A hospital in eastern China is offering fathers-to-be a chance to experience the pain of childbirth after several new moms complained they got little sympathy from their partners.
Free sessions are held twice a week at Aima maternity hospital in Shandong province, and about 100 men have signed up to be tortured. Most are expectant dads, but there are thrill seekers too among the volunteers for "taster sessions."
For the simulations, pads attached to a device are placed above the abdomen, giving electric shocks that induce pain. The test subjects writhe in agony for up to five minutes as a nurse gradually raises the intensity.
Despite their obvious discomfort, the on-duty nurse said the simulations could never match the torment of actual childbirth.
Unlike in the West, Chinese men are often not in the room when their partners or wives give birth. Some state-run hospitals do not allow expectant dads to enter, even if they want to.