great initiative because it certainly gives a strong glimpse of what women go through during labor.
This isn’t the first experiment of its kind. Last year, we wrote about two male Dutch TV hosts who strapped electrode emitting machines to their abdomens, in order to experience labor pains. These men went on to endure the pain for 2 whole hours, but I’d still say that’s nothing compared to women who are in labor for as long as 24 hours. Kudos for trying, though!
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