陣痛

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 陣痛, read じんつう, is a noun specifically for labor pains associated with childbirth.
• Basic usage: It is used for the onset of labor pains and for the stage from labor pains through delivery.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Not pain in general
  • Although the spelling contains 痛, the word does not mean any severe pain; it specifically concerns labor and childbirth.
• With 始まる and から
  • 陣痛が始まる marks onset, while 陣痛から出産まで sets labor pains as the starting stage of a process.