The majority of men and women in the world have given birth or supported their partners through that beautiful and terrifying experience. Giving birth is a time when one's best dreams and ideas--and worst fears and nightmares--coalesce into a single moment of anticipation. Out of such moments come stories that reach into the deepest place of what it means to be human, what it means to be a spiritual being, what it means to love and be loved. Labor Pains and Birth Stories is a collection of stories written by ordinary men and women about the transformation, joy, hilarity and pain of childbirth.