200 years ago would you have died during pregnancy/childbirth?

[LynetteScavo]

I had a kidney infection when pregnant with DC1, then a long and difficult birth, with a happy ending after a ventouse delivery. I've sometimes wondered if I would have lived through the kidney infection if I hadn't had IV antibiotics. I have no idea how the birth would have panned out.

I suspect an awful lot of us wouldn't be here now if we had babies 200 years ago.

I would have died as I don't dilate. Ds1 would have died of placenta failure and then killed me with infection of dead baby. Only had this chat with a el person a few days ago.

With DS1 I would undoubtedly have died, if not during the difficult birth then certainly because of the puerperal fever a week later.

DS2 might have been born too early because I had a kidney infection when I was 28 weeks pregnant and had started to have what felt like contractions and bleeding, but the birth itself - at term, thanks to antibiotics - was easy and uneventful.

I had a kidney infection too, way before having DS, so I would have probably died before even getting as far as the pregnancy/childbirth bit!

Not sure I would have made it through childbirth without modern medicine either - had epidural, ventousse, episiotomy after 24hr labour. On the other hand, if the epidural hadn't laid me out flat on my back I might have given birth naturally with no interventions. But I can't imagine the pain!!

We're VERY VERY lucky to live in this country at this time.

DS1 and I would have died. I wasn't dilating, he was stuck and banging his head on my cervix at an odd angle that was making it swell shut rather than open.
Makes me shiver to think about it.

I have Strep B so dd would probably have had Meningitis and probably died fron complications had she not died during the birth (turned, got aggitated, needed forceps). Im not sure if I would have died....probably.

I would have been fine, DS2 wouldn't have made it though, I'm rhesus negative, both DSs positive.

I was talking to someone recently whose sibling died before anti-d was routinely given. Makes you realise how lucky we are.

Yes. I didn't dilate, they tried to help me along but even with drips and pesaries and , erm, rummaging, they got me to 8 cm then labour stopped and cervix pinged back to 5cm within minutes. This time round will be elcs.

Yes, as would have dd1. Thank god it isn't 200 years ago. And believe me, I am no fan of the standard of hospital care in labour, and very pro-homebirth where there are no complications, but the alternative is unthinkable.

My births 200 years ago would probably have been much the same - home births with a midwife. I would probably not have had a birth pool though.

Maternal mortality rates in England in the 1800s were probably about 5 per 1,000 births (i.e.500 per 100,000), now it's 11 or so per 100,000, so definitely an awful lot of mothers who have survived would not have!

None of my births have been straightforward - one of them would have finished me off.

One breech (c-section), one waters breaking early and failure to dilate (c-section) and a premature birth at 30 weeks.

DS2 has hydrocephalus and needed a VP shunt at 5 months. I don't know what would have happened to him even 50 years ago.

I am so thankful I live in this day and age and that my children have benefited from this.

helpful midwife told dh that I probably would've died just 30 years ago, hence quite a battle convincing him that dc2 was a good idea!

I am sure I wouldn't have been here. Ds1 was breech and well stuck, ds2 I didn't dilate past 2cm and he was in distress.

We are so lucky. So very lucky.

I often think this and think how grateful I am for the existence of intervention in childbirth (sorry, that's probably a big no-no!)

I and DC1 would have both died before EMCS existed, and DC2, a premmie would definitely have died

I would have been fine giving birth (had a home birth). But probably would have died of quinsy (very swollen throat abscess which eventually cuts of airway) two years before getting pregnant. Thank the lord for IV antibiotics and then tonsillectomies!

My placenta wouldn't come out, and I lost blood. I'm not sure? Did they just do manual (crosses legs, and gets tearful at memory) extraction back then, do you think?

I would have died if I'd lived where I used to live- SW London. With Ds1 when i lived in SW London I didn't see the same midwife twice. When Ds was born someone came to weigh him and used guess work as they didn't have enough portable scales to go round!!!

When i moved here- to Dorset I had the same lovely midwife each time with DS2. She noticed i was big for dates at 34 weeks pg and sent me for a scan, which showed my son had a rare brain condition and most of it is filled with water and that his head was off the scale huuuge.

I ws planning a home birth- I had everything ready, just in case.

If my midwife hadn't seen me each time she wouldn't have known how I suddenly got very large, and I would have had a homebirth giving birth to a baby whose head would have been way too big to physically deliver.

It doesn't bare thinking about.

Yup, I wouldn't have survived. 48 hrs labour (yes, I know that in the whole scheme of things...) but DD would not come out. I wasn't quite dilated enough but after various rummagings, relaxing sessions, having my waters broken and various drips to induce me, I had to have an EMCS. And then I lost a lot of blood.

Very grateful to the hospital and midwives that attended.

Yes - lost 3 1/2 litres of blood very very quickly and was still losing blood while they were sorting it out (had a balloon in that wouldn't stay in and they nearly an emergency hysterectomy). Not only would they not have been able to stop the bleeding but the transfusion wouldn't have been possible. I had initially planned a hb and have had nightmares about what would have happened if I hadn't gone in.

Yes DD1 ventouse delivery, presenting with face up not down.

DD2 birth fine she would have survived but I had to have manuAl removal of retained placenta that would likely have lead to infection and death for me.

DS and I definitely would both be dead, no doubt about it. My labour was an agonising 44 hours, 17 of which were after induction as I wasn't dilating with the extremely frequent and bloody horrendous contactions.

On top of that, even if I'd progressed naturally, DS wasn't budging by himself. It took 2 hours of violent yanking on his head with ventouse to get him out (he still has the scars), and I suffered a bad 3rd degree tear as well as blood loss.

Or post partum haemorrhage

the actual births would have gone just the same. probably.

the nasty UTIs treated by antibiotics might have been a different story.

it is hard to say as obviously no-one has a crystal ball

I would have died in childbirth, though without modern medicine I would have died before that point anyway.

I would have been OK with dc1 but have wondered this before and reading these makes me glad to be alive now - dc2 on the way....

I would have survived.

Without denying mortality rates 200 years ago (or now in parts of the world) there's a really interesting book about a midwife in New England at the end of the 18th century - according to her notes she never lost a patient. It must have varied a lot on the skill of your local care provider. (in fact, didn't mortality increase when doctors became involved instead of midwives?)