Labour Pain: A Comprehensive Review of Perceptions, Experiences, and Sociocultural Influences on Pain and Its Management Practices

Abstract

Childbirth is a deeply personal and subjective experience for women, shaped by individual expectations and sociocultural perceptions. Many women approach labour with specific mental imagery and expectations regarding pain and the birthing process. However, these expectations often differ from the actual experience, which can result in emotional distress during and after childbirth. This scoping review systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases to identify studies published between 1984 and 2024 focusing on labour pain perception and experience. Only peer-reviewed articles in English were considered. This review identified three major themes that highlighted labour pain, pain management, and the sociocultural factors that were associated with it. It has revealed that the experience of women was consistent with what they had perceived about pain, while it was inconsistent in terms of perception of pain relief during labour. However, the sociocultural paradigm did hold its place in meddling between the perceptions and experiences of these women during labour pain and management. The exploration of personal attributes and sociocultural dynamics that shaped the women's ascription of meanings to labour pain add context to how a similar physiological experience can be perceived and experienced differently.

Keywords: experience; labour pain; pain management; perceptions; sociocultural factors.

Figure 1. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) diagram of the included articles