Having men experience contraction pains is proving popular in this eastern Chinese city, especially with their spouses. Ever since the Jinan Aima Maternity Hospital opened its “Pain Experience Camp” in November, more than 300 men signed up as test subjects, said Liu Yang, Jinan Aima’s marketing director.

　　在中国东部的这个城市，男士体验分娩阵痛已经变得越来越流行，尤其是受到准妈妈们的大力欢迎。据济南艾玛妇产医院品牌总监刘阳先生说，自从济南艾玛妇产医院在11月份启动“泉城分娩阵痛体验营”至今，已经有300多位男士参与了这项体验。

　　Interest has been such that in addition to free sessions twice weekly at the hospital, Aima has opened a pop-up booth in the local Shi Mao shopping mall, where Western retailers like Gap sell their clothes to China’s emerging middle class. That is where Mr. Ning sat as the current intensified over a few minutes from a tingling level one to a gouging 10.

　　由于对这项活动感兴趣的人很多，艾玛妇产医院除了在院内提供每周两次的免费体验机会以外，还特意选在当地的世贸广场进行了公开体验。记者在世贸广场看到了很多国外的零售品牌比如Gap，这些商家都把目光瞄准了在中国迅速崛起的中产阶层人群。艾玛的分娩阵痛体验区就在Gap的附近，宁先生就在这里，在几分钟之内从第1级体验到了第10级疼痛。

　　As the electricity reached its peak, Mr. Ning shook his fist proudly in the air, pursed his lips and looked slightly green. “By the time you get to 10, you really can’t even tell the difference between the pain of nine and 10,” says Mr. Ning, a thin-framed man with a buzz-cut and glasses. His wife, 28-year-old GaoYingjing, observed from a distance, nodding her head in approval.

　　当疼痛指数达到高的时候，宁先生骄傲地在空中挥舞了下拳头，嘴唇紧闭，脸也有些微微发青。“到第10级的时候，我都不知道怎么去形容第9级和第10级的疼痛有什么区别了”，宁先生说。瘦瘦的宁先生留着板寸，戴了副眼镜，他的妻子——28岁的高莹菁，坐在边看着，不时点头肯定。

 

ZhengWeitao, left, and his wife RenYiqun hold up a certificate of completion for labor simulation in Jinan, China. Laurie Burkitt/The Wall Street Journal

　　郑伟涛（左）和妻子任伊群举着张完成分娩疼痛体验挑战的证书。中国，济南。Laurie Burkitt/华尔街日报

　　Aima executives came up with the idea after surveying patients and finding that expecting mothers want more spousal sympathy, said Wu Ningxing, Aima’s general manager. “It’s very welcome with the women,” says Mr. Wu. He said the pain is intended to create more loving and caring husbands.

　艾玛妇产医院的总经理吴宇星说，艾玛在对客人进行调研后发现准妈妈们普遍希望得到来自另半的更多理解和支持，因此有了举办这样场活动的想法。“女性普遍都很支持这项活动”，吴总表示。而让男人体验疼痛的目的也只是希望老公们能够更加关爱和理解妻子们。

　　The question, Mr. Wu joked, is “why do women hate their husbands so much?”

　　“问题是，”吴总开玩笑地说，“为什么老婆们都那么恨自己的老公？”

  　Simulating the pain of childbirth has been tried elsewhere. Last year, two men in Michigan tried out a simulation, strapped to a table and zapped through the same kind of electrodes used in China, garnering millions of views of a video they made about it. Two Dutch co-hosts of a TV show called “Guinea Pigs” did something similar, squealing as their “contractions” escalated.

　　模拟分娩阵痛在其他地方也举办过。去年，密歇根州的两位男士也利用相似的电流刺激原理体验了模拟的分娩疼痛，他们自拍的视频在网上获得了几百万的点击量。荷兰也曾经有两个男性主持人在档叫做“Guinea Pigs” (原意豚鼠,也指试验品)的电视节目中做过类似的试验，当宫缩疼痛升级的时候，两个人疼的在床上边打滚边嚎叫。

　　Men all over the world have also reported feeling sympathy pains, experiencing a range of physical and psychological symptoms, including back pain and food cravings.

　　在各地都有报道称，有些丈夫在妻子怀孕后出现妊娠反应时,也会伴随着发生类似的病症（包括身体和心理），比如觉得背痛或者有饮食冲动等。

　　In China, social tensions, particularly struggles between the genders, may be playing a role in the unexpected popularity of the simulations, according to sociologists. Males have long been favored in Chinese society, with property and family lines passing through them.

   　社会学家称，中国的社会紧张关系，尤其是两性之间的矛盾，可能是这项活动大受欢迎的原因。中国的传统中，男性直扮演着传宗接代和财产继承的重要角色。

　　Chinese women say that although Chairman Mao elevated their status by encouraging them to enter the workforce at the country’s founding in 1949, he didn’t successfully downgrade their share of the at-home workload. The pressures on women to provide a male heir and cater to their husbands’ parents are still intense.

　　中国女性表示，虽然毛泽东主席在1949年建国的时候提高了女性的社会地位并鼓励女性就业，但这并没有减轻她们在家里需要承担的工作量。女性身上仍然背负着生男孩传宗接代，同时照顾公公婆婆起居的压力。

　　“The pain even of childbirth and labor is short in comparison to the long-term pain of male-female social pains,” says Sun Peidong, an associate professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University.

