What does it feel like to give birth?

Diamond Doll

SAMTALK wrote: »

Im enjoying this thread so much because I know I'll NEVER have to go throught any of this again
I remember a friend of mine going in on her first. She packed her bags and put a box of tampons in for after the birth. :D:D:D:D
Innocence is wonderful

Oh good lord!

Actually, for anyone reading this who's currently pregnant. DO NOT do what I did, and use a mirror to have a peek down there in the couple of weeks after giving birth. I only did it because it actually felt quite normal within a couple of days, so I wanted to see if it looked normal. I was traumatised! Seriously, don't do it. (It did all spring back to completely normal within a few weeks though!)

Digs

Lucuma wrote: »

you didn't even have to keep it to show the midwife?!

Fwiw I was in Holles street and there was no interest in my post birth first pee, no bucket, container or otherwise! I had no trouble anyway, it was a very unremarkable occasion

I didn't have an epidural or anything so I don't know if that makes a difference or if they were busy and just forgot!

Oryx

My strongest memory of the whole process was the feeling of being trapped. You were stuck doing this thing till baby decided to arrive. Your body dictates everything - no breaks, no wimping out, noone can do it for you, the only way out was keep going. I felt alone, surrounded by all these helpful people !

Diamond Doll

Oryx wrote: »

My strongest memory of the whole process was the feeling of being trapped. You were stuck doing this thing till baby decided to arrive. Your body dictates everything - no breaks, no wimping out, noone can do it for you, the only way out was keep going. I felt alone, surrounded by all these helpful people !

Oh big time! I begged the nurses to let me go to the loo - they wouldn't let me because they had the clip thing on the baby's scalp because there were signs of distress. The thing was though, I didn't need to go to the loo - I had this idea that I could escape out the window and the labour would just stop for a couple of hours, because I couldn't handle it any more. Don't know if it was the gas and air making me think that or what, but it seemed like a genuine possibility at the time.

January

Dolbert wrote: »

Wow, it was lot easier in the rotunda. We were given a plastic measuring jug and just told to note the amount of urine before flushing.

I never had a jug or a cardboard hat or anything like it and I gave birth 3 times in the Rotunda and once in the Coombe!

Whispered

Coombe here and didn't have to pee anywhere but the loo either.

Penny Dreadful

SAMTALK wrote: »

Im enjoying this thread so much because I know I'll NEVER have to go throught any of this again
I remember a friend of mine going in on her first. She packed her bags and put a box of tampons in for after the birth. :D:D:D:D
Innocence is wonderful

I want to say "aww". The poor girl. My sister had her first baby this year and was traumatised by the sight of maternity pads. She couldn't understand why heavy flow regular pads wouldn't do fine.
All I could say was, they just won't, buy these and trust me you'll be very glad to have them".

Diamond Doll wrote: »

Oh good lord!

Actually, for anyone reading this who's currently pregnant. DO NOT do what I did, and use a mirror to have a peek down there in the couple of weeks after giving birth. I only did it because it actually felt quite normal within a couple of days, so I wanted to see if it looked normal. I was traumatised! Seriously, don't do it. (It did all spring back to completely normal within a few weeks though!)

I didn't need stitches or anything which was a rare and unusual event especially with a first baby. I had a look a while later. Its not for the faint hearted all right.

January wrote: »

I never had a jug or a cardboard hat or anything like it and I gave birth 3 times in the Rotunda and once in the Coombe!

I had my daughter in the Coombe and when I wanted to use the bathroom post delivery I just went straight to the toilet and there was no issue with that.

Whispered wrote: »

Coombe here and didn't have to pee anywhere but the loo either.

Same here. Never a mention of any jugs or cardboard bowls or the like.

Diamond Doll

I would have thought the measuring pee thing was only if you had an epidural, because of the catheter. Might be wrong though.

By the way the catheter was one thing I wasn't expecting with the epidural! Can't remember getting it in or out, but I do remember being a bit freaked out when they said they were going to put it in.

