The imagery of childbirth serves as a powerful promise that the process of divine redemption, once set in motion, is completely irreversible. Any fear of a partial salvation or a process that suddenly stops is answered with a clear guarantee. Historical suffering is nothing more than the pangs of labor, ensuring a certain and complete revival.
The primary approach among commentators is that God asks if it is possible that He would bring a woman to the birthing stool but not help her deliver the child [מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא]. The underlying message is that God never begins a process without the ability to carry it through to the very end [רש״י, מצודת דוד, שד״ל, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אבן עזרא]. The intense suffering that precedes redemption is compared to these labor pangs, specifically pointing to the final wars of Gog and Magog. Just as a woman who reaches the point of labor will certainly give birth, these global conflicts are the necessary preparation for the ultimate delivery, which is complete salvation [רד״ק, צאינה וראינה, מלבי״ם].
God further declares that since He is the one who grants the power of life and birth to the entire world, it is unthinkable that He would suddenly shut Zion's womb right at the moment of delivery. After all, her children are His children [רש״י, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, שד״ל]. This ensures that the final salvation will encompass the entire nation and will not be left incomplete [מלבי״ם]. However, another perspective views the concept of stopping birth not as a dismissed fear regarding Israel, but as a deliberate action God will take against the other nations. While God previously granted the nations the power to grow and multiply, He will eventually stop them from giving birth so that all greatness and honor will remain exclusively with Israel [רד״ק].
On a deeper spiritual level, this process reflects a shift in how divine blessing flows into the world. During the long period of exile, divine abundance was channeled through the guardian angels of the nations, which sometimes brought negative influences upon the people. In the future, God Himself will be the direct source of life and influence, acting without any intermediaries. Because He will directly manage this flow, He will never hold back His abundance and blessing from descending upon the earth [אהבת יהונתן].