Memory for labor pain: A review of the literature

Background: Women's ability and accuracy in recalling labor pain are widely debated, even though clinicians commonly use such retrospective information in their practice. The objectives of this paper are to review the literature to establish if labor pain is forgotten, if recall is accurate, factors that affect the accuracy of recall, and consequences of recall. Methods: All electronic search of Medscape, Pspchlit, Bath Information and Data Services, and CINAHL between 1990 and 1999 was undertaken using the key words labor and labour, pain, and memory. Each key word produced thousands of hits, but the combination of ail three was surprisingly' unsuccessful. This review: therefore, used a manual and print search and ct detailed knowledge of work in this mid related fields. Results: The literature was relatively limited and many studies demonstrated methodological problems. Inductive and deductive analysis suggested that women do not completed forget labor pain, and recall is often vivid but not always entirely accuracy. Conclusions: Memories of labor pain can evoke intense negative reactions in a few women, but are more likely to give rise to positive consequences related to coping, self-efficacy and self-esteem.