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Childbirth

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

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Original poster

who gave birth lying on a bed in hospital?

160 replies

ratclare · 27/10/2006 15:43

why do they make us do this ? surely standing or squatting would make this easier ,what with gravity and everything . I am a nurse and i would only make some one have a poo in bed if there was no physical way of getting them out !

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twinklemegan · 27/10/2006 22:19

Like DumbledoresGirl I tried, or was made to try, virtually every position known to man before giving birth on my back. (Why do they never tell you in the 'active' birth class how bloody horrendous it is to change positions at all at that stage?!) My birth plan was to avoid lying on my back at all costs, but apparently my pushing was much more effective in that position and it seems it was the only way my baby was ever going to come out!

3andnomore · 27/10/2006 22:21

No sue, never heard of that book! hmmm..sounds interesting enough, lol!

3andnomore · 27/10/2006 22:23

Just loooked on Amazon, and shall be getting that book!

lucy5 · 27/10/2006 22:35

I was on my back as I was induced, on a drip and had an epidural.

notasheep · 27/10/2006 22:36

OMG! couldnt lay on my back,all fours for both dd and ds was THE position for me

Loshad · 27/10/2006 22:52

Well much to my embarassment I had DS1 lying on my back, even thought the very nice midwife kept sayin "you don't have to lay there" and so on. I had just been so overwhelmed by the very quick first stage ( well under 90 mins) that I wanted "them" to deliver the baby. as a result it took another 90 mins of my ineffectual pushing to get him out
had the rest of them in much better positions - iirc keeling for each - DS3 in particular just fell out I was leaning against sofa - DH and midwife on other sofa drinking tea and chatting, remember hearing midwife say to DH "oh look, she's pushing", couldn't reply as was busy. DS3 emereged with that single push and midwife lept off seat and grabbed him just before his head hit the florr

pesha · 27/10/2006 23:15

Had to lie on my back with dd as i was being monitored constantly due to dds heart beat dipping with contractions, it was agony, all the pain was in my back and i think it would have been so much quicker easier standing up.

With ds i was lying on the bed and mws asked if i wanted to get up and move around, i said id just lie on my side a minute first, rolled over, waters broke, i dropped my gas and air and ds popped out 9m mins later with dp holding my leg in the air!

NatalieJane · 27/10/2006 23:21

I couldn't have stood up if I'd have even had my head together enough to think about doing so!

I was on my side during the labour but turned on my back for the birth, and it all went fairly quick (I went from 6-10cms in less than an hour, and had pushed him out head and arm first in around 15 minutes, not sure I'd have wanted it any quicker TBH!)

Drusilla · 27/10/2006 23:25

I did - it was all extremely quick. The midwife kept encouraging me to move but it was too uncomfortable when I tried to move

expatmama · 28/10/2006 05:31

flat on my back on delivery "table" with stirrups - with midwife pushing down on the top of bump (strange practises in belgium....)

i have read the "red tent" suedonim - i think the bricks were for putting the labouring woman's feet on - she was then in a supported squat (people either side of her) but the elevated position made it easier for the midwife to see what was going on?

GarfieldsGirl · 28/10/2006 07:39

ds1 - I had all the monitors on because I couldn't feel the contrctions so I was just propped up a little.

ds2 - mw tried to get me on all fours or squatting, but it didn't feel right, so I laid on my side.

ludaloo · 28/10/2006 07:48

dd1...had an epidural so yes
ds... no epidural,,bounced around on a ball.. had a bath...got on all fours...lay on my side...hung over the back of the bed...eventually found sitting up slightly on the bed the most comfortable.
dd2... so quick I almost had her in the car...just managed to clamber on the bed in the hosp...get my trousers off, be checked out...1 push and she arrived!

So yes..all 3 at hosp on a bed

dizietsma · 28/10/2006 08:39

Laboured for 27 hours with DD posterior which made sitting down very painful, basically paced the hall the whole time. Eventually transferred to hospital for pain relief and was given a walking epi, but spent most of the remaining 10 hours snoozing on my back until just after my waters burst when I got on all fours and had a lovely straight-forward 2nd stage.

