Don't Force It

You've all seen this before, right? Men v. Women, simple v. complex. And really, in a lot of ways it's true.

Especially in at least one way: sex. For most men, most of the time, it's a simple equation. Flip the switch, the light turns on, they are ready to go. For women...the time of day, the temperature and humidity of the room, scents, the right words, the right kind of touch, the right feelings. All the little knobs and dials have to be in the right place, and it usually just takes some time for everything to get in the groove and start working.

Women are complex, hormonal creatures, and the same kind of chemical perfection that can lead to a screaming, mind-blowing orgasm is required for another uniquely female, hormonally orchestrated event: labor.

And so, when some small piece of the hormone cocktail isn't quite in place, we can't tell what it is, and things don't quite work. Labor stalls or never gets really going and there is a great temptation to force it. Or sometimes we look at our calendars and say, the baby is due! It's time to make it come out!

Thanks for use of this photo by Flickr user valeriebb / CC BY-SA 2.0
That's one reason induction of labor isn't such a good idea. You're forcing it. And that can lead to all kinds of problems. Increased anesthesia. Fetal distress. Surgical births. Preterm babies. Postpartum hemorrhage.

Women aren't broken. They're just women. Complex. Beautiful. Exactly the way they should be.