What type of bed was I forced to give birth on?

[Bloodybrambles]

I arrived into hospital at 4cm after showing signs of infection during my home birth.

The next 12 hours I spent squirming around on this ‘bed’ before having a C-section for failing to progress.

I’m now pregnant again and I’d like to put on my notes that I do not want to be on my back, on this stupid couch. I spent the whole 12 hours getting tangled in wires or kept sliding down the stupid thing. The midwives kept dragging me back up the ‘bed’ or pushing me away from the sides.

I was told that baby didn’t like any other position than me being on my back. The only time I had any relief was when I was able to sit up for my epidural. I think DD was back-to-back.

It’s like some weird fever dream as women on TV/social media seem to give birth on an actual bed. I’m not sure if I started off having sheets/a pillow and they fell off too or I was on this bare medieval method of torture the whole time.

I gave birth on a thing like this, on my knees and with my elbows on the headrest. They’d raised the whole thing up so midwife could get close to the action without stooping over too much. I don’t remember too much but I think the bed I was on was wider than the one in your picture.

My baby is 8 months old now and this photo sends a little shiver down my spine! That’s what I laboured and gave birth on too, all of the “beds” in the labour ward were like that where I was so assume it is normal!

Women aren't designed to give birth on their backs at all! Baby would actually prefer you to be squatting or on all fours. They started putting women on their backs for the benefit of doctors being able to see what they're doing.

Yeah, but it's only wimmin so we can all shut up and go away and stop talking about barbaric birth procedures in the NHS.

We have Labour ward beds more like this where I work……but certainly no beds like what you’d have in a bedroom. When they say baby wasn’t happy unless you were on your back were they saying that the heartrate was dipping or did they mean they were struggling to monitor the baby’s heartrate unless you were on your back? You could also ask about a wireless ctg machine so no wires to get tangled up in next time. Try and stay off the bed as much as possible, ask for a birthing ball, mats, etc and sit on a ball, kneel on mats.

With dd1 I moved from a lovely stand alone midwife led birth centre to a hospital when there was meconium in my waters. I was on a bed with sides but like you was on my back for hours and the contractions were awful. I had to see a consultant with dd2 as I had a retained placenta. It was fine, I had to agree to the injection to stimulate the placenta straight after birth and would be allowed to labour in the onside midwife centre. But there was no insistence on any type of birth apart from being told not to have a home birth as the risk was too high. I told the consultant how horrible my back was and she said she would include it in my notes and I could request to labour on all fours and only go on my back for monitoring. Dd2 was much easier and no problems at all.

I keep hearing that women aren’t comfortable giving birth on their backs, but surely everyone in the western world gave birth in their beds before hospital births became common? On top of that it’s only been recent history that male doctors were involved at all so I find it difficult to believe that the UK had centuries of midwife lead home births and then suddenly male doctors turned up and changed the whole process entirely. Mind you I’m speaking as someone who was extremely happy to get an epidural and lie on a bed.

It was something like that for me too. Kept on sliding down it even though I didn’t want to or mean to. I remember the midwife scolding and saying to move back further up and finding that really difficult with the bump and while in pain.

No, that’s not correct. Historically the vast majority of women gave birth in the upright position, standing, squatting or kneeling- not lying on backs in beds.

There are some valid reasons for labouring on backs though, in my case my daughter’s heart rate kept dropping and spiking during my labour, I was on the monitors constantly throughout and when I was moving around the monitors weren’t staying in position properly whereas it was easier to keep them there when on my back.

My first was an epidural birth so had a bed like the one PP has posted above, the bed OP has posted is what I'd expect in a physiotherapy cubicle or something?
My second was on a soft play style sofa thing, although I birthed in the pool.

The difference is with my second I was very certain of what I did or didn't want, and I made it clear with my partner so he could advocate for me and on my notes beforehand.

Back to back babies sometimes can need you on your back due to heart rate changes but that doesn't mean your midwife shouldn't work with you unless baby is in immediate danger i.e heart rate dropping.
Your pelvis is 40% more open by not delivering on your back (not a factual medical person just what i was told)

OP you are in charge and if your not sure, if you don't get communication from your midwife tell them what you want/need and get them to work with you.

surely everyone in the western world gave birth in their beds before hospital births became common

No. Google "birthing stool"

I find it difficult to believe that the UK had centuries of midwife lead home births and then suddenly male doctors turned up and changed the whole process entirely
Why do you find that so difficult to believe?

@Bloodybrambles the photo in yur OP is the one if a massage table. Even the wider ones would have you falling. It’s just wide enough You could just let your arms rest on the sides.

Youd find those tables if you see a physio, massage therapist etc… Its not designed to give birth!!

My first reaction would be they had run out of beds and that’s the best they had found as emergency to increase capacity.

Im sorry.

