Off topic: for any woman who has given birth

[Lindagerr]

1st time I was 20 yo and scared to death! I had no idea what to expect, I was not allowed to do lamaze class because my DH could not do it with me. (This was almost 36 years ago) I remember the Dr. yelling at me at one point beacuse I was making too much noise during contractions.

2nd time I was 33 yo had done Lamaze with new DH and I was just a little scared I would be too loud and yelled at by another Dr.

3rd time All I cared about was my baby being alright I had Placenta Previa and had gone into premature labor at 31 weeks. I spent the next 5 1/2 weeks in the hospital. My 2nd wasn't yet 2 and I was a little worried about having a teenager and 2 babies.

[Scholar Interrupted]

1. The pain
2. Not recognizing it (in time)
3. The pain

[cframe]

1st: The process -- I had no idea of what to expect: birthing room? how long would we be in there? where did they take baby? A walk-through would have helped.

2nd: Scared to be sent home so soon afterward (24 hours).

[okiemom]

1. I was young, ignorant and didn't question the doctor. Labor was induced, gas was used and I don't have any real memories of the actual birth.Didn't get to see her until she was several hours old.

2. Quick delivery. Didn't make it to the hospital. Son was born in front seat of car.

3. Another quick delivery. We did make it to the hospital that time. Water broke while being admitted.


Sorry, I just read the original post.

1. Afraid of everything. The pain, being a Mom, leaving the hospital with a newborn.

2. Afraid of not making it to the hospital.

3. Afraid of not making it to the hospital.

[cookderosa]

Thank you ladies!!! Keep em coming!

[pddung93]

That's great. :iagree:

[cjzande]

I knew giving birth would be quite painful - I chose natural birth for both my kids, so no drugs whatsoever - but I've had RA since my late teens, so pain is something I simply live with. (That's not to say the birth process wasn't *more* painful. Of course it was; felt like someone was ripping my back wide open, but I knew that was temporary pain and worth the "cost" so I accepted it for what it was.)

So, no, I wasn't afraid of the pain.

As for the well-being of my kids: I'm a Christian. I prayed frequently while pregnant with both my children and I went into their deliveries feeling quite peaceful. I knew everything would be all right, and it was. My daughter was actually rushed off to ICU with fluid in her lungs, but I still wasn't afraid. She was a healthy weight and size and I knew she was going to come out okay. (Which she did, 24-hours later.) Also, I had the peace of knowing I had many friends and family members praying for me and my babies at the time, and that, of course, helps as well.

And as for some of the other things people mentioned - I think my issue is, along with almost never feeling afraid, I have pretty much NO shame. Heh. I was so unconcerned with people seeing me give birth, my husband, mother, and mother-in-law were all in the room with me for my first born, and I signed paperwork saying that I was perfectly all right with a class of med students observing the birth of my second. That didn't actually happen. She was born so quickly, at an odd hour - dinner time - that there were no med students about. But, yes, I would've been fine with it. More than fine, actually. If they somehow could've learned something from it, that would've been great.

Oh, and I didn't yell at all, but even if I had, that wouldn't have embarrassed me, so I wasn't afraid I would. Again - NO shame. Had I yelled and someone said something to me after, I probably would've laughed at them. I can't imagine any already-gave-birth-at-least-once mother calling out another mother for screaming/yelling/cursing during childbirth, and so that only leaves people who have never actually been through the process - and what the heck do they know?

[Maniac Craniac]

Sorry for intruding on this thread, as a childless male :eek:, but I have found the posts here to be educational. Thank you everyone for your honest contributions.

What is a DH?

[cookderosa]

Sorry for intruding on this thread, as a childless male :eek:, but I have found the posts here to be educational. Thank you everyone for your honest contributions.

What is a DH?

>>

DH = dear husband. I'm finding them educational too

[april004]

I was afraid something would be wrong with my son. I was told by my ob/gyn my labs were off. I had an 80% chance of having a son with down syndrome. I was told to abort.

But i didn't.

I know it sounds awful...

I didn't want my son to have down's syndrome....(of course I'd love him still) but I did want him to be normal.

Anyways, that's what I was afraid of before labor. I wanted a normal baby. Not one that had down's.(no one crucify me for saying that,ok? I am just being honest.) I was afraid he wouldn't be normal.

He's 4 now. Learned to read at age 3 on his own. Alot of people say their kids are smart....but ...my son is off the charts. I really don't know how it happened. To go from possibly having down's syndrome to reading books with no pictures...lol

Glad I didn't abort due to erroneous medical advice.