FoghornLeghorn · 28/10/2006 08:45

I did with DD. Had epidural and couldn't even pull myself up the bed when I was sliding down it, let alone get out of it.

Ended up in stirrups with episiotomy and ventouse but a beautful DD

helenmelon · 28/10/2006 11:07

I did it in bed, but then it's difficult to have a ecs on all fours!!!!

However, in my long, long, long labour beforehand, I tried loads of positions that helped - although when I had the epidural, after 21 hours, I was pretty much restricted to the bed.

Just listen to your body!!

bananaloaf · 28/10/2006 12:01

ds1 was on my back. stirrups etc due to epidural and ventouse. ds2 i was on my knees. had been sitting up on the bed, couldnt actually bear to stand in the last stage

sleepfinder · 28/10/2006 13:11

I was on a bed on my back in hospital too - and was quite surprised about it.

They thought my legs were going to be too weak from the epidural for squatting and insisted, from the start - not knowing me or the strength of my legs particularly well!

BATtymumma · 28/10/2006 13:14

And me, both times.

if i ever do it again i want a birthing pool.

CountTo10 · 28/10/2006 13:20

I gave birth lying on a bed purely because every time I tried to move position I was violently ill. I'd wanted to stay as mobile as I could and managed it up until an hour after my waters broke. The midwives were trying to get me onto all fours or at least standing/sitting up but I felt like I was made of lead and as I say kept throwing up so in the end I was quite happy to be lying down!!!

beegee · 28/10/2006 14:11

Ds - in hospital, bed, stirrups - you name it

Dd - home - moving around on all fours. Lay on the couch (as that's what my body 'told' me to do) and pushed her out in three pushes
IMO homebirth rocks in whatever positon you end up delivering in!

Tommy · 28/10/2006 14:37

with DS1 I was on my back, feet in stirrups for forceps delievery (byt hat time,I didn't really acre as long they got him out!)

With DS2 I was lying on my side on a hospital bed - that was how I was most comfortable

PinkTulips · 28/10/2006 14:43

with dd i was kneeling on the bed leaning against the head of it and it wa great

with ds i had stated in my birthplan that i wanted to be in the same position, got into it as soon as i entered the transitional phase as it was so full on i knew i wouldn't be able to later on, informed the mw i needed to push, she didn't believe me and when she saw i was pushing she insisted on me turning over and lying down so she could examine me, at which point ds was crowning and i physically couldn't turn back over. it hurt like fuck compared to pushing out dd.

except for that ds's labour was actually easier so am a bit peeved i was forced to push in a position i knew would hurt more, on the other hand i was in such pain i pushed so hard to get it done quickly that he was out in 5 mins!

PinkTulips · 28/10/2006 14:45

hospital rues were that the mother has to be on the bed btw, doesn't matter what position but she has to be on the bed for the midwives to have easier access. as if i care about how the mw is feeling while trying to push a baby out my fanny!

FesteringAtForty · 28/10/2006 15:06

I was on my back (with bed head up at an incline), I?m sure the alternative would have been to be sprawling around on the delivery room floor as my legs wouldn?t have supported my body . After (very voluntary) induction the contractions were floor smackingly painful and close together, so didn't allow for sessions of walking around in between - well don't think I'd have made it very far if I had tried .

It didn't once occur to me to move - maybe I?m unusual but I actually quite like being on my back, usually sleep like that.

I'm also glad I was monitored throughout, DD suddenly became distressed in 2nd stage labour and had to be delivered by the registrar very quickly by ventouse. On delivery she was found to have the cord wrapped tightly around her neck 5 times, it took the combined efforts of registrar and MW to cut it off (unwrapping wasn't an option as it was pulled too tight on the way out). Crash team came but she was okay with just oxygen.

I had pethidine thank the lord, the pain and distress would have been unimaginably worse without that and the G&A.

My complications were unusual but personally I felt that the way that my labour was managed was right for me, especially with the way things turned out. With a slower labour it might have been different.

NOMurDErousPLUME · 28/10/2006 15:13

I delivered on my back on a bed, but laboured standing up

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