Fears and concerns from previous birth(s). For women who have experienced labour and birth before, their previous birth experience(s) will influence their perception of pain for a subsequent birth. It may be that they have concerns about the same events happening again. If the woman was left feeling disappointed, annoyed or dissatisfied in some way before, these feelings can resurface again during the next pregnancy and labour.
A previous positive birth experience can also affect the woman's perception of the pain. For some women this enables them to rely on a 'positive body' memory. On the other hand, feeling comfortable about a previous birth experience could mean they are taken by surprise, if the next birth is more painful, or involves unanticipated complications. This could lead to feeling suddenly anxious, because the labour was not like her past experience.