SHARED CHILDBIRTHA married couple went to the hospital together to have their baby delivered. Upon their arrival, the doctor said he had invented a new machine that would transfer a portion of the mother's labor pain to the father. He asked if they were willing to try it. The were both very much in favor of it. The doctor set the knob to 10% for starters, explaining that even 10% was probably more pain than the father had ever experienced. But as the labor progressed, the husband felt fine, so he asked the doctor to bump it up a notch. The doctor then adjusted the machine to transfer 20% of the pain. The husband was still feeling fine. The doctor checked the husband's blood pressure and pulse and was amazed to see how fine he was doing. At this they decided to try for 50% pain transfer. The husband continued to feel quite well. Since it was obviously helping his wife considerably, he encouraged the doctor to transfer all the pain to him. The wife delivered a healthy baby boy with virtually no pain. She and her husband were ecstatic. When they got home, the mailman was dead on their porch. |
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