advice for the ages

we have been told. we have been told in birthing class, we have been told by the doulas we are interviewing, we have been told by all the literature. there comes a point in every labor--be it natural or drugged--that the poor dear feels like giving up. the laboring woman believes she is incapable of continuing. but you must carry on. she can push no more. but you must carry on. she wants to quit. but you must carry on. she is convinced she can't do it. these feelings, we are told, are natural.

so, mrs nice guy, my love, my feathery soft cooing dove of a wifebird, let me say to you now--as i surely shall say to you in the darkest hour of your labor--that you must carry on.