Penny Dreadful

Diamond Doll wrote: »

I would have thought the measuring pee thing was only if you had an epidural, because of the catheter. Might be wrong though.

By the way the catheter was one thing I wasn't expecting with the epidural! Can't remember getting it in or out, but I do remember being a bit freaked out when they said they were going to put it in.

I had an epi and it still wasn't an issue. The only thing the staff wanted to know was if I had any difficulty a) getting myself to the bathroom - once I didn't they were grand and b) that I had no difficulty actually going to the toilet.

IvyTheTerrible

I can't see the issue with weeing into a jug if that's what the nurses ask you to do. They aren't asking for the fun, like.

ShaShaBear

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I can't see the issue with weeing into a jug if that's what the nurses ask you to do. They aren't asking for the fun, like.

I wasnt asked to do it with my first, but was on my second. I had no issue really, except the jug got mighty heavy about halfway through

January

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I can't see the issue with weeing into a jug if that's what the nurses ask you to do. They aren't asking for the fun, like.

No issue just baffled that so many have been asked to do it when I haven't.

Diamond Doll

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

I can't see the issue with weeing into a jug if that's what the nurses ask you to do. They aren't asking for the fun, like.

Yeah like I said, I didn't do it, but I agree it was silly not to! I don't know, I guess I was pretty wrecked and drugged up, it wasn't a logical decision. I don't actually have any real issue with being asked to do it.

Dolbert

Lucuma wrote: »

you didn't even have to keep it to show the midwife?!

They literally just wanted to know the volume of our 'output', they were happy to take our word for it! Because I was being monitored for high blood pressure pre-delivery, I had to do it then too, and note how much fluids I was taking in as well.

Xdancer

I didn't have to pee in a jug or anything other than a toilet either. I was told to go to the loo before being moved back to my room just to see if I could.
I did faint after using the loo though. The midwife came in, saw me on the floor (my OH had called her) and she asked what happened. I said "I think I fainted", her reply "why?".....what was I supposed to say to that???

My afterbirth experience was fairly uneventful. No stinging pee despite a 2nd degree tear and a mountain of stitches. First bowel movement was a bit slow, but not very painful. No piles either.

Diamond Doll

Xdancer wrote: »

I did faint after using the loo though. The midwife came in, saw me on the floor (my OH had called her) and she asked what happened. I said "I think I fainted", her reply "why?".....what was I supposed to say to that???

LOL what an eejit.

What I hated about after the birth was not being able to shower straight away afterwards. I didn't get the epidural until I was about to push (even though I was looking for it from the start) so it didn't even start to kick in until after the baby was born. So I wasn't allowed stand up for a few hours. I just felt absolutely MANKY having to lie in a hospital bed still covered in all sorts of bodily fluids from myself and the baby.

Actually one bit of advice I'd give to a first-time mum ... I often read to pack travel-size toiletries in the hospital bag. I was glad I went for full-size ones ... I felt so absolutely disgusting that I used about half the bottles in that first post-birth shower! Besides which, the midwives told me to shower four times a day (couldn't manage it with no one to mind the baby, but did have as many as I could) and also you may end up in hospital longer than expected. So I reckon it's best to bring the big bottles just in case!

They also refused to let me bath the baby for four days, now I know it's good for them to leave the vernix on, but his hair was absolutely drenched with dried blood and they wouldn't let me wash it. When they finally let me, four days later, it was so dried in that it wouldn't come out and I think it was about two weeks later before we finally got it all out. It's just not nice looking at your tiny newborn with his hair soaked in blood! And quite embarrassing explaining it to people too, as though we never washed the child. I should really have just gone ahead and bathed him in hospital anyways, or at least washed his hair, but I was too scared to do it without a nurse there.

Digs

Diamond Doll wrote: »

LOL what an eejit.

