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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

What was giving birth to you like for you mother?

109 replies

Papillon · 11/09/2006 10:01

Mum had a quick hospital birth with me, I arrived at 5am. Dad was not allowed to attend and so was milking the cows, he saw the sunrise and hence my middle name became Dawn

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edam · 11/09/2006 20:23

My mother had a horrible time with me - standard delivery in those days, I suppose. She was induced due to pre-eclampsia but the stupid junior doc kept insisting she wasn't ready to push when she was. Desperately trying to hang on until my father got there - junior doc answered my father's phone call and said 'oh, she'll be hours yet'. Eventually mother couldn't hold on any longer. I was born while my dad was tucking into a Chinese takeaway... apparently they took the babies away to the nursery, you were only allowed to have your baby at set times, and the midwives automatically gave everyone a jab to stop their milk coming in. Because only oddballs breastfed.

So she chose a home birth for my sister which was a HUGE improvement. And breastfed.

hermykne · 11/09/2006 20:27

my mother ended up back in hospital after me, for a couple of weeks. it was os bad, she had me naturally , labour for over 2 days and i was 10lbs or so and she was petite frame. she was a hippy gal and didnt breastfeed , must ak her if she wanted too or was it as a result of circumstances

bananaloaf · 11/09/2006 20:29

quick 4 hours. gas and air. born at 830am my father didnt know that i had been born until 1000am as communication breakdown .

DashingRedhead · 12/09/2006 10:11

This is really fascinating but reading it I can't help thinking 'our poor Mums!'. Fancy a mw slapping a 16-y-o in labour! They're a tough generation...

Steppy1 · 12/09/2006 10:25

her waters broke but nothing else was happening....mum & dad then had to catch the BUS to hospital whilst she continued to leak (from Battersea to ST Thomas's )...shaved then enema on arrival, Dad shusshed away...contractions started..then out I popped two weeks early just over 4 hours later !!!!

Interestingly I had a similar first labour (though didn't have to catch the bus !!!) when waters broke first no contractions...contractions started 8 hours later...then out popped DS within two and a half hours, 3 weeks early....Both mum and I puked from about two weeks after conception until about 2 days before delivery too !!!

serenity · 12/09/2006 10:27

According to her, she went in - shave and the usual enema and then was given pethadine which put her to sleep. She woke up just in time to push me out.........not sure if she was just very lucky, or if she's blocking the real events, lol.

kate100 · 12/09/2006 10:51

My mum fell over in the snow on the way to the hospital for a check up with my brother and they admitted her for high blood pressure. She's sure the stress of being in hospital sent her into early labour, but the midwife didn't believe her and wouldn't call my dad, until my nanny made them examine her and her waters broke in the midwife's face Long labour ending in a forceps delivery that she won't talk about. Poor db got cut with the forceps and then while mum was having a bath they took db off to specail care and didn't tell her and when she got back to her bed she thought he'd died then as he was in specail acre they wouldn't let her breastfeed pretty terrible or her all round.

I was not surprisingly unplanned, but although I was late and 3lbs heavier than my db, her labour was quite straightforward and she pushed me out on her own, wouldn't let the nurses near me and breastfed me for 6 months.

I agree, our poor mums, thank god things have moved on.

MrsTittleMouse · 12/09/2006 13:12

Mine was AWFUL!
Went into hospital, she wasn't having contractions so was induced with no pain relief except a single shot of pethidine. I was back-to-back, so it was a very long labour that didn't progress. They made her lie in stirrups on her back, even though she was in agony and wanted to go on all fours. And so she ended up with forceps and a big episiotomy (and no pain relief because the pethidine had worn off hours before). I was black and blue and a funny shape, and was whisked off. No-one told her why until she started yelling "what has happened to my baby?" and then a nurse came up and explained the tests that they were doing and promised that she would explain the results to her.
It's the reason why I didn't want children for so long. I just couldn't face the birth.
Of course I'm now 35+1 with my first and trying to forget everything that she and my aunty have told me! She even started telling me about a friend of hers who was stitched up "too tight" last night, until I told her in no uncertain terms that we were concentrating on positive birth stories only thank you very much!

poppiesinaline · 12/09/2006 13:26

They made my mum cross her legs as a room wasnt ready

ShowOfHands · 12/09/2006 13:37

My Mum had very easy drug-free labours with my brother and me. Says (And I quote) "banging my head on the boot of the car hurt more". I do know that there was a student MW who didn't clamp the cord properly and when my Dad cut it blood sprayed up the wall. He was less than impressed apparently. Oh and she was back to a size 8 3wks after both labours. Bloody perfect my mother.

