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.

My twins were transverse and large. My labour would have not progressed and me and the babies would have died (or so my midwife told me when we were discussing this). Or else I would have developed eclampsia - this was controlled by drugs and resulted in an early section. And i would not have got a helicopter ride to the hospital! Thank goodness for modern medicine.

I'm not sure - I also have a bicornate uterus that I am sure contributed to dd being breech. Had an elective c section booked but she was slightly early so had an emergency in the end. I may have had a safe vaginal breech delivery who knows. She did need a little help maintaining temperature and had a touch of jaundice but sunlight was all that was needed for that.

We may have survived that.

Hard to tell...needed a blood transfusion after delivering DD1, but she was forceps and the **ing obstetrician probably ripped my cervix with his cack-handed rummaging trying to get the forceps on her head. There wasn't a mark on her, so whatever he did grab hold of, perhaps it wasn't her head.

Maybe 200 years ago, in the absence of an epidural, I wouldn't have had forceps and would have remained healthy and intact.

Isloving- same here for the first three! Three straighforward vaginal deliveries, two at home. Number 4 bucked the trend.

Also re Rhesus problems, my own grandmother lost a "blue" baby at birth. I am Rhesus negative and it's also sobering that Anti-D saved one of my DDs from that fate. (the other two are Rhesus negative as well).

Yes, I carried a dead baby for a week as it was, DTD2 (alive0 and I both at risk of infection.

With DD3 92nd pregnancy), probably too.

Grim thought, isn't it?

I'd probably have been ok, I'd have been able to eat between the time my waters broke at 4.48am and when I gave birth 22 hours later (I was knackered) but not DD she was born at 34 weeks and wasn't breathing at birth and was ventilated at 18 minutes.

I am so very blessed we have the NHS, it doesn't bear thinking about what could of happened.

Yes, I wouldn't be here. ROM before active labour (about 3 days so getting to risk of infection also) didn't dilate due to wedged baby (brow) dragged out by crash section and looked like she had been in a boxing match A rather old ex MW called it an obstructed labour.

Didn't dilate with the second one either and had a CS, he was also malpositioned ( I think I have a wonky pelvis, self diagnosed!)

I wouldn't have got that far - mp following first mc would have done for me.

I always find it sad looking at family trees (either family research or in biographies etc.) and maybe seeing a long line of 8 or 10 children born to a couple and then slowly realising that only 1 or 2 survived childhood, or seeing a mother and child die within a week or so of the birth, or several siblings dying within weeks of each other (presumably due to the same illness).

I would have died before I even got pregnant. Then my ectopic would have probably killed me. My DS is only here because of IVF treatment. I feel very lucky.

I had two missed miscarriages, the first my baby had died 6 weeks previously and i had no bleeding so eventually without medical intervention i would have got an infection and died, as even when i had the medical management i still had no bleeding or water leakages, and i then went on for a second missed miscarriage, without scans one of these babies could well have killed me and their baby brother would never have existed.

As someone has already said, whatever the concern about over-medicalisation of childbirth, I feel very fortunate and grateful for what modern medicine has done for me.

One or both of us would definitely have died. Waters broke, but no contractions established. 24 hours of iv abs and syntocinon and he wasn't descending. Turned out he had the chord round his shoulder and had to be lifted out through the sun roof. 3 days later he ended up in scbu on iv abs.

Pretty shit time, but we both survived to tell the tale.

Obviously that should be cord, not chord. My phone was feeling musical I think.

After having a emergency delivery at 26 weeks and both of us numerous surgeries the drs said even 10 years ago neither of us would have stood a chance.

I would have died for sure...and likely to have been very young as used the pill for years then got pregnant instantly after stopping taking it so I often think, that 100 years ago I would have been dead about a year after meeting DH if it wasn't for birth control and induced labour.

Sobering thread.
Don't know how easy my fibroid (& age - 40) would have made a natural delivery. My Obstetrician insisted on a planned c-section, and the subsequent blood loss and transfusions would he meant at best a very slow recovery.

Oh yes and without formula in those days and poor milk production from me, what on earth would they have fed DS with?!

Many babies were wet nursed by women whose own babies had died or who had a lot of milk for some reason. A really poor neighbour of my gran's in rural Ireland had twins and was having a really hard time keeping them fed. In exchange for eggs, bread and vegetables from gran, a Traveller woman whose own child was weaning wetnursed the neighbour's babies for about six months until the Travellers upped sticks and moved on.

200yrs ago I probably wouldn't even have made it to pregnancy let alone childbirth.
I have an immune condition that would have left me severely disabled, significantly reduced my life expectancy and would make me very ill without medication.
My pregnancy was heavily managed as was my childbirth.

IVF so DD wouldn't be here anyway. But without medical help we would have both died. I had a lovely hippy waterbirth labour in a midwife led birthing centre and dilated beautifully even if it took 72 hours to get there The problem was that DD would not budge down and my back problem meant I couldn't push. By the time they got her out using forceps the placenta had already started to break down. She would have been dead within hours and me a week or so later. I am extremely grateful that I was lucky enough to have both the supported labour and the medical emergency team on hand when I needed them.

i (as baby) would have likely died before or after birth. DM had rubella while pg with me, i was a high forceps delivery, and have a very high palate that made feeding nearly impossible.

haven't given birth yet. but am grateful in advance for the technologies we have available these days. i have a -ve blood type, and babe probably would have been miscarried at 10 weeks without a Rhogam injection. or my next baby would have likely been affected.

If I'd got pregnant (unlikely as needed IVF) I'd certainly have died - 3 litres of PPH would have seen to that. And my son would have died probably as little as 20 years ago since he's a 26 weeker.