So I've heard labour is 'gross'...but just how horrible is it?

[alasia]

Hi everyone, I'm a first timer at this pregnancy thing, so please humour me .

I was just reading through the replies on the 'solo labour' thread and noticed a couple of people saying labour is a bit gross, not a spectator sport etc. And it got me wondering just HOW 'gross' it is?

I'm kind of worried that the bed, or wherever I am at the time, will look a bit like someone's just been slaughtered on it; lots of blood everywhere and that kind of thing - also get vague memories of my school birthing videos where there was lots of umm...'gas passing' and even poo at times!

I've got quite a bad phobia of blood; I've just about got my head around having to have blood tests done but even that gets me sometimes (I regularly used to get really dizzy after blood tests, now if I really concentrate on something else while I'm having my bloods done, I can just about handle it).
It's such a silly phobia, but I even have trouble eating things like tomato ketchup and jam sometimes - because it's red!

I'm really worried that if there's a lot of blood it will really freak me out - and obviously that's the last thing I'll need in labour!

Do they hand the baby to you covered in blood/gooey stuff too, or would they clean him/her first?

Oh - and should I mention this to my MW or just wait until the day when I'm in the labour ward...people tend not to understand about the phobia thing; whenever I mention I have a blood phobia, I get the same reply every time - "it won't hurt!".

That's really not what I'm worried about! hehe.

PS - it's not squeamishness; I know there aren't many people that 'like' the sight of blood, but I completely freak; I get dizzy tyo the point of almost fainting, I've had panic attacks before and I just feel like I need to get as far away as possible from the blood - not an easy task when it would be coming out of me!

I've got 3 dcs and I found that once I got to the point of labour when there was likely to be blood I had totally gone into myself and honestly had no idea what was going on outside the contractions. Like other people have said, I spent most of the time with my eyes closed as well. The first 2 I was on my back on the bed, with my third I was on my knees, leaning over a pillow. I probably saw more 3rd time because I had to turn round and sit down to hold him after he was born.

I laboured in a maternity nursing nightie (mothercare job) that has buttons down to nearly your tummy button so we undid the buttons and my dcs were put onto my chest, no nakedness involved! I chose not to have them cleaned up and, tbh, your adreneline levels are going crazy and you really don't notice the gunky bits, all you see is your gorgeous baby.

The only thing I will warn you about, that I don't think anyone's mentioned, is afterwards, when you have a shower/bath afterwards there is a fair bit of blood then. It doesn't gush or anything but I dripped steadily until I got my legs dry enough to get knickers on, and the bathwater was definitely pink by the time I got out. Hope that doesn't freak you out, fore warned is fore armed and all that!

I'll second what Olihan has said about the bleeding afterwards. It doesn't gush or anything but I dripped a lot - make sure you have lots of maternity pads handy. Sexy stuff labour eh

I've had 3 babies
one towel cleaned
one covered in vernix
and one a bit gooey

I loved them all to death instantly
Dp said oh but he is still wet - no matter he smelt gorgeous to me

Pooing yeah well had 3 poo'd during 2
But I poo everyday so does dp so what...

Blood, you sit afterwards on an absorbent mat, then you abth and you do bleed a lot. Well I have, keep your dh close by if you feel faint as I often did.
Rinse and repeat etc

the baby changes everything, I had a blood and needle phobia prior to having kids.
Now I'm easy.

Ooh thanks kamikayzed, hearing your POV really helped

To whoever mentioned the blood when bathing thing and that MW's sometimes hold the afterbirth up - thanks, it helped to know that too.

I'm sure I'll be fine, but considering just reading these posts (and typing my replies) makes me feel a bit dizzy, I think I need to prepare myself just in case

I'm due in less than a month and I really hate the thought of being naked around strangers too, so I'm making sure I take a few mid thigh length nighties to give me a little more privacy when people are coming in and out of the room.

Even if they're going to be up to their elbows in my ladyparts shortly afterwards, and whether they've seen a million fanjo's in their time, there still seems something wrong about meeting people for the first time with legs akimbo!

My dp is the squeamish type so I'm going to ask him to stay up the head end until baby is coming out, and just pray I don't poo as I don't think he'd ever come near me again.

I think you'd be best off with a waterbirth, it'll all be so diluted it won't resemble real blood, plus baby will have a bit of a swish around in the water before you cuddle him. You could just wear a bikini top or something so nothing's really on display as your lower half would be underwater.

Wish I could have a waterbirth too but my hospital doesn't have birth pools! shame.

I was so concerned last time about exposing my privates during birth that I had a brazilian wax and pedicure scheduled a few days prior to by scheduled birth (was supposed to be a scheduled c-section).

DS ruined this by coming vaginally 4 days prior to my c-section date, so everyone was exposed to my untrimmed bits, and scraggly toenails. TBH, I was too concerned about giving birth, that I didn't care who saw me in my unkemt state.

Just thought I'd pop in to say hello everyone.

bananabump.....you're still going then hun, not long to go now then, awwwwwww so exciting........are they gonna let you get to full term or have they mentioned that they're gonna attack you sooner!!

Hi again RQ! How are you feeling?

Yeah not long to go now, 3 weeks and a few days. They can sod off if they think they're inducing me (they've got no reason to anyway) I'll tell them where they can stick their gel, and it ain't up me!! lol

Of course, if I go overdue I'll probably change my tune. My mil says dp was 6 weeks overdue. I'm skeptical about that, I think they probably just got her dates wrong.At least I hope so! I don't want some massive toddler size baby climbing out by himself!

Hey, here's my email address if you wanna keep in touch: the_pkat at yahoo dot co dot uk