We know that each person has a different pain threshold . While some can tolerate a lot, others cannot bear pain considered minimal (and it is not an exaggeration, just everyone feels different). We also know that the pain experienced during childbirth is one of the greatest that exists.
However, some women can give birth without receiving any kind of anesthesia. What sets you apart from the rest and why don’t you need pain relief during your deliveries? According to a new study, the answer could be the presence of a rare gene.
Published in the journal Cell Reports , the study carried out by a group of researchers from the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, sought to find out why some women reported suffering much less pain than others during the birth of their children.
Based on their research, as well as tests performed on a group of women who had carried their first pregnancy to term and did not ask for any kind of pain relief during labor, the explanation for this could be a rare gene that works like a kind of natural epidural .
Compared to a control group that did require pain relief in similar deliveries, the test group was shown to have higher pain thresholds in a series of physical and sensory tests that included the application of heat and mechanical pressure to the arms. , as well as immersing your hands in ice water.
When comparing the results of both groups, no differences were found in their emotional and cognitive abilities, so this would suggest that it is an intrinsic difference. Therefore, the next step in the research was to analyze the genetic code of each participant .
By sequencing the genetic codes of both groups, they found that the majority of those who showed greater tolerance to pain and had not requested any pain relief during their deliveries, had a higher than expected prevalence of a rare variant of the KCNG4 gene .
This gene, which is usually rare and occurs in only about one in every 100 women, reduces the ability of nerve cells to send pain signals to the brain , which would explain why they did not need any kind of analgesia or anesthesia in their deliveries .
According to information from CNN, Ewan St. John Smith, one of the study’s co-authors, explains how this gene works: ” The genetic variant that we found in women who feel less pain during childbirth leads to a ‘defect’ in the nerve cell switch formation , “he explains. ” In fact, this defect acts like a natural epidural .”
“It means that it takes a much larger signal – in other words, stronger contractions during labor – to turn it on. This makes it less likely that pain signals can reach the brain, ” he explained.
In addition to discovering why certain women do not need any pain relief during labor, the researchers believe the results of this study could open the door to new techniques and medications for pain management during labor.
Photo | iStock
Via | CNN
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