Pain in Childbirth- are women cursed?

Amalhopebirthing
Sep 29, 2024
4 min read

There is a strange belief in some Christian circles that women are cursed due to Eve eating the forbidden fruit in the garden, and due to that, all women are cursed to feel pain in childbirth.

But is this true? Where did this idea of thinking come from? Why do so many Christian women think they are cursed?

If you read Genesis 3, it really is incredibly sad because our intimate relationship with God gets broken and the consequences of disobeying God’s commandment had devastating effects on mankind. Let’s unpack it just a tad.

God gives a curse to the serpent and says he is cursed above all livestock (Genesis 3:14). Then God turns to Eve and says that her pain will be multiplied in childbearing and in pain she will bring forth children (Genesis 3:16).

To Adam, God says that the ground he works on will now be cursed and that in pain he will eat from it (Genesis 3:17).

There are so many different Bible translations today that can make word interpretations a bit complicated but basically, the word “pain” that was attributed to both Adam and Eve is the same Hebrew word translated to toil or sorrow.

God does not curse them directly as He did with the serpent but He does give them dire consequences for their disobedience.

I think something that we often forget is that Adam and Eve didn’t have a relaxing holiday in the garden. God put them to work. They toiled away to look after the garden and to make sure that everything was taken care of. Yet now, due to their disobedience their toiling would be much harder, more intense and at times filled with pain and suffering. This is the consequence of sin.

But God our Father, didn’t leave it there. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that we didn’t have to live under that yoke anymore. We can now let Jesus carry our burdens. In Him we are not cursed but free!

Childbirth is not a joke. During pregnancy our bodies change in so many ways. There’s discomfort, challenges and yes, also pain as our body adapts to making room for a baby. Mentally, we may experience feelings of excitement or fear, joy or anxiety.

Then there’s labour, that demands so much hard work from us to be able to give birth. And yet, even with all of this, God still chose us as women to take part with Him in building a new life inside of us.

Why would God curse us? He wonderfully designed and knit us together (Psalm 139:13-14) to be able to carry and bear a child. In the Bible, we read countless stories of women yearning and begging God to give them a child. Why would they desire something so desperately if it was a curse?

When God hears their cry, they say things like "God giving them favour and taking away their disgrace" (Luke 1:25). And, when Eve bore Cain, she said “with the help of the Lord, she brought forth a child” (man). This doesn't sound like a women who think she's cursed.

Childbirth is the most supernatural physiological experience a woman will ever go through. It is an opportunity for women to participate with God and through God in the act of creation. How special is that!

But, we do live in a world that is not perfect. Our bodies are not super-human and therefore we do experience pain. The Bible has many references of pain in childbirth.

But, this is where the Lord is so amazing. He provided women with built in pain-relieving hormones that are ten times more powerful than morphine!

He has given us the tools to be able to get through childbirth even if it becomes painful. He has even created our bodies so perfectly that we will forget the pain of birth when see our baby! (John 16:21)

Childbirth is a beautiful opportunity for us as women to encounter the Lord in powerful and intimate ways. The pain of childbirth can become intense but it can also be empowering and euphoric!

Pain is not necessarily a bad thing. People are so afraid of pain today. Granted, it's not fun but, pain does serve a purpose. For example, if your baby is teething, he'll most likely be in some pain. Is the pain bad? No! We know it means that teeth are coming. In the meantime though, we can comfort baby and help him to get through the pain.

There are ways to diminish the pain when we give birth, so that we'll be able to embrace our bodies in the throes of labour and be able to step joyfully into the blessing of motherhood afterwards.

We are not cursed.

Instead of focusing on how the culture (and even church) has labeled childbirth today- as painful, excruciating or even as a curse we need to bear-, let’s focus on how God intended it to be.

A beautiful, spiritual symphony of birth by being in harmony with our Father the Creator, as we join Him in welcoming a new soul into the world.

In Hope,

Esther