What I hated about after the birth was not being able to shower straight away afterwards. I didn't get the epidural until I was about to push (even though I was looking for it from the start) so it didn't even start to kick in until after the baby was born. So I wasn't allowed stand up for a few hours. I just felt absolutely MANKY having to lie in a hospital bed still covered in all sorts of bodily fluids from myself and the baby:o

I was the same, I didn't have an epidural so literally the minute I got to the ward after delivery I asked could I have a shower! Nurses were happy to let me go if I was.

Aside from feeling like I needed the scrub of my life I had such a fast labour I needed a minute to myself in the shower to go WTF is after happening to me!! :O I remember my mind spinning and to be honest being in a bit of shock!

Dobbit

+1 on the shower. I had an emergency section but my spinal tap wore off really fast (I had my epidural topped up 3 times during my 14 hours of active labour which was great fun) so I wanted to have a shower when i got back to the ward but the midwife told me she couldn't bring me, I didn't ask her to bring me, just let me go!

I also had to pee in some weird carton thing but the midwife never even bothered to ask how much was in it.

Sometimes I feel like I missed out not having experienced a natural birth but to be honest I think I'd be happy to get a section again having done it once.

Ms2011

My lovely lady pooped all over me when she was doing skin to skin & because I had to have a epidural to be stitched in theatre & then my passing out spell in recovery I didn't get a shower for 24hrs after the birth, I felt disgusting but boy was it the best shower ever by the time I did get to have it

Lashes28

Oh Lord and then there's the after birth pains .Like niggly Labour pains even tho you have already given birth...apparently they get worse the more babies you have because the womb is so stretched out.

Fyi no pee counting in the Lourdes in January,maybe it's changed will report back in February lol

myshirt

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon? I know in my own case it was a point of dispute between my wife and I.

RentDayBlues

myshirt wrote: »

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon? I know in my own case it was a point of dispute between my wife and I.

Who was disputing in which way exactly?

Diamond Doll

myshirt wrote: »

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon?

Not unless someone is a complete total and utter prick.

mirrorwall14

It seems to be an Internet outrage issue for some crazy nutters. Me I was supposed to have an early epidural. Instead labour was so fast all I got was gas and air which made cough (asthma) and my ventolin (apparently it can slow contractions??!).

I was dead lucky on the shower front tho, no one was available to transfer us from delivery to a ward because the shift was changing so I got an amazing shower in the delivery suite fab shower (I was a public patient) with my husband doting on the baba just outside the door

ChewChew

The shower thing for me was awful!! I had my baby on the Monday afternoon and I wasn't allowed to shower untill the Wednesday afternoon!! Ugh!

I had spinal tap as we ended in an emcs scenario so I had a catheter in but no one mentioned anything about my first wee! I was aware of the first poo though so asked for a bit of help to make sure that came along! and ye mention the heavy jugs after doing the first wee... I had to do two twenty-four hour urine collections and well, that was fun. The heavier the container got the more I was tempted to just pee in the toilet the glamour!

cyning

myshirt wrote: »

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon? I know in my own case it was a point of dispute between my wife and I.

My labour with epidural was far more difficult and far more painful than my one without. Anyone who looks down on someone for any of their birth choices has issues... It's all a personal decision.

Lisha

myshirt wrote: »

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon? I know in my own case it was a point of dispute between my wife and I.

Yeah, after you have approx 10 teeth removed without any form of anasthetic what so ever, you might have some idea.

Lisha

cyning wrote: »

My labour with epidural was far more difficult and far more painful than my one without. Anyone who looks down on someone for any of their birth choices has issues... It's all a personal decision.

It's not even a decision at times. Each labor is different and so is managed differently. No one is in full control of their labor. It is better to take each contraction as it comes and any decision is the right one. The most sensible thing is to listen to the midwives (and consultants) as needed and to trust yourself.

January

myshirt wrote: »

Are women who get epidurals to be looked down upon? I know in my own case it was a point of dispute between my wife and I.

Why would a woman who has gotten an epidural be looked down on?

Lashes28

I was pooped on and peed on by baby when we were waiting for placenta to be delivered. But I was showered and in my fresh pjs within an hour of having her .Can not fault the mlu at all