what are the things that you wished people would have told you about labor and delivery?

Question

I'm 9 weeks pregnant...

Answer 1

This is a good question - one which i read eagerly as i am due in 4 weeks time.

During my prenatal classes we were told that we could request an enema prior to the birth to rid the body of the "poo" so it doesnt come out during delivery. Whether it works will remain to be seen but my sister did it for all 3 of her children and said she highly recommends it so i will be asking for one straight up too.

Its all very scary but when you think about it, if it was THAT bad noone would do it twice. Perhaps i will have different advice in 4 weeks time after i have delivered. I am scared but it has to happen and it is sooooo hard to sleep now that i am happy for him to come out when he is ready.

By the way i am writing from Australia. I too have been watching all the American discovery shows on childbirth - they are fun to watch but i am sure being a spectator isnt really preparing me for the real thing.

Congrats on your pregnancy and GOOD LUCK. May we both be blessed with a healthy baby and a trouble free birth.

Answer 2

This is a great question. Before I got pregnant until I had my daughter, I loved to watch all those TLC/Discovery programs on having children....Maternity Ward, Labor & Delivery, etc. Mom has an epidural, she relaxes, all is well, baby comes out and Mom is excessively happy.

WELL, I wish I knew that life isn't a bowl of cherries. The epidural didn't take and the pain went from a 10 to a 4 and back to a 10 again. By that time, I was already too dialated for an epidural re-do, so I felt the whole thing baby.

My nurse was a born-again Christian and I had potty mouth...so we didn't get along so well. She also took her mandatory break when I started pushing, so I got a "stranger" in the room helping me push (I actually liked the new nurse better). They were unprepaped for the birth and told me to "stop pushing" (yeah, right) while they "found" a doctor.

Finally, my daughter was born. I was NOT happy. I literally felt like a Mack Truck had just hit me and my bed looked like someone had been murdered in it (very, very bloody). Everyone was so happy and kept asking me, do you want to see her? Do you want to give her her first bath? And all I wanted to do was sit there and take a break!

Finally, my daughter ended up with a serious genetic problem and was whisked away to a nearby Children's hospital for treatment. I spent the first night alone in my hospital room and checked myself out the next day so I could be with her. It's amazing when you ask around how many people don't have "perfect" births or something is wrong with the baby.

Sorry to be a downer. I dont' mean to be. I'm just telling the truth. Gather stories from everyone you know and you will get a taste of what it is really like. I treasure my experience for just that...it's MY experience and I lived it. And I got my daughter out of it.

P.S. - she's perfectly healthy today.

Answer 3

Extra bonus, no charge: during pregnancy, your ligaments will relax. This means hip bones, back, knees. If you're a runner, you'll want to tone it way down because your body won't take the jarring like it did.

As far as labor and delivery, it's REALLY painful! But you can deal with it if you choose to. A friend once compared it to having the biggest poop of your life, and yes, it's kind of like that--pushing and whatnot. But it's different muscles. Find a prenatal exercise class in your area (believe me, it will help). You'll be exhausted at the end of this adventure, but you won't care because of the beautiful little miracle they put in your arms.

Also: bring some throat drops. Could be Jolly Ranchers, Halls, doesn't matter. Whether you go natural or with pain meds, you'll be dehydrated at the end, so you'll want to moisten your throat. They don't let you have anything except ice chips during delivery, and that blows. So have some throat drops for afterwards.

Congratulations, and good luck!

Answer 4

I wish they would of told me to not rely on everyone else's opinion on the birthing process. To just listen to my body and go with the flow. To not demand pain killers before labor really "kicks" in. I wish they would of told me about natural birth aka birthing center. My first hospital labor and delivery was horrible, now I'm due in two days and have become extremely confident with the Midwife and birthing center I have chosen to stay at. Good luck and if you pick up only one thing from this advice, I hope it's to do your research and listen to what feels right for you and your unborn. Good luck

Answer 5

To talk to the hospital first before preparing a birth plan, every hospital has different policies and you must be aware of their practice to ensure the birthing experience of your choice. Also.. remember to be flexible. Some things don't always work out they way you plan.

I wish people told me that my hair would fall out after the baby was born. Trust me i was quite shocked.

Nobody told me about round ligament pains while pregnant either. This would have saved me a few trips to the ER.

Answer 6

Don't worry enjoy your pregnancy, It's a beautiful thing. No one is the same. Everyone has a different experience. Think positive and prepare yourself. Go to Lamaze classes for natural childbirth. There you will learn breathing exercises that will help you in your delivery. Hope you have a healthy baby. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

Yes, you will poop when you push. If someone tells you otherwise, and they delivered vaginally, they are lying to you. I wish someone would have told me about the bleeding afterwards. I had to wear grannie panties and depends. Plus, I didn't even know what a peri bottle was...but I made it and am doing it again, lol.

My hubby was intreged by the whole process. He's from India and normally the guy misses all the good stuff. He said he peaked down there and said it looked like a "war zone" and he didn't know how I even recovered. lol.

Answer 8

I had "back labor"...my daughter was facing face up instead of face down (in normal deliveries, the babie's face is pointing down when they are delivered) so the back of her head rested on my lower back! My experience was that all of the pain was in my back. I felt little or no discomfort in the front. So, not all labor pains are felt in the belly area, some are in the back!

Answer 9

I took the whole Lamaze class and everything. I didn't realize that they would still try to push the drugs...etc. I thought it would be a more natural experience. If I ever get pregnant again, I would like to have a homebirth or at a birthing center, not a hospital.

Answer 10

I had a c-section not a vaginal birth but this is kind of a silly thing but at the hospital I was at the automatic blood pressure cuff really hurt. I didn't have bad contractions so for me the blood pressure cuff hurt worse than anything else.