--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When anesthesia was developed, it was for…" description: "\"When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades routinely withheld from women giving birth, since women were \"supposed\" to suffer. One of the fe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_anesthesia_when-anesthesia-was-developed-it-was-for_1428451.png" --- # When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades… ![“When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades routinely withheld from women giving birth, since women were "supposed" to suffer. One of the few societies to take a contrary view was the Huichol tribe in Mexico. The Huichol believed that the pain of childbirth should be shared, so the…” quote by Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_anesthesia_when-anesthesia-was-developed-it-was-for_1428451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_anesthesia_when-anesthesia-was-developed-it-was-for_1428451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/nicholas-d-kristof-4679_anesthesia_when-anesthesia-was-developed-it-was-for_1428451.png) > “When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades routinely withheld from women giving birth, since women were "supposed" to suffer. One of the few societies to take a contrary view was the Huichol tribe in Mexico. The Huichol believed that the pain of childbirth should be shared, so the mother would hold on to a string tied to her husband's testicles. With each painful contraction, she would give the string a yank so that the man could share the burden. Surely if such a mechanism were more widespread, injuries in childbirth would garner more attention.” [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historically, many societies denied pain relief to women in labor, but some cultures, like the Huichol, created shared‑pain practices to alleviate suffering. **In simple terms:** Some cultures share childbirth pain to reduce suffering. Key Takeaway Consider community support to ease labor pain. Themes gender roles pain management cultural practices maternal health Mood thoughtful hopeful Type historical cultural When to use this quote - hospital births - home births - cultural rituals - pain relief advocacy Key Concepts shared burden empathy social support Questions to Reflect On - What can modern medicine learn from communal pain‑sharing? - How can cultural practices be integrated safely? A Different Perspective Modern medical systems may resist non‑clinical interventions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anesthesia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthesia/) [Anesthesia Developed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthesia-developed-5078276/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Childbirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childbirth/) [Childbirth Shared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childbirth-shared-5078274/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-birth/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Injuries Childbirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injuries-childbirth-5078275/) [Injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injury/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mexico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mexico/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Childbirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-childbirth-1734330/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Testicles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testicles/) [Tribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tribes/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Women 's rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-s-rights/) [Womens rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/womens-rights/) ## Related quotes > [“When Dr. James Young Simpson sought to apply anesthesia to a woman in childbirth, the clergymen of his day foamed at the mouth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lewis/when-dr-james-young-simpson-sought-to-apply-anesthesia-to-a-woman-in/) [Joseph Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lewis/) > [“They say women forget the pain of childbirth. Well, they are in nature's hand. No hand took mine. I was a body of pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/they-say-women-forget-the-pain-of-childbirth-well-they-are-in-nature/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [“If you’re worried that skipping the pain of childbirth means you’re somehow cheating your baby, or yourself, you’re not. Because the truth is, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-klein/if-you-re-worried-that-skipping-the-pain-of-childbirth-means-you-re/) [Jessi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-klein/) > [The pain of childbirth is not remembered. It's the child that's remembered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-pain-of-childbirth-is-not-remembered-it-s-the-child-that-s/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [I may have been through the pain of childbirth three times, but I'm incredibly nervous about having my upper ear pierced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/i-may-have-been-through-the-pain-of-childbirth-three-times-but-i-m/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [Obviously there is pain in childbirth. But giving birth is also a moment of awe and wonder, a moment when the true miracle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riane-eisler/obviously-there-is-pain-in-childbirth-but-giving-birth-is-also-a/) [Riane Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riane-eisler/) > [I don't know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, it's always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/i-don-t-know-where-the-idea-originated-that-memoir-writing-is/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [“I asked her, dreamily, if we had met, and when she told me that we had not, I gave her a little finger wave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-asked-her-dreamily-if-we-had-met-and-when-she-told-me-that-we-had/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [To write poetry, like sincere poetry, it is like performing heart surgery on yourself without anesthesia...in public...You are peeling back layers. You are dissecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amir-sulaiman/to-write-poetry-like-sincere-poetry-it-is-like-performing-heart/) [Amir Sulaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amir-sulaiman/) > [“Learn to be fast now. You can learn to be good later.” In the OR, everyone’s eyes are always on the clock. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/learn-to-be-fast-now-you-can-learn-to-be-good-later-in-the-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [Anesthesia before anesthesia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alla/anesthesia-before-anesthesia/) [Alla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alla/) > [Everyone agrees that animals should not be exposed to unnecessary pain. But neither should scientists be hamstrung by the requirement to use anesthesia in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/everyone-agrees-that-animals-should-not-be-exposed-to-unnecessary/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [People don't become inured to what they are shown - if that's the right way to describe what happens - because of the quantity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/people-don-t-become-inured-to-what-they-are-shown-if-that-s-the-right/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I used to like the anesthesia. It was like my favorite part of the whole thing, the 10 seconds before you go out. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-iaquinta/i-used-to-like-the-anesthesia-it-was-like-my-favorite-part-of-the/) [Al Iaquinta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-iaquinta/) > [“Shaw also said, alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-finn/shaw-also-said-alcohol-is-the-anesthesia-by-which-we-endure-the/) [A.J. Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-finn/) ## More by Nicholas D. Kristof > [Random violence is incredibly infectious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/random-violence-is-incredibly-infectious/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Our national leaders tend to try to protect the national interest as they see it. They may screw up in that, but they at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/our-national-leaders-tend-to-try-to-protect-the-national-interest-as/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Americans of faith should try as hard to save the lives of African women as the lives of unborn fetuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/americans-of-faith-should-try-as-hard-to-save-the-lives-of-african/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Palestinian militancy has accomplished nothing but increasing the misery of the Palestinian people. If Palestinians instead turned more to huge Gandhi-style nonviolence resistance campaigns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/palestinian-militancy-has-accomplished-nothing-but-increasing-the/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-news-media-s-silence-particularly-television-news-is/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [It’s time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-s-time-for-a-21st-century-abolitionist-movement-in-the-u-s-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [The bulk of the emails tend to come after a column. I can get about 2,000 after a column.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-bulk-of-the-emails-tend-to-come-after-a-column-i-can-get-about-2/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [American airstrikes...create risks, especially if our intelligence there is rusty. The crucial step, and the one we should apply diplomatic pressure to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/american-airstrikes-create-risks-especially-if-our-intelligence-there/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Let me be clear: I'm a believer in a robust military, which is essential for backing up diplomacy. But the implication is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/let-me-be-clear-i-m-a-believer-in-a-robust-military-which-is/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Every year 3.1 million Indian children die before the age of 5, mostly from diseases of poverty like diarrhea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/every-year-3-1-million-indian-children-die-before-the-age-of-5-mostly/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [One of the principles of journalism is you don't lie. You never lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/one-of-the-principles-of-journalism-is-you-don-t-lie-you-never-lie/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [You could perhaps better tell the story of a place by writing of a tiny village as a sort of prism into the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/you-could-perhaps-better-tell-the-story-of-a-place-by-writing-of-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [All of a sudden their husband's dead and maybe a child is dead and they have absolutely nothing - and they're heading through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/all-of-a-sudden-their-husband-s-dead-and-maybe-a-child-is-dead-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) [Explore all 107 Nicholas D. Kristof quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) ## More Anesthesia quotes > [“Shaw also said, alcohol is the anesthesia by which we endure the operation of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-finn/shaw-also-said-alcohol-is-the-anesthesia-by-which-we-endure-the/) [A.J. Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-finn/) > [I used to like the anesthesia. It was like my favorite part of the whole thing, the 10 seconds before you go out. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-iaquinta/i-used-to-like-the-anesthesia-it-was-like-my-favorite-part-of-the/) [Al Iaquinta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-iaquinta/) > [“When Dr. James Young Simpson sought to apply anesthesia to a woman in childbirth, the clergymen of his day foamed at the mouth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lewis/when-dr-james-young-simpson-sought-to-apply-anesthesia-to-a-woman-in/) [Joseph Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lewis/) > [People don't become inured to what they are shown - if that's the right way to describe what happens - because of the quantity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/people-don-t-become-inured-to-what-they-are-shown-if-that-s-the-right/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Everyone agrees that animals should not be exposed to unnecessary pain. But neither should scientists be hamstrung by the requirement to use anesthesia in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/everyone-agrees-that-animals-should-not-be-exposed-to-unnecessary/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [“I asked her, dreamily, if we had met, and when she told me that we had not, I gave her a little finger wave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-asked-her-dreamily-if-we-had-met-and-when-she-told-me-that-we-had/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I don't know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, it's always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/i-don-t-know-where-the-idea-originated-that-memoir-writing-is/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [To write poetry, like sincere poetry, it is like performing heart surgery on yourself without anesthesia...in public...You are peeling back layers. You are dissecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amir-sulaiman/to-write-poetry-like-sincere-poetry-it-is-like-performing-heart/) [Amir Sulaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amir-sulaiman/) > [“Learn to be fast now. You can learn to be good later.” In the OR, everyone’s eyes are always on the clock. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kalanithi/learn-to-be-fast-now-you-can-learn-to-be-good-later-in-the-or/) [Paul Kalanithi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kalanithi/) > [Anesthesia before anesthesia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alla/anesthesia-before-anesthesia/) [Alla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alla/) > [To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia - to mistake an ordinary young woman for a goddess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-be-in-love-is-merely-to-be-in-a-state-of-perceptual-anesthesia-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Why does the longing for love have to be so acute, like a desperate thirst? Is it because love is wanting to be saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/why-does-the-longing-for-love-have-to-be-so-acute-like-a-desperate/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“Pain is a Medical Orphan. Perhaps because it has traditionally been considered the consequence of disease or injury, not an illness in itself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jay-przybylo/pain-is-a-medical-orphan-perhaps-because-it-has-traditionally-been/) [Henry Jay Przybylo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jay-przybylo/) > [I dont know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, its always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/i-dont-know-where-the-idea-originated-that-memoir-writing-is/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [Maybe honeymoons are God's anesthesia. Like the "laughing gas" used by dentists, perhaps honeymoons are designed to protect us from a bit of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/maybe-honeymoons-are-god-s-anesthesia-like-the-laughing-gas-used-by/) [Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/) [Browse all 55 Anesthesia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthesia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When anesthesia was developed, it was for many decades routinely withheld from women giving birth, since women were \"supposed\" to suffer. One of the few societies to take a contrary view was the Huichol tribe in Mexico. The Huichol believed that the pain of childbirth should be shared, so the mother would hold on to a string tied to her husband's testicles. With each painful contraction, she would give the string a yank so that the man could share the burden. 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