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.

Oh yes, definitely a gonner for me.

Hhhmmm not sure. I ended up having an emergency c section following induction. So there's probably a good chance.

Oh Iwill I never talked to anyone who a manual extraction before, I was left a wreck by the whole thing. Very grateful to have had the care, but it just wasn't explained...and I saw everything in overhead light shade. Thought I was in a David Lynch film. .

But the emergency part was because DS was very distressed so maybe I would have survived, but he wouldn't.

Thank God for modern medicine.

I would have, so would DD. She just wouldn't come out - turns put during cs that it is highly unlikely she would have ever been born naturally. So with no cs she would have died and I guess I would have too as a result.

I'm not sure about me, but I suspect all 5 of my DD's would have died as they were all prem.
Saying that, I would probably have died from exhaustion if I'd have had to give birth to my DTriplets vaginally! Having a large glass of after that thought!

I would have died before DD was even conceived, as I had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy shortly before that.

Assuming I had survived that, I don't know - ended up having a C-section due to her getting stuck, so don't know if either/both of us would.
We are so lucky to live when we do.

I'd be fine but my sister would be dead, also I'd have lost my own mum at the age of 18 months.

I only ever got to 2cm dilated - so naturally birth would have still been a no no I think.

DS would have died as my placenta packed up about 38+4. Then if I was really lucky I would have had a still born baby, and actually quite likely I would have died as his body putrefied. . Thank goodness for foetal monitoring and safe CS.

Yes. Definitely. I was septic, lost 7 litres of blood and needed about 15 units of blood and various other blood products. Dd born (by emergency section) not breathing and needed resuscitating so think we'd both have been dead at any time pre antibiotic era. I went to icu, she went to scbu.
Amazingly, thanks to an awesome obstetric team we both went home from hospital 4 days later completely ok and I am now 23 weeks pregnant. Modern medicine is incredible and I will always be grateful to the people who looked after me.

DD was transverse (bottom down) and eventually breech with feet down so was a c section...presumably a successful vaginal delivery would have been possible but very unlikely.

EyeoftheStorm an old school friend of mine has hydrocephalus (& a shunt the same as your DC) and has just completed her second degree so I have seen for myself what someone can achieve despite a very tough start in life. All the best to your DC!

I wouldnt be here as mother would have died, but I was lucky, howeever 6 of my closest friends would be dead, pre eclampsia, placenta pravia, fibriods, one pelvis not large enough etc.

Oh yes - forget about the blood loss - chances are that without the medication I'd have died anyway.

I would have been fine, but would never have actually got here to have the DDs had it not been for the crash section under GA. My Mum has a deformed pelvis, I was hauled out in about five minutes flat.

None of us would have been here, had it not been for a very new (at the time) bit of surgery to connect my Grandmother's one functioning ovary to her uterus using the Fallopian tube from the opposite side. She was given a 20% chance of being able to conceive, went on to have four daughters!

Yes. Both DD and I would have. I would have been ok after having DS but he was born at 32 weeks and so he probably wouldn't have made it 200 years ago.

Martha Ballard in New England in the 18th century delivered 996 babies and lost four mothers, so I would be hopeful with my first child. Depends whether I would have got someone like her or a local goodwife with filthy fingers and attached to barbaric and unpleasant techniques - like not relying on contractions to get the baby out but pulling on the head as soon as they could.

However as I am rh-, DH is rh+ and both my babies were positive too, I assume I wouldnt have been able to have anymore live children after my first-possibly my second if I was lucky.

Yes, probably more than once. If the hyperemisis in both pg hadn't got me (had to be rehydrated on a drip many times), and I had delivered DS as a footling breech vaginally - then the uterine rupture that caused me to haemorrage and DD's heart to stop in labour would have. She was born 4 mins after the monitoere showed her heartbeat to be dangerously low (it stopped just before she was born). EMCS both times, no questions asked, no credit cards, no insurance. I love the NHS.

Yes Ds and I would both have died.

He was wedged in my pelvis (and probably had been for several days before I had a CS). There is no way he would have come out and he and I would have died labouring.

He had a bad head injury but luckily does not appear to have any neurological problems. God bless modern medicine.

All the DC would have been here, all v straightforward VBs, 2 of them homebirths.

I wouldn't though I was a 34 weeker born in the 70s. I had chest infection after chest infection when a baby and chronic bronchitis, nothing to do with my chain smoking parents, coal fire and damp house with black mould on the walls.

Dd - no
Ds1 - no
Ds2 - definately, both of us

Yes with ds. He was trapped in the pelvis. Couldn't progress, I was in labour for 43 hours. He came out all bruised down his face where my body had been trying to push him out but he couldn't go anywhere.

Marshmallow That's nice to hear. We were told he might not walk or talk but he's 3 now and hitting all his milestones. By the skin of his teeth and the miracle that is modern medicine.

smileyhappymummy I lost 7l blood too - I had placenta previa/accreta. So yes, I would most definitely have been dead. Dd2 too, probably as relied she relied on oxygen & a drip for 4 days after birth.

I don't know about dd1, she was born by c-section as she was in the extended breech position (bum first!) - I think midwives might have been better at dealing with such situations than we imagine now.

Let's not forget that women and children still die in childbirth today both in this country, but most particularly in the developing world - we don't have to go back 200 yrs