DH's birth was the opposite. DMIL was 21 and 30wks, fainted, rolled down a hill and was rushed to hospital. They found out she had severe pre-eclampsia and moved her to Tommy's, giving her an emergency c/s at midnight. DH was quite poorly for some time.

I wonder if my relaxed and easy birth makes me quite a relaxed and calm person. DH otoh is fretful and anxious. Maybe there's a link.

mrspink27 · 12/09/2006 13:50

My parents werent married so she was treated very badly. Her waters broke in the middle of a 'tea' party she was giving for some ladies! She waited for them to leave and told my dad that I was on the way. She went into hospital about 5 in the evening and was put in a side room. My dad was sent home. She stayed in the side room alone until 5 the following morning, with the occasional head round the dor to check she hadnt keeled over, had no pain relief. Was examined at 5.30am and was told she could push now. Left till 6am I was born at 6.15. with one midwife in attendance for the last 10 minutes or so. SHe was actively discouraged from breast feeding, although she really wanted to, mostly she believes on account of her marital status. She was home by 12 midday. My dad came to pick her up. There was no after care at home, she went to the GP after a week or so and that was that!

mrspink27 · 12/09/2006 13:51

This was in 1972 btw!

VeniVidiVickiQV · 12/09/2006 13:52

Are you Mrs Pink or Mr Spink?

kama · 12/09/2006 13:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

mrspink27 · 12/09/2006 13:57

mrs pink...! mr spink was a friends dad when I was a kid... come to think of it he probably still is her dad... sorry I'll go and blither somewhere else!

VeniVidiVickiQV · 12/09/2006 13:59

LOL!

treacletart · 12/09/2006 14:21

Apparantly she had a very rough time with my elder brother who came face first and she lost a lot of blood. With me she went for an epidural (quite new in '67 London I think) and she tells me she was asked if she wanted to read a magazine or watch! I was a forceps delivery had an orange mohekan and one ear flapped over where I'd being lying on it in the womb - apparantly her first words to me were "God love her - noone else will" Nice!

sockmonkey · 13/09/2006 08:33

Mum was in for a week before I was born. I kept threatening to come, and would change my mind. I bet she was fed up. Dad missed the delivery, but he was the first one to hold me... apparently the put me straight into his arms to calm him down! He kicked up such a fuss he got an appology from the hospital. With my oldest brother she was sick the whole 9 months, and weighed 7 stone when she gave birth. But she had 7 of us,and has told me before, she prefered being pregnant to having periods. there you go

moosh · 13/09/2006 08:51

My mum said she was in hospital all day with me on the day before I was due. She had nothing to eat all day then had half a bit of bread and half a glass of milk and labour began.
She called the nurse as they were rushing along the corridor to the delivery room, mum screamed the baby's coming, they stopped the trolley and I shot out like a rocket in the corridor. My mum said that I was lucky that I didn't land on the floor!!!!

samnbabes · 13/09/2006 08:59

I was born at home my great grandma's house in the same room that my mumwas born in...! Planned home birth, but my mum had to change doctors as first one refused to let her. And told her that she wouldn't be able to b/f...

belgo · 13/09/2006 09:04

My mother?s experience of giving birth in hospital in the 1970s. She went into labour two months prematurely with her first child, my brother. No one could contact my father this being well before mobile phones came into existence. She was alone in hospital, in full blown labour with inadequate pain relief, and she screamed. The first time she screamed the midwife came in and told her off. The second time she screamed the midwife told her off and told her she was scaring the other patients. The third time she screamed the midwife came in and slapped her on the face. My mother was so shocked she didn?t scream after that. Nearly thirty years later and in a different country and I screamed as much for her as for myself while giving birth, until the doctor told me to stop wasting energy on screaming and start pushing (he had a point, it?s hard to do those two things at once).

Seashells · 13/09/2006 09:09

My mum wanted a home birth with me but I was late, so she had to go to the hospital to have me. She brings it up everytime Im ever late for anything grrr.

Dawnybabe · 13/09/2006 11:51

I can't read any more of this. It's making me feel ill! My mum was in labour with me for 30 hours, but am I right in saying they don't let you go for that long now? Cos I don't think I can face that.

lucy5 · 13/09/2006 11:57

My mum was 16 when she had me and told the MW she was about to give birth and they told her not to be silly and she had hours to go. My mother insisted I was about to be born but they wouldn't listen. I was born shortly after, my Grandma had had to pull the MW back into the room.

She had a hard time with my sister, 3 years later, big baby, horrible labour.

18 years later she had my brother, whilst I paced the coridors with my dad. I will never forget his face, I have never seen him so nervous.

My mum was also my birth partner{as well as dh} and she really enjoyed the gas and air

lucy5 · 13/09/2006 11:57

Oh, she also had 3natural births and I had an epidural!

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