So how much blood and gore is there during birth, exactly?

[RGPargy]

Being from the "lay on your back and open your legs" Old Skool of Childbirth, I never actually got to see how much gunk, blood and gore there is at birth. So now, 17 years later, i'm having my second DC and i am (hopefully) having a HWB. I therefore need to know how much gunk I will be expelling from "down there" during the birth and whether i should be prepared for a scene from Jaws or whether it's just a few floaty bits. My mum told me i didn't poo myself with DS but i still dont know to this day if she just lied to protect me. Should i expect mess from both front and back bottoms??

i had 2 c/s and lost 400/500ml blood respectively they tell me. Didnt stop me looking like i needed a transfusion though

I wonder if the size of the baby makes a difference. I had huuge babies and I had little blood until afterwards when there was gallons. Perhaps there wasn't any space for it to come out before that? Don't know but it was all fairly yuck-free until it was all over.

My waters had already broken by the time I gave birth to both dss (a week before in the case of ds1!)

I remember seeing my notes after ds1 was born, where the MW had recorded a 150ml blood loss and thinking:

a) that's not very much (thankfully!)
b) how do they know? didn't see anyone with a measuring jug
c) how much poo? didn't see any record of that

But delivery room looked very clean anyway, and I didn't look.

I can also recommend not wearing your contact lenses.

Oh im so scared about giving birth, im having sleepless nights already and ive still got 5 months to go!!
I just dont think im gonna be able to do it!!

Lots!
Can second the abatoir experience. DH was a bit horrified, as I was expelling matter from every orifice (was sick a lot too). When they finally got DD out, he remembered thinking that someone had left a tap running. Then he realised that it was my blood running onto the floor . I didn't realise until I checked my notes that it was a cause for concern, and they actually got someone out to check my blood loss. Didn't have a transfusion though, so I suppose it must have been within safe limits.

I was at my sister's hwb and the water was clear until the baby came out, then it got fairly bloody and murky.

At mine, I never noticed any blood or murk because both dh (who was in the water with me) and I were totally focussed on the baby by that point!

No poo in either, but we did have sieves at the ready just in case.

Both dhs would say they are reasonably squeamish about blood, both were in the pool and neither gave a damn!