Did Mary suffer labor pains?
This question reflects upon the Church’s position that
the how of the
Virgin Birth occurred and details of that event are not
revealed nor
defined by the Church.
Theological opinion would reason that if Mary did not inherit the curse of
Eve in Genesis 3:15 she probably did not suffer labor
pains. Her
Immaculate Conception declares that she did not inherit
the consequences
of the original sin of Adam and Eve nor consequences
thereof.
Devotionally speaking, of all the pains Mary bore, the only painful effect
that Jesus would directly have caused--her labor--would
be one that Jesus
could “most easily” have relieved. Simeon ( Luke
2:34-5) did prophesy that
Mary’s soul would be “pierced by a sword” whose seven
sorrows are
described by the Church. Labor pains, bearing Jesus’
birth, is not one of the
named sorrows.
Medically speaking, there are ample examples of women who experience
no labor when giving birth.