" My mom , after a difficult birth , was told by a nanny , ' Put some physical composition on . Your husband is soundly - bet . You need to look good for him . ' "
1.“My mom’s obstetrician was smoking a cigarette when he checked in on her room shortly after giving birth to me.”
2.“I think I cost my dad about $100 with no insurance, including a week in the hospital.”
— Gwsb1
3.“My grandmother always told me that at two weeks postpartum, they would allow ladies to sit on the edge of the bed and swing their feet. They’d tell them, ‘At two weeks you can dangle!'”
— The_Motherlord
4.“My dad told me about his cousin being born inHawaiijust days before Pearl Harbor happened. At the time, it was thought to be dangerous for women to get out of bed for the first month, so the nurses were apparently freaking out about having to evacuate all these postnatal moms without damaging them.”
5.My first child was born on a military base in an Army hospital. No epidurals allowed ‘unless we have a student who needs to practice.’ I had a long, rough labor, and at one point, a nurse popped into my room to let me know that my groans were annoying the doctor and I would need to stop making so much noise."
— Hexagram_11
6.“My great-grandmother was a famous Appalachian midwife. She delivered over 2,000 babies in her home throughout her career. These were very poor women who could not afford a hospital, nor did they think a hospital was necessary. Tough women. During the last week or so of pregnancy, the expectant mother would move in with my great-grandmother. She stayed in the birthing room. This was because getting a ride to her house was tough. Abject poverty, people didn’t own cars, and had to rely on others. So the women stayed with my relative to be ready when the time came.”
" I was present for a few parentage . I did n’t help out , I was only ten or so , but I pick up and saw thing . Once a woman went into labor , my Granny would have her do chores around the house . Sweeping , work on the farm , things like that . plainly , it hastened confinement . During the actual birth , Granny would rub a lotion on the woman ’s vulva to help with the process , bring in it less likely the woman would tear . There was some screaming , but not a raft . Most of the women were fairly silent . Like I enunciate , bad as nail .
My smashing - grandmother was featured in both People and National Geographic . She get a draw of recognition for her work . "
— LyricalWillow
7.“My mom, after a difficult birth, was told by a nurse, ‘Put some makeup on. Your husband is good-looking. You need to look good for him.'”
8.“We were cautioned about over-the-counter drugs, smoking, and alcohol, but nothing like mothers today! So many foods are on the forbidden list now. I feel sorry for pregnant women. Too many things to worry about. Also, everyone today knows how many weeks along they are. We used to count in months. Ultrasound was new, and my doctor was very cautious about it. La Leche League was big. It met in people’s houses. And Lamaze was strongly encouraged.”
— Sparky - Malarky
9.“Hospitals used to give away a lot of free stuff courtesy of baby product companies. With my first baby, they gave us a diaper bag filled with things like a changing pad, pacifiers, formula samples and coupons, a grooming kit, diaper and wipe samples, and coupons. The hospitals near me now don’t give any of that now, and you even have to bring your diapers and wipes because the hospital doesn’t provide those, either.”
— Mammoth_Ad_4806
10.“I was born at a Catholic hospital in 1968 that didn’t allow epidurals or any other pain relief for religious reasons. My mom had been induced, and they needed forceps! She switched to the non-denominational hospital two years later to have my brother and said the epidurals felt like a miracle!”
11.“My mom had all her kids in the ’60s. She said you went to the hospital, you were prepped, and when it was time, you were sedated. Then you woke up from sedation, and they handed you your baby. She had no memory of the actual births of any of us. She said given how much it hurt afterwards, she was glad for the pharmaceutical help. Neither she nor I could understand why anyone would choose to give birth unmedicated.”
— Lollc
12.“In 1982, my 33-year-old mother was regarded as a very much geriatric pregnant woman. Yes. At 33.”
— Cepsita
13.“In 1979, my dad was the first father allowed in the operating room at the hospital where I was delivered via C-section.”
14.“Had my first in 1960, second in 1962. First time, I had no real idea what to expect. When I asked my doctor beforehand, he (old-fashioned) replied, ‘Don’t think about it, mother, I’ll do the work.’ I was completely unprepared. The nurses couldn’t give me anything for pain without the doctor, and he wasn’t there. The nurses tied my hands to the bed to keep me from getting out of bed. The doctor finally showed up and had to use forceps on me. It was really traumatic in the true sense of that word. Next time was with a different doctor, and nitrous oxide for pain, much easier.”
