Gisele Bundchen Says Birth Doesn't Hurt a Bit?

February 2, 2010

Gisele Bundchen — supermodel, super mother and super human? Tom Brady's wife doesn't think giving birth to their son, Benjamin in the couple's bathtub hurt. She told the Brazilian TV show Fantastico it wasn't a bit painful. She said:

The whole time, my head was so focused – every contraction, the baby is closer, the baby is closer. So, it wasn't like, 'Oh, what pain.' It was, 'With every contraction, he is getting closer to me."

Given that Bundchen had a natural vaginal birth, do you think she just has a high threshold of pain or is her comment unbelievable?

30 Comments

2 years

STOP !!!! Pls you all are scaring me ! =(

3 years

Why do people assume that labor is painful for everybody? I don't know if this lady is telling the truth or not, but I can tell you that in my experience, labor really doesn't hurt! I have NO warning that I'm even IN labor until it's time to push. I've had three painless labors; the first was caught at a checkup (6 centimeters and no clue), the second, I knew "something was wrong" and barely made it to the hospital, and the third, I went in to get induced and found out I was minutes away from delivery. Everybody acts like this is a good thing, but it's dangerous! If not for sheer dumb luck, I could have given birth anywhere!

cowboyplus 3 years

i think it's different for everybody and every baby. it has been documented that some people don't experience pain, and some even have ecstatic births. it didn't happen to me, but my pain was low enough that i didn't need any drugs. "I love how many people "call BS" simply because their own experience wasn't the same. That'd be like me hearing a woman say she had a very hard time recovering from a c-section and replying with "I call BS, you're just being lazy." Every birth is different. Period." -anon#whatever up there ... love your comment=)

3 years

i had a home birth, a water birth to be exact, which is also what gisele had. i have to say that i agree with her. its true that women al have different experiences but it also comes down to your preparation before the birth. i did alot of research and came to realize that the bradley method was the best method for me. it turned out to be the best decision i made because my birth was a breeze. Also just as an fyi to future moms being in the water helps with contrations ALOT! so i dont really find what gisele says shocking because it shows that she obviously prepared beforehand. its also a culture thing when giving birth. american women tend to mainly go to hospitals and if they take birthing classes, they usually choose lamaz which in what ive been told causes hyperventilation. so i definitely think every birth is diferent but its all in how you prepare for it.

dancinlaughin01 3 years

im sick and tired of celebrities claiming childbirth is painless and that the baby weight just came off immediately after the child was born. the truth is, most women experience pain. hello, its considered the most painful thing in the world! nicole richie famously said this too...

CaterpillarGirl 3 years

well it might be because she has been with so many men, the baby just shot right out.

lickety split 3 years

She always sounds smug to me, and here she goes again. I find the whole story hard to believe. The thought of HER in the kitchen amuses me. Let alone the day after her child was born.

JamieUK 3 years

More power to her, but she's got to be superhuman - lol.

PeachyKeen19 3 years

I'm with #8.

3 years

In my experience,, it hurts like HELL !!

3 years

I love how many people "call BS" simply because their own experience wasn't the same. That'd be like me hearing a woman say she had a very hard time recovering from a c-section and replying with "I call BS, you're just being lazy." Every birth is different. Period.

3 years

I have to agree with Gisele. In fact, I wasn't even trying to focus. Birth was no more than a discomfort for me. I have never thought that it hurt - and I believe I am very lucky for that. Not all women can say the same. I never wanted an epidural, I never contemplated an epidural, no one ever offered an epidural - no one thought I was really progressing - until my son presented himself without any pushing. Unbelievable, yes, but true.

runningesq 3 years

I will tell you this: when I give birth, my husband will be the one making me pancakes the following morning !

3 years

Actually she said she didn't use "serious pain medication" From cnn.com Bündchen -- who had a water birth on December 8 at the Boston condo she shares with her husband, quarterback Tom Brady, 32 -- also didn't use serious pain medication. "I wanted to be conscious and present for what was happening," she said. "I didn't want to be anesthetized. I wanted to feel." http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/02/02/gisele.bundchen.on.childbirth.ppl/index.html So maybe an epidural isn't "serious pain medication to her"

starbucks 3 years

I call bs on that! Sure everyone has different experiences and I also had a natural birth without medication that was fairly quick and easy. But let me tell you, I was in some serious pain! She is getting on my nerves with this...really. Probably because I'm jealous that she seems to have it so easy, there, I said it ;)

3 years

um, girl got extremely lucky...

snowysakurasky 3 years

not the first time i've heard this. for me the contractions were untolerably painful - i couldn't stop vomiting- so the epidural was my best friend. however 2 of my good friends have done natural and they didnt complain that much

kurniakasih 3 years

Thank you epidural LOL. J/k. Good for her for enjoying hers!

3 years

Anon#11, perhaps you should be the one to reread it? Directly from the article: It "wasn't painful, not even a little bit," the supermodel, 29, says in an interview with the Brazilian TV show Fantastico.

3 years

The headline and story is garbage. She didn't say it wasn't painful at all. Re-read what she said, sheesh.

3 years

Also, what's wrong with being up and about and cooking the next day? Many women leave the hospital the same day as delivery and are "up and about" the next day. Even more common with home births. Hell, some are even "up and about and cooking" the same day of the birth.

3 years

"Sure many people can work through them and go without pain meds, but that doesn't mean they don't hurt!" Untrue. This is projecting your experience and assuming it's the same for everyone. Just as many women say the pain is unbearable, many women also don't experience pain.

kindo1313 3 years

I feel like my births took a lot of work, but I don't think of contractions as being painful. Our attitude in the US about childbirth has a lot to do with our experience of it. If you look at women's experiences around the world, US women describe childbirth as being much more painful than women in other countries. And, we use the most pain medication. This doesn't mean that you are weak if you feel your childbirth was painful or that the pain you felt wasn't real. It only means that, to a certain extent, we are the product of our environment, and our environment tells us that childbirth hurts.

3 years

I have to say that I completely agree with anon #5! I've had 3 completely natural deliveries and they were all different. Pain is very relative! Some people have a high threshold, some find a way to focus, some people want the drugs. I don't think one way is necessarily better then the others, it depends on the person and their situation. My 3rd delivery was painless! It's relative to the fact that any pain I did feel with her delivery was offset by the pain I was in for the 3 previous months with preterm contractions and the fact that I literally could not do anything without intense pain. I also know lots of people, myself included, that were up and about cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, school runs and trips to the airport within 12-24 hours of delivery! Again, it's all relative to what you.

3 years

I read that article on people.com and it made me want to punch her! She said that birth doesn't hurt, but she also said that she was up and about cooking the next day! Focused or not, contractions hurt like a b!tch. Sure many people can work through them and go without pain meds, but that doesn't mean they don't hurt!

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