CarlM

Well folks, with only 7 weeks to go, Mr and Mrs M went to childbirth classes yesterday. Gone are my illusions of Mrs M having some slight discomfort and no mess - in came lectures of blood, bowel movements and hours of agony.. (how attractive)

This is a first for me - is it really as bad as i'm thinking??? We watched 3 videos of babies being born, and now im a big advocate of Caesareans!

Leslie

You're gonna cry like a little girl.

Celsius

It doesn't matter what you're thinking. It's your wife who's going to be the one who'll need the support.

evoal2003

You already did your part. Drop her off then, wait in the local
pub until she needs a ride home.

Elsie The Maid

Thank you for taking the words out of my mouth!

snowbunny

NO, it isn't as bad as you are thinking.

If you're in the delivery room, and your wife is delivering vaginally, you'll be up by her head and supporting her head, neck, back as she pushes. You won't be able to see any blood/bowel movements/etc unless you look or look in a mirror. Besides, *usually* those things are signs of progress -- that the pushing is effective -- and you'll be relieved of that. (The blood usually comes from tiny blood vessels bursting under pressure, the same as causes a bruise, and it really doesn't hurt).

As to "hours of agony" -- it's more like hours of exhausting effort. The actual pain varies from woman to woman, and whether she decides to have anaesthesia. I have heard that induced births cause more painful contractions than spontaneous births, but it's hard to know because both of mine were induced.

While a c-section may seem to reduce the amount of work beforehand, it increases blood loss and recovery afterwards. It's far more painful afterwards, they usually take the baby for observation, etc. While sometimes medically necessary it shouldn't be used to "minimise" the amount of work beforehand as the process of going through the birth canal helps the baby's lungs work better after birth (squeezes a lot of the gunk out). It's also a less abrupt transition for both mother and baby to have a vaginal delivery.

I guess I looked at it this way: there wasn't any way to change my mind, the baby was going to have to come out some how!

frrussre

I watched my 1st son being born 1973 UK, back then was not that popular for husbands to be in the room. The guy in the room next to ours passed out on the floor, eventually the nurse led him out on his hands and knee's (This is true stuff), turned out he was a cop. Hope he got better at it, on the job.
Reg. Frank R.
Breaka leg, hope all goes well for the 3 (or 4 /5) of u.

CarlM

I gave the nurses the number of the pub.. not sure theres much else i can do..

robskatie

As an expectant Mum who knows she will be having a c.section, don't assume it's the easy way out, my OH will be cleaning and being a taxi driver for weeks, and boy will I milk it
Come on man, give your wife some support, she will be doing the hard work!

Hiro11

I know nothing about natural childbirth but I've watched both of my two kids born by Cesarean (note the spelling). It's a startlingly literal/low tech procedure: they cut your beloved open and pull out a baby. I know it sounds obvious, but the impact of seeing it happen right in front of you to people you love is simply indescribable.

gruffbrown

Yep, it's worse for the mother though

blaze

You might be a big advocate of cesarians but your wife probably won't be, been there once, can't say that I want to go for a second time!

snowbunny

Yeah, they cut every single layer and have to be careful to NOT nick or cut the bladder or bowel. It's highly invasive abdominal surgery, and just because it goes right most of the time doesn't make it any less invasive. In fact, because of the size of the incision needed (6") and the fact that most surgery these days uses microscopes and endoscopy, you could have just about any abdominal procedure done and it would be less cutting going on than with a c-section.

gruffbrown

Thank you Doctor Snowbunny

robskatie

They actually tear the muscle and not cut, this makes for better healing.