Man has part of intestine removed after ‘childbirth simulation test’ on girlfriend’s request

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A woman in China is reportedly facing a lawsuit for making her boyfriend undergo three hours of childbirth simulation that led to physical harm.

The man in Henan province had to be hospitalised and have part of his small intestine removed after undergoing the painful simulation, China Times reported.

The man had agreed to undergo the pain simulation test after his girlfriend and her mother insisted that he should experience a woman's challenges before their engagement.

The man initially rejected the proposal but later reluctantly agreed to go to a medical centre where he was hooked up to electrodes that gave out electric currents to mimic the sensation of contractions, reports said. Several hospitals in China have been offering childbirth pain simulation experience for over a decade.

In a post on Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu or Red Note, the unidentified woman said the first 90 minutes involved manually increasing the level of pain, while for the rest of the session, the intensity of pain remained at the maximum level.

"My boyfriend started screaming and struggling at level 8, swearing and crying at level 10, and by the end, he was gasping for air. My sister and I kept wiping his sweat," the woman wrote, according to South China Morning Post.

The man suffered from abdominal pain and started vomiting shortly after returning home. A week later, it was discovered that the simulation damaged a part of his small intestine, forcing him to undergo surgery.

The woman claimed she explained to her boyfriend that her family wanted him to understand the hardships of women and had no intention of hurting him. "I am willing to take full responsibility as long as he recovers," she wrote.

Following the incident, the man's mother cancelled the wedding and started legal action against the woman.

A lawyer reportedly said that if the injury assessment links the damage to the man’s body to the simulation, the woman could be financially liable as per Chinese law.

Her post on Red Note caused an uproar, with many criticising the woman and her family for forcing the man to undergo "absurd" three hours of pain simulation. "They should bear the consequences for doing such a reckless thing," wrote one user. "They are making trouble for no reason," said another person on social media.