What are the three things you wish you had known before going into labour?

[BigGLittleG]

The subject pretty much sums it up!

[FakePlasticTrees]

1/ that my hospital won't let you have gas and air if you arrive and say you'd just been sick - that was my birth plan out of the window then...

2/ that you can't eat if you have an epidural (soo hungry by the end)

3/ that if you end up in theatre, the pediatrician may take your baby to the resuscitation machine and use that as a changing mat due to lack of space to check the baby, doesn't mean your baby needs to be resuscitated

[Reallytired]

With my first birth

1. I wish I had known and practiced breathing techniques.
   
   
2. It is my body and nothing can be done to me against my will.

[KnottyLocks]

1. That DS1 was breech

Would've saved at least 90 hours of that labour!

[PacificDogwood]

1. That having DH there was going to be very important experience for him, but pretty useless and at times distracting to me

1. That much as labouring in pool is bliss, coming out of it makes contraction soooo much stronger, OMG!! Delivery in pool was not "allowed"...

1. That the 'urge to push' is not an 'urge' as in "oh, I need the toilet", it is a great big farking IMPERATIVE: your body pushes, not you, and no amount of panting will stop it

[sweetkitty]

1. that it all feels so anal, your baby feels like a giant poo

1. that in the grand scheme of things the actual labour is a tiny bit of being a parent

1. that it hurts a lot more than you ever think it will but the minute the baby is out it stops

[MerlinsBeard]

That the pain is nothing to be afraid of

That I Can Do It

That if you are staying over night there is every possibilty you will get 10 min utes sleep because you feel you shuld already kjnow yo own babies cry but in fact they are so sleepy from delivery they will prob not wake much that first night

This one after DS1. That my age/weight and breast size means not a jot and I CAN BF god damn HV

[MerlinsBeard]

oh dear that's 4

[Paolosgirl]

That you poo

That it hurts more than you could ever, ever imagine

That a birth plan is pointless

[clayre]

i wish id known

1 - that unless you scream like a banshee you are not taken seriously

2 - they would take sissors to me without any anesthetic (owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww)

3 - that you become possessed whilist 'bearing down'

[BigGLittleG]

Wow! Please keep them coming!

[twosofar]

That when the head is crowning you think you will tear up to your ears

That if you pant when they tell you, the head will just ease out by itself but if you carry on pushing you will rip which means that when the baby's here, the pain doesn't stop like the books tell you it will.

That when you get to the point where you really can't take anymore, this is often the point of transition and the end is in sight

[momofnearly2]

I wish I had known that

1. I could give birth naturally (Looong history of family c-secs due to pelvic disprortion that they refused to check me for) so I went in in an absolute panic only to have the easiest natural birth ever.
   
   
2. That asking for pain relief would be easy, I never even had to ask, I was offered everything! Another panic for nothing!
   
   
3. That it really isn't that bad or painful (Apart from the unbearable stinging sensation right at the end)

[Purplebuns]

The ring of fire!!

That pushing is like having a huge poo!

When you feel like you need to poo.. it is actually a need to push!

I didn't know any of this!
And I can think of so many more!

[PlanetEarth]

To take in some food! I think the hospital now has shops with proper food in, but in those days they only seemed to sell sweets and stuff. Baby born at about 2.30 pm, we had had no breakfast and no lunch, so by the time we were in the ward late afternoon DH was starving. I got some food for tea, but the veggie option was some kind of veggie mince (I'm not at all fussy about food but pretend-meat is very low on my list, as I'm sure most veggies will understand!) By the time I got it it was pretty cold too as I'd fainted on getting back to the ward, maybe due to blood loss.

Let's see, you go through all that effort, lose lots of blood, miss meals on the way and then there's no decent food available to help you recover?

[gaelicsheep]

1. That when they say to make sure you go to the loo regularly, they really mean it (had to be catheterised in the end)
   
   
2. That they don't let you have gas & air until the most horrendously painful part is already over.
   
   
3. That the whole concept of controlling your breathing that they harp on about in antenatal classes is a pile of bolleaux. You're lucky if you can breath at all.

[gaelicsheep]

Ooh, can I have a number 4? That TENS machines are the biggest con ever.

[Heated]

1. Pushing means trying to do a big poo and you may do a big poo.
2. Ask for pain relief early before it's too late. Being stoic is not always a good idea with mws.
3. Make sure the bath they want you take afterwards is scrupulously clean - take Flash!

[butadream]

That DH would be allowed out and back in again, after 2nd birth I sent him round the corner to Starbucks, wish I'd know I could do this first time round!

BTW I loved my TENS machine so that one varies a lot between different people.

[BexJ78]

Think i agree almost word for word with gaelicsheep!!

[Paolosgirl]

Another TENS lover here - fab fab fab

[gaelicsheep]

Heated - I asked for pain relief early and got... paracetamol.

[gaelicsheep]

Bex

I think the effectiveness of TENS depends on whether you're in full blown labour or not (whether or not your MW happens to agree, having not even bothered to check!)

I'm pg again currently so it's all coming back to me, oh yes.

[Paolosgirl]

I'm sure I read that the key to the TENS is to use it as soon as you start going into labour, so that you start releasing endorphins asap - or maybe I imagined that, which is highly probable nowadays.

I got G and A before I'd even got my knickers off - it must vary from hospital to hospital.

Ooh - thought of another "I wish I'd known..." - that half of my brain cells would go out with the placenta

[BexJ78]

gaelicsheep The going to the loo thing was so true with me....had to be catheterised and they drew off two 'sick' bowls full...mmmm nice! no surprise that i had to have an assisted delivery...
and did not get any G&A until i'd been labouring for about 10 hours. I might not have been in 'established' labour but it still bloody hurt!

[crumpette]

1. That your bikini line is irrelevant and not something to worry about throughout your entire labour

1. That when you start screaming and saying I can't do this I want to die, you are probably almost fully dilated and baby is almost out

1. That if you want the midwives to be your friends you need to take in chocs/biscuits and leave them at the desk, they love it. Remember to take in 2 lots though, or else they will all be eaten by the night staff and the day staff will not be your friends!