First birth I was on my back giving birth, I arrived 8cm dilated, and after examination I could not move, so had no choice, but to stay on my back, very painful experience.
Second baby - I told the midwife that I did not want to lie down again. The student midwives listened, and told me that once the examination was over, they would make sure I changed to the birthing position I wanted (all fours).
True to their word they did this. I was actually on the floor on a mattress holding onto a bed. Perfect, delivered very quickly, no need for any pain relief or intervention.

I listed my wishes in my birthing plan.

Looks similar to an examination table, which they'd have in MAU or Gynae. Absolutely nothing like a bed they should have within an actual labour ward. Sounds like OP never made it out of MAU before being taken for a C-section.

It's probably a story I'm perpetuating, but I heard it originated with one of the kings of France liking to watch his wife/mistresses give birth. So he forced his doctors to get them onto their backs for the actual delivery bit. Though it actually being so the doctors could see better would not surprise me one bit.

Show your midwife a picture and ask them? Looks barbaric

My waters broke before contractions started (a proper Hollywood style pop and gush) so was told I had to come in after 24 hours because of infection risk. Surprise surprise 24 hours later I called up and was told there were no beds, but that I still had to come in and they’d find somewhere to put me (like an Amazon parcel). I spent my first six hours in the MFAU waiting room, sitting on a hard plastic chair with no pain relief, screaming and gushing fluid with every contraction sitting next to women who were coming in to check if they had miscarried - awful for them and for me. Then 12 hours on a temporary bed something a bit like your picture, except it was entirely flat so only options were lie on back or stand - essentially a bench with a hard plastic cushion on it. Then 24 more hours in a proper birthing bed.

Funny how they tell you beforehand to try to stay really calm and positive to let the oxytocin flow

@Mrsttcno1
I was also back to back labour, maybe that’s why I wasn’t feeling so active.

@Mulledjuice
i completely forgot about the birthing stool, maybe I have always assumed they were a European thing.
I find it hard to believe because if women were having multiple kids in other positions, why did everyone just suddenly throw their birthing stools on the bonfire, shrug and climb into their bed? My mother in law gave birth to her kids at home with a midwife so I don’t even know how many male doctors were attending births demanding that women stay in bed? You’d think they’d have a birthing stool in the car boot or something if they were that much of a game changer… Im sure I’m wrong though, I’m only thinking out loud to put off doing housework 🤷

It's just another case of women being oppressed. When male doctors started attending births (100s of years ago) they were terribly uneducated and suggested horrible practices (until very recently they had a much higher mortality rate than midwives), and kept telling people that midwives were pointless and they were much better. Male doctors fought against the midwife trade, and tried to prevent any kind of certification or standardisation being in place.

Of course, I'm generalising male doctors here, there were some nice ones who fought on behalf on midwives but unfortunately oppression and missinformation was the status quo.

By the time midwives were finally allowed to practice in the 1900s, it was with the agreement that it was following male dr proceedures, including lying on bed when giving birth.

I'm paraphrasing all this from The Mayes Midwifery book chpt 1 (it's an official midwifery textbook), but it's been about a month since I read it so am a bit hazy on exact details. It's available in Waterstones but quite expensive: www.waterstones.com/book/mayes-midwifery/sue-macdonald/gail-johnson/9780323834827

Are you sure they forced you to give birth on a massage table, what hospital was this?

I saw a picture of a 1950s leaflet about giving birth at home and it had lots of pictures of ladies walking around, bending over the arm of a sofa on tip toes during contractions , kneeling on the bed holding the headboard etc etc and lots of advice on a range of positions that may/may not be more comfortable during labour - so I don't think that home births were usually in bed on your back - call the midwife might be a bit unhelpful here.

I walked straight into the labour ward as they were worried I was going into shock due to the infection I had picked up. There was a birthing pool in the corner of the room which I asked to use which the midwife looked back at me like I had three heads.

Thinking about it, when I transferred into the hospital I was immediately under a consultant, I had at least one midwife in the room with me throughout. But there was a birthing pool in the room. I thought that birthing pools were just on the midwife led unit? Maybe the labour ward was full so I was bunged in the MLU on whatever ‘bed’ they could find? But then again, lots of other women recognise something similar. When I go in for my appointment I’ll make it known that I refuse to use anything similar especially if I’m expected to lie on my back. I’d rather go straight for the C-section.

I gave birth on something that looked like the bed @FeegleFrenzy posted. But I turned around, was on my knees, and leaning forwards against the raised back of the bed. They did tell me to turn around but I refused.

That was when I was pushing. Before that I was moving around, had a birthing ball, was in and out of bed etc. I was being monitored because I was induced but they didn't stop me moving around.

There is no face hole on an examination table though. And I didn’t think the bottom part is dropping??

🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Regardless, as you said, unsuitable to give birth.

You don't need a better bed you need better midwives. Have you considered a home birth? Speak to your midwife about your options and tell them about your last experience. No normal midwife is going to advocate for you to labour in an uncomfortable position for no good reason. And remember you can say no to anything at any time.