　　“跟长期以来男女社会矛盾的痛苦比起来，生孩子的痛苦只是暂时的。”复旦大学孙沛东教授如是说。

　　NingWentao displays the four electrodes that send shocks to simulate contractions. His wife, GaoYingjing, is expecting. Laurie Burkitt/The Wall Street Journal

  　宁文涛展示贴在肚子上的四个电极片。Laurie Burkitt/华尔街日报

　　Ms. Sun says that gender tensions show up in the popularity of

　　television shows like “Baba Qu Nar” (Mandarin for “Where Are We Going, Dad?”). The reality show depicts the blunders of men attempting first-time solo adventures with their children. For many of these fathers, the rush to find a potty or cook at the stove is a new experience.

　　电视节目《爸爸去哪儿》讲述了爸爸次尝试独自带孩子的各种冒险经历。对于这些爸爸们来说，急匆匆地带宝宝找厕所或者在火炉上做饭都是从未有过的新体验。

　　Mr. Ning, who is elated about his coming Christmas baby, says solidarity is only one reason he volunteered for the simulation. Proving his masculinity to his expecting wife and her mother is another, he said. “I’m a man,” Mr. Ning says.

　　对于即将在圣诞节荣升爸爸的宁先生来说，来参加分娩阵痛体验，方面原因是为了满足妻子的愿望，维护家庭的安定团结，另方面原因是为了证明给自己的妻子和妈妈看，自己是个纯爷们儿。

　　A new mother’s pain would go up to a level 12, say the nurses, who were ratcheting up the electricity. They occasionally showed their subjects a yellow meter that measured the voltage and asked: “Is that enough?”

　　分娩的疼痛可以达到12级，操作分娩疼痛体验仪的护士说。她边缓慢增加仪器的疼痛指数，边不时询问体验者：“这样能承受吗？”

　　Electrotherapy, sometimes used in rehabilitation, is used in these cases to imitate contractions felt in labor, with the electricity causing muscles to spasm. Unlike actual childbirth, these sessions last about three to five minutes.

 　电疗法有时被用于进行康复治疗，在这项活动中，它被用来模拟分娩的痛，主要原理是利用电流刺激引起肌肉收缩。但是和实际的分娩不同的是，这样的模拟疼痛般只持续3-5分钟。

　　Most men, too proud to howl, gnashed their teeth, refusing to stop the shocks before the full blast hit them.

　　大部分的体验者们，出于男人的自尊心，都咬着牙不叫痛，直坚持到能承受的大痛感。

　　Expecting mother Zhang Li sat next to her husband, Liang Qiqiang, as his face turned red and his eyes went bloodshot before the simulator reached its peak. The couple got married last year and have been taking birthing classes together in preparation for their new arrival, expected on Dec. 21.

　　准妈妈张丽坐在老公的旁边，在疼痛指数达到高时，他的脸和眼睛都因充血变得通红。这对夫妻去年刚结婚，近直在参加准妈妈课程，来为他们12月21号预产期的宝宝做准备。

　　Ms. Zhang looked at her husband, furrowing her brow. “Actually, now I’m a little afraid,” she says.

　　张丽看着他的老公，微微皱着眉，“我现在感觉有点害怕了，”她说。

　　Some men say the experience is living up to its purpose. Before the simulation, ZhengWeitao, a physics teacher, would help his wife only if she asked, he says. “Now, even before she wakes up, or even thinks of it, I have water—even honey water—waiting for her,” says Mr. Zheng.

　　些男士说这项体验达到了应有的目的。身为体育老师的郑伟涛说，在体验之前，只有老婆提出来需要帮助时他才会去帮她。可是现在，即使老婆没开口，他都会主动把水倒好等着，有时甚至会主动准备好蜂蜜水。

　　His wife, RenYiqun, who is due at the end of January, held up a certificate of completion for the simulation and said she is pleased with the outcome. She suggested he try the experience a few weeks ago after seeing a promotion. She believed it would create a stronger bond between her husband and their forthcoming child. “This is not one person’s matter,” she said. She noted her battles with morning sickness.

　　他的妻子——任伊群（预产期明年月底），手里举着老公参加体验获得的证书，说她对体验的结果很满意。她在几个星期前看到活动宣传的时候就开始鼓励老公参加。她相信这项体验能加深夫妻间的感情以及他们对宝宝的期待。“我现在每天早晨都还会吐，”她说，“这可不是个人的事。”

　　Rubbing her stomach, Ms. Ren said Mr. Zheng now comes home directly after work rather than going out with friends. “He tells me, ‘There was a social dinner I was supposed to attend, but I declined.’ ”

　　任伊群边抚摸着肚子边说，现在他们夫妻俩都是下班就直接回家，几乎不怎么出去见朋友了。“他告诉我，今天晚上本来有个应酬的，但是他也拒绝了。”

　　Mr. Zheng, she says, has recommended purchasing a pair of electrodes for use at home.

　　她说，郑伟涛甚至建议说可以买两片电极在家用。

　　Li Mengke, a 29-year-old property planner, isn’t married but at the behest of his girlfriend, agreed to the experience, writhing in pain as a result. The couple is planning to marry next year and thought a test of faith might be in good order, Mr. Li says.

　　今年29岁的李梦可虽然还没结婚，但在女朋友的坚持下，同意了参加体验，后疼的差点打滚。这对情侣准备明年结婚，“就把这当成是对爱情的考验也挺好的，”李梦可说。

　　He described the treatment as creating a three-part sensation: hot steel balls dropping on his stomach and then a hook being gouged into him, followed by the ripping of his innards.

　　他用三个比喻描述了痛感的过程：开始像是热铁球砸在了肚子上，后来感觉像个钩子刺进了身体里，后好像内脏都撕裂了样。

　　“I treated her to a French dinner after,” says Mr. Li.

   　“体验结束后我带她去了家法式餐厅，犒劳犒劳她，”李梦可说。