— madqueen100
15.“In 1969, my mom asked her doctor about drinking while pregnant with twins. He said, ‘Just don’t drink so much you fall down!'”
— Jaded_Primary_2361
16.“My mom took diet pills while pregnant with me. Doctor approved in 1964.”
17.“When my mom had me, the nurses actually pushed her to use formula and kind of looked down on her for breastfeeding, even though my mom was a walking milk fountain. When I gave birth, they really pushed breastfeeding even though I couldn’t produce enough for my kids. I actually wanted to breastfeed, but I just couldn’t do it.”
— Dull - Geologist-8204
18.“In 1991, my labor was screaming hard. It felt like my back was being broken. I was in the hospital because of mild fetal distress and going on my 18th hour since my first contractions, when I BEGGED for an epidural. I was interrogated about HOW I even knew what an epidural was. I still had to wait until the next day because the ONLY anesthesiologist that could administer it had pulled a long shift, was sleeping, and couldn’t do it until the next day.”
" I was in labor for a total of 48 hours . And then , they only gave it to me because they think they would have to do a C - section . After my pain shed , I induce some sleep , and my infant decided it was finally time to come out .
The frost on top was that my insurance resist to make up because it was deemed unnecessary . Best $ 6,000 I ever spent . "
— Crafty - Shape2743
19.“My mom was told to feed me orange juice in my bottle at 6 weeks. The doctor’s note is in my baby book. Also, my mom’s generation was told to use evaporated milk mixed with Karo (corn syrup) when formula was not available.”
20.“I have two sets of twins, born in 1975 and 1987. Both sets were full-term. I did natural childbirth with no medication both times. With my older twins, I knew I was expecting two babies in my 4th month after having an X-ray. The second set of twins was a surprise; we didn’t know there were two babies until the first one was born. Ultrasounds were done then, but not routinely. My OB just missed the signs. Nowadays, multiples are often a mandatory C-section. Going without an epidural or pain meds isn’t super common nowadays either.”
— Single - Raccoon2
21.“When my mother gave birth in the ’50s, she was strapped down to the table. She was a nurse, and back then they thought the woman would get so hysterical she might try and pull the baby out herself.”
— FunStuff446
22.“When I had my son in ‘89, moms were encouraged to put babies on their stomachs to sleep, which it was subsequently discovered puts babies at greater risk for SIDS.”
23.“My great-grandma, who was just 19, had her first child alone in her bed during a storm. Her husband had to go 5 miles to get his mother to help. No car, electricity, telephone, or running water, and by the time he got back with help, the baby was already out. Can’t imagine how scared she was. Great grandma had her last of 6 kids in the hospital.”
" My mum had my first sibling out on a gurney in the vestibule because the hospital was full . A doctor say her she was n’t dilated enough and left . 20 mo later , my mum told my dad to observe someone because she had to fight . A nurse came and order her to squeeze her pegleg together because there was n’t a doctor useable . Mom said it ’s come out regardless . A unseasoned house physician listen the din , follow over , took one look at my ma , and save the baby 10 transactions later . "
— Tardislass
24.“My mom said that when she gave birth to me and my sister, there was a refrigerator on the maternity unit with dark beer in it for nursing moms. The idea was that it encouraged the milk to come in, and that there were nutrients in the beer. In my day, we got to stay in the hospital for five or six days to recover from childbirth and to rest up while someone else looked after your newborn.”
— WilliamTindale8
25.“My kids are 30, 34, and 36. Epidurals were one and done. No topping them off like they can do today. So they made us labor for longer before they’d give it to us, so it wouldn’t wear off before the baby was born.”
26.“My mother was 38 when she had my youngest brother in 1955. (I was 11-1/2 and the oldest) He was the planned fourth child. She wanted to have a spinal block and watch him be born. My father thought that was dangerous and took the doctor aside and told him to put her out. She was so angry when she woke up. That’s how it was then. Women had almost no say in things.”
— OrchidLover2008
27.“My mom said she was alone in the labor area for hours when she had me. No one was allowed to be with her. No TV. Nothing to do but watch the clock.”
— fishchick70
