Re the epidural chat. . .
In my head at the moment I have a water birth with nothing more than k bit of gas and air. However, I am completely open-minded and my only concern is the welfare of baby. I simply don't feel I know enough to take a particular line for or against anything specific. Having said that, I have heard lots of really wonderful things about my maternity unit so I don't feel the need to worry. I imagine if you have given birth before and things were poorly done/scary/thoughtless then you would exercise more control.
I was chatting with my mum yesterday - she gave birth mid seventies, lat seventies and early eighties and has some amazing stories. Her first (my brother) was the worst. She haemorrhaged seriously and had to have several blood transfusions. She lost consciousness and dad wasn't with her so she wasn't even told until she was giving birth to me! It just wasn't seen to be necessary. With me she was on the ward and a widwife old her she was still a long way from ready. My mum is gritting her teeth and digging her toes into the bed but doesn't like to argue. Half an hour later the midwife checks and exclaims "you silly girl, why didn't you say?". I was born half an hour later.
With one of us she had to have a stitch. The midwife said there was no point in administering an anaesthetic as that was two needles anyway so went ahead and stitched my poor mum's bits with nothing to numb them!
It all sounded so awful I was astonished she had three of us! By the time she was my age she had three with one in secondary school - I still feel such a child - when will I feel mature?