I asked my grandmother what she had known about birth before having a baby and she said....

[Pruners]

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It's amazing, isn't it?@dizzy
My gran passed away 15 yrs ago. I was young at the time, with no kids, and didn't really appreciate just how amazing she was in that respect. Mind you, her neighbour had 17 children. Can you imagine?

My gran had ten sisters and one brother and apparently four who didn't survive childhood - so by my reckoning that's sixteen bloody kids .

Mind you, they didn't have mumsnet back then to distract them of an evening

Dh's aunt (now in her 70s) went in to hospital to have her 1st baby age 18 & didn't know how babies were born! The doctor had to tell her!

My mum is the oldest of 5 all born in the 30s and 40s. My grandmother had all of them at home (a small 3 bed semi), but my mother remembers nothing about it, even though she's about 12 years older than her youngest sibling so would surely have been aware of something. I wish I'd been interested enough to ask my grandmother about it all before she died

My granny had her first aged 40 in 1941 and her second 2 years later at 43. Both my mum and uncle were born by cesarean. I imagine her situation was quite rare at that time.

I sometimes wonder if we'd be better off if we knew less, especially if we had not seen so many US movies and films portraying a woman roaring in agony with her legs in stirrups. It causes terrible fear and childbirth does not seem to be a universally awful experience...

My Granny went into hospital to have my mum and didn't have a clue what was happening. She was put in a bed and told by the midwife that under no circumstances did she want to be woken up and then was left to labour on her own all night !

No, I think when it comes to childbirth ignorance is NOT bliss!

My stepmum's mum had her at home, and was all ready to get up and start caring for her new daughter (and probably make the doctor some tea) when the doctor said 'here comes the other one!'. She had no idea she was having twins - both 6lb +!!

my mum's friend had twins like that, apparantly it was quite common 30 or so years ago to have twins and have no idea until labour!

My Grandmother had her second at home all alone, My Grandad was away due to WW2 and she was home with my Aunt who was about 5, her mother lived next door but was deaf as a post, she delivered my uncle over 9lb and was found on the floor in a 'right state' she went blind afterwards (stress?) and had a bit of a 'breakdown' my Grandad was sent home to care for her

My grandmother had 11 children. My aunt, who was one of the oldest, was in the room when one of her siblings was born. She was about 4 at the time and in a little crib, which was covered by a sheet so she couldn't see. But she could hear everything.

My mother had her first baby in 1952 and I don't know how much she knew about what was happening, but she does remember that she wasn't allowed any gas & air or any other pain relief. Can't think why, as it wasn't a particularly quick birth, nor were there complications. When she had me, eventually the following decade, she was offered g & a but didn't want it.

My mum had my eldest sister prematurely nearly 40 years ago when she was 19. Her waters broke at around 33 weeks and she went into hospital and was booked in. She said that later that day she started telling them that she needed to push and she was told for about an hour 'Don't be so silly, of course you don't' and 'you don't know what you are talking about, be quiet and let us get on with our work'!

She eventually just pushed and my sister was born quite quickly, put in an incubator lined with foil and fed condensed milk. She never breastfed as she was told that she wouldn't produce milk because of the premie birth adn didn't try with the rest of us as she was always convinced she wouldn't be able to. She is fascinated with me BFIng now and is constantly asking and poking, tis most annoying.

My second sister was breech and to see what position she was in they squashed my mum's belly between plates and x-rayed her at 36 weeks, but they squashed so hard they burst her waters and she was born the next day!

GP's don't discuss birth, ever!

Chirpy my dh was 50 this year and his mother was X rayed shortly before giving birth too.

these are amazing stories... my grandma didn't get married until she was 40 (career gal) and her first child, my uncle ian, died after a few days. she used to cry when she talked about the priest coming into the house to say the last rites over this tiny wee thing. she had two other children though, my mum and my uncle, and went out and did three jobs to pay for my uncle's medicine because he was a sickly child. she died when i was 11, you know, and i still miss her...

This is a fascinating thread.

More please!

Sorry I didn't mean to be so light-hearted there. I just find it so interesting how childbirth has moved on in the last century.

there was a BRILLIANT programme on R4 a few months ago talking to midwives about their experiences. one midwife was weeping about what the medicalisation of birth had done to women's autonomy (and her guilt at the way she had treated them while labouring in hospital), and longed for the days of women attending to women in the home. i know that's at odds with these stories, but it was very compelling.

Can you honestly imagine being pregnant going through labour, one baby popping out then another, you must go into shock for about 5 years afterwards

My Gran had 6 in total, one before my Granpa went to war then none whilst he was away for 4 years then 4 in 3 years 9 months when he came back. My Mum is the youngest and after no5 she was told to have no more but my Granpa and my uncle bought a pack of 3 Durex from somewhere and there is less than 3 weeks between my Mum and her cousin (was a dud batch)

whoever said the Irish do it with minimal fuss clearly hasn't met me!

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Aitch - I heard that on R4 too, but women birthing at home when they are empowered and know what to expect is a good thing I would think, so not at odds with most of these stories.

More please, this is facinating (and I speak as someone who had DD 18 years after DS1, and I saw the changes in that "small" time gap)

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I always wonder about things like 3rd degree tears, I assume women weren't stitched or if they were it would have been crudely and without antiseptics/antibiotics. I wonder how many women had horrendous injuries from childbirth and just had to get on with it.

my nanny did tell me that when a baby died - the next same sex baby born to the community always took that babies name