POLL - are you a screamer, a moo-er or eerily silent during labour?

[MrsTittleMouse]

From the "lying down to be examined" thread - there seem to be a few of us who begged to be examined because the midwives didn't believe that we were in labour. It happened to me, and I was completely silent during contractions, so I assume that it is more normal to be vocal. Is it? No judgement call about whether any method is "better" by the way - I'm in the "whatever gets you through" camp.

Ten10 did you give birth in a large teaching hospital in Scotland? Because I bet that off putting banshee was me... I screeched and screamed and grunted from start to finish. It felt good to make that much noise!!

i groaned and mooed
was always polite though

There always seemed to be a screamer somewhere on the ward when I was in labour. Just to terrify the living daylights out of me. I remember swearing roundly when given my first internal examination unlike the most gentle soul in the next bed who just cried quietly.

was labouring nice and calmly with first baby listening to ladies in rooms on either side rattling the beds of the wall screaming......then when it came to the end i lost my voice from screaming dh said i sounded like an animal caught in a trap.

baby no.2 i actually cried more as it was more intense but screamed less

eerily silent

Full blown, 180 decibel, shuttle blast off screaming of exceptional duration and quality. Every four minutes for about 3 hours.

I knew those eight years of singing lessons would pay off .

Unfortunately my home birth coincided with the beginning of the university term here in Cambridge and we're right next door to a college accommodation block. Cue lots of scared looking first years unloading duvets from the parental estate cars and wondering if there was some sort of college initiation ceremony they hadn't been told about

Definitely a screamer when it comes to the "ring of fire" but other than that, not much of a noise maker in general. I was cracking jokes with ds1 though, and I've got some prepped for this baby's birth in March.

Gut wrenching, animal in serious pain, wailing, screaming and mooing here. 5 solid hours of it. Final stage yelling "GET IT OUT" repeatedly (poor DS, he was an "it" for quite a while).

No rudeness, except when DH said that his knees were hurting at which point I unleashed the forces of hell on his sorry ass.

I had a home birth, and am due another in June. Am going to provide neighbours with complimentary industrial ear plugs for this one.

Screaming, apologising, politly saying'please take your hand out of my vagina!!' begging/pleading with everybody and anybody to get it over with!

Screamed and moo-ed. Really moo-ed. The epidural guy even seemed shocked. Then whinged. Then 'I am past caring' silence during stitching session, but that may have been due to the G & A they let me keep sucking on.

I was rather sarcastic during my stitching session, I'm happy to say Bloody brisk-fingered doctor telling me I was too tense.

I was quite until pushing and then made a sound that my husband described as being like "an old moose". was effort though!

sophie

I was more a swearer. I stayed silent for the contraction then swore like a sailor after each one.

Not proud of my potty mouth but dammit it felt good then.

swearing and pig like grunts/squeals

scream. I never even knew how till I was in labour.

Would do a lot to swap with meg and be a whinge and grumble type.

I had an ECS in the end but through 12 hours of contracions I was silent during them and when they stopped I would piss myself laughing with shock but I have a very low pain threshhold so was more body shock than bravery apprently

When my mum had twins she sat in silence from contracions until they were both out, then cried and said was the most traumatic experience ever. She didn't have any drugs or even G&A as she had a bad time of them with me. She did take the little thing you breath through off the end of the G&A hose thing though becae she wanted to bite down on it

I am in the 'eerily silent' camp except that I kept saying 'sorry' every few mins for being so loud . The midwives and DH kept telling me that I wasn't making any noise - I must have been screaming and mooing inside my head.

I did say 'ouch that hurts' at the ring of fire though...bit of an understatement. The midwives awarded me the prize for most apologies in a labour, it was a homebirth and they kept telling me how busy it was at the hospital, so I felt bad that I had 'stolen' them away from other labouring women.

Huge bellower. which is strange as I am reasonably reserved normally.

I sing.......

other than that apparently I'm mainly very quiet and - my DH's words - 'supportive' . He finds labour traumatic bless him.

Silent.

The pain comsumed me I had no energy to make any noise.

Dh and midwife chatted away constantly though, watching telly and chatting about big brother etc. I was fuming inside, I wanted to scream 'shut the fuck up', but couldn't.

I was silent up til 8cm dilated, mainly cos i though i was constipated and not in labour. Once i was up on the bed and had the waters broken i think i did a bit of yelling and something like a cross between a scream and a moo. A sort of MOOOAARGGH!

I was very quiet, I never felt the urge to make any noise either - way too embarassed. The MW and all the docs who came in commented on how calm I was throughout my 25hr labour!!!

Ignorance is bliss, not sure i could do that again

eerily silent with occasional swearing at medical professionals trying to boss me around

later stage sof labour that is
in early labour I went to Somerfield, had a cake in a cafe and then went to Tumbletots