Giving Birth in the 1970s? Tell me your stories

[MILlovesBegonias]

My dm isn't around any more to ask but I do remember a few things she said. Her pubes were shaved & she was given an enema to ensure she was clean/empty. As for the birthing experience, dm told me her feet were up in stirrups - I've no idea why? Other than that, babies were kept separately in a baby unit & brought to you for feeding on a strict rota. Dads could only view their baby through the window. No dads in the delivery room. She stayed in hospital for a week. Formula was promoted over breast. What do you remember/know about birth 70s style?

Didn’t give birth in the 70’s but remember going with mum to visit people she knew who had given birth. The majority of people smoked in their beds so the ward was generally a huge cloud of smoke. Then again, teachers smoked in the classroom back then too and shared cigarettes with high school students .

Mums did not seem to be precious about visitors, bonding etc and seemed to enjoy visitors rather than sending out 8 page directives beforehand about how they couldn’t possibly see anyone. They also seemed well rested. Am guessing it was because of the nursery system where babies were looked after and fed in the nursery and mums sat in bed reading magazines.

Horrific

My mum gave birth at home, I dont know all the details about the birth but she said she had to stay in bed for two weeks after and the room was kept very hot which was thought to be good for the baby, she hated it.

My mother had the most horrific time with me. I decided to put in an appearance during the Bank holiday of the Silver Jubilee, skeleton staff, first time Mother. My Mother, who was tiny, endured a 72 hour labour with a large baby. No drugs or pain relief, she was terrified, exhausted and in huge amounts of pain. My father had to become very vocal and forthright to get her any attention or pain relief ( he was told she was too far along) working class men being forthright and vocal about the welfare of their wife and potential baby did not go down very well ( he was ignored and threatened). My mother was treated appallingly. I was born blue and with significant bruising due to the delivery method. My mother was torn to pieces and traumatised. The medical profession scratched their heads when my mother developed serious PND causing her to be sectioned. My birth, killed a marriage, ensured a woman had permanent mental health issues and meant I was brought up by a ( devoted ) but very sad single Dad.

Much the same OP, the lack of pain relief wasn't great but having a week in bed, with baby in nursery overnight, was great. This week's stay gave staff a chance to ensure you could feed, bath and change your baby and keep an eye open for any developing medical problems. It also helped you adjust to the strangeness of being completely responsible for a helpless baby. Gives me chills nowadays when I see new mums in and out asap.

MIL and DM both had first babies in the late 60s but I don't think things changed too much. MIL was told off by a nurse for making too much noise. DM said a woman who had lost her baby was forced to stay on the post natal ward with all the women with their new babies.

Although very different women they both came out determined to have home births for their second children. So both myself and SIL were born in the early 70s at home.

Stirrups are still used - when I gave birth they were used. I was too high on gas and air to ask why they needed me to use them.

So late 60s but my grandmother told me when she'd given birth she was stitched up by a doctor who refused to give her pain relief while he did it. And as she cried in pain he told her to "stop crying you silly girl!" Will say this wasn't in the UK. I always wondered why she stopped at 2 children as she was so maternal / loved babies and children but when I heard that story I understood.

My 2nd was born at home in l970. I was shaved with my husband's razor then sat on a bucket in the living room after an enema. She put a can of air freshener in my hand and told me to keep spraying. Whilst on the bucket her son arrived and she invited him in and had a conversation with me still on the bucket making awful noises and smells.

Long story short, fully dilated but had what she called 'anterior rim' which meant the head couldn't come through the cervix. Sent for the doctor, a very large tough old irishman. As each contraction started, he would put his hand inside and try to push the cervix back manually. No anaesthetic, not even gas and air. Eventually, my daughter was born, the doctor went home and the midwife took the placenta home with her for her garden.

Those were the days.

OK, except for the shaving. All much better than I'd expected/dreaded. Birth was difficult and I was given an epidural/forceps before it got too bad. Yes, def. stirrups for,procedures, stitching, but I was past caring by then. Didn't feel the stitching.
Nobody smoked on the ward, but there was a room where you could go.
I breastfed, formula was not especially promoted. Nobody seemed at all surprised that I Bfed.
Stayed in hospital for a week. 3 or 4 hourly feeding, depending on the baby's weight, was the norm, and my dd was fine with it - one good feed and then slept. Carried that on at home, 6, 10, 2, 6, 10, 2 - 2 am feed dropped at about 6 weeks.

Had no problems bf-ing.

Depnds on the family. In the early 60s my mother was one of the first members of the NCT so could avoid all those things mentioned and he had babies 2 - 4 at home even. As first births for most women are hardest than later ones it was fairly normal to have the first in hospital and rest there or at home if you preferred. In fact my father and his brothers in the 1920s and 1930s were born in hospital even (lthough my mother's family were all born at home).

Yes, that's about it. It wasn't particularly horrible ( and when I read some of the stories of today's births I wonder if there have been any improvements).

You did get shaved - I did that myself before I went in. And I had a suppository, not an enema, but the end result was the same and you didn't have to worry about pushing poo out with the baby.

I had Pethedine for the pain, and gas and air , as much as I wanted which was fine. My nurse stayed there all the time except for breaks , she was lovely and she did the delivery with another nurse. I didn't have any problems with that at all.

I loved the post natal experience - I had a week of comfort and I got to know my baby with no stress. There were lactation consultants around if your were breast feeding, but if you wanted to bottle feed that was fine and nobody tried to convince you otherwise.

The babies stayed in the nursery between feeds, so the wards were quiet and you could get some naps during the day which was bliss. Nurses brought the babies around for feeds . You also went into the nursery to learn about bathing the baby which was nice for first time mothers. By the time you went home, most girls had established breast feeding and were pretty comfortable with their babies.

Visitors only came for an hour in the afternoon and an hour in the evening - this was pretty strictly policed so nobody had their husbands lolling around annoying the other women. I had no problem with that much visiting , and I do feel sorry for women today who have to put up with noisy relatives wandering in at all hours. Visitors went up to the nursery and the nurses showed the babies through the glass - which I thought was fine. You didn't have to worry about visitors coughing all over your baby !

I didn't have any complaints when I gave birth " back in the day". And when I read stories of today's hospital births I wonder if anything has improved .

Re Dads, I gave birth in 1976 and DH was in the delivery room with me. I think it was pretty universal by then.

Re stirrups - some girls used stirrups when they were pushing, just to give their legs a rest. Or if you were getting a forceps delivery , for the same reason. Or you'd use them when you were getting stitched up - I used them then so I wouldn't have to worry about where my legs were . They were perfectly comfortable, I just stuck my feet in them and let the doctor get on with his job while I was cuddling DD and talking to DH. Stirrups weren't some kind of torture implement - they were for your comfort .

Mine was later, 84, but you were still shaved and given an enema. I had pethedine and gas and air, it didn’t seem to ease the pain, just made me feel a bit woozy.

DH was allowed in the delivery room but I wasn’t allowed any input and it was all flat on your back doing as you were told. I was young and didn’t know to speak up. Episiotomy was pretty routine.

Babies stayed with you on the ward of four and breast feeding was encouraged as was allowing babies to sleep in whatever position they wanted and mine preferred on their stomach. Visiting was limited, food pretty awful and I was in 3 days.

IN 84 no enema or shaving where I was by the way. My father had been at all our births in the 60s and indeed delivered one sibling who came at home before the mdiwife got there so when I had my first in the 80s as was also common for many the father was definitely there. I sent the hospital a birth plan, I also arranged a 6 hour transfer so i could go home 6 hours after birth in hospital so I am not sure my 80s births were too different from births today nor those my mother and her mother had.