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Are we all watching this week ladies?


I know it's wrong, but I can't help but giggle at the young girl causing such a fuss (and the reactions of people around her!).


I COMPLETELY sympathise with the woman waiting for her induction to work - mine took 2 days (so not as bad as hers) and I was on the verge of being admitted to the ward for a "rest" when my waters finally broke. I think if I'd had to wait any longer I would have killed someone, so can understand why she's so grumpy!


I think I'll be watching this online next week from New Zealand, haven't enjoyed TV so much for a long time.

Yes, an ironic name if ever there was one ;-) Having spent a couple of days wandering aimlessly round the Kings labour ward listening to half of South London successfully having babies while mine was staying put I can sympathise with her. As trivial as it seems, I also found that silly things like when my meal was coming and pillows/TVs etc became ridiculously important to me, as it felt like they were something I had control over!


I found it interesting that the senior midwife had never had children - to me, midwifery wouldn't be a career I'd even have thought about without going through childbirth. She seemed very old school, but the sort of person I would have liked to have looking after me.

That's harsh Pickle. I don't think she never wanted them. It's not long ago that no woman contemplated having a baby without a supportive husband or partner. If any of you know anyone that's gone down the single mother route knowing that would be her lot, I think you'll find it was not an easy choice.


If you expect all midwives to have had children before they've given birth themselves I'm afraid that's a pretty tall order.


You can no longer train as a midwife without entering a three year course with no bursaries available. In all honesty, how many of you would be willing to do that with small children to look after. Or even older children?


Do we set the same benchmark for teachers? How can you understand my child's need when you've never had one of your own?


That might be an unfair analogy but food for thought.

Thought last night's show was brilliant. The young girl's mum was great I thought, felt quite sorry for Ed the dad, he seemed so bewildered, but I loved it when he said 'your mum hugged me - think it's the first time she's done that when she's not been drunk'. classic. Pickle it was def an insight into the frustration of an induction not taking effect. I thought it was pretty bad they forgot her lunch given she's a diabetic...

I thought the midwife/co-ordinating nurse lady seemed lovely and yes someone I'd def want looking after me, just so calm and polite too. Also t hought the way they dealt with the changing situation with the young girl and going to c-section etc was all done really well.

Ann, I didn't mean it in a harsh way. I certainly don't expect all midwives to have children themselves, was just saying it from a purely personal point of view - in that before I'd had kids I'd never been exposed to midwifery to have ever considered it as a career. I guess it's different in her case, as she said she comes from a family of nurses, so she would have been exposed to the different aspects of nursing from early on.


The young Dad was very sweet, scared out of his wits, but bought a tear to my eye when he held his little girl.

The programme completely terrifies me - the pain and anxieties of giving birth. Have never been through proper "natural" labour (only early labour and a C-section), and worry about how much it could hurt and losing it, like the young woman who was screeching etc.(scary when the heart-rate went down). Her bloke seemed sweet and in need of some confidence-boosting.


Loved the moaning diabetic lady.

Fair enough Pickle. You did say she's the sort of person you would like to look after you and I agree, there's nothing wrong with a bit of old fashioned professionalism.


Smiler please don't be too frightened, so far we've seen two women strapped to a monitor lying flat on bed. There will be many on here who have had other experiences.

I'm due in 2 weeks (first baby) and I've found this show to be brilliantly compelling and actually reassuring in an odd kind of way. It feels a really non-judgemental view of the birth process and the characters involved, even the 20 year old girl who annoyed me so much in the second episode moved me to tears when she and her partner cuddled their tiny daughter. Great telly!

Only just watched this episode today - it was great, can't wait to finally see Joy have the baby next week.


Was shocked to see how the young girl was carrying on, realised yet again what an easy time of it I had. I do think people have different pain thresholds though, and she just wasn't in the right frame of mind to cope with the pain, no matter what. Amazing how different she was once she had the Pethidine though. I know Pethidine can cross the plancenta - is there any evidence that it can cause the heart rate to slow down, does anyone know? I know it is banned at some hospitals and not others, and just wondered, given how her labour subsequently progressed.


Molly

A doctor-friend told me that pethidine is dished out very readily in hospitals that allow it because it doesn't require a doctor to be present.

Apparently provides little to no pain relief in half of the woman that receive it!


The epidural is the only sure way of pain relief for woman who are not coping

I think some woman have different pain thresholds and also different labours can vary in the extent of pain experienced


I felt really sorry for that young girl

She was clearly very shocked at her pain but her mum was great at being firm but fair with her

I watched the last episode last night - oh my word...


The programme generally makes me feel TOTALLY horrified at the thought of going through labour in hospital - looks so awful. I had a lovely home birth planned this time last year - then it all went wrong with a couple of weeks to go and pretty much ended up being told to have a c section. I REALLY want to have a natural birth next time - but hate the thought of being in hospital!!! Can you have home births after having had a c section? As others have said - none of the women really seem to be having a very positive experience (apart from end result, obv) or be in the 'zone' at all.

I had pethidine and wished I hadn't bothered as it did absolutely nothing.


Snowboarder, yes you can have a homebirth after a C section. My midwives (The Lanes) said they would be happy if I wanted to do that for my second even though I had the first at Kings after an unsuccessful homebirth.


Must get round to watching the second episode soon.


-------------------------------------------------------

> A doctor-friend told me that pethidine is dished

> out very readily in hospitals that allow it

> because it doesn't require a doctor to be present.

>

> Apparently provides little to no pain relief in

> half of the woman that receive it!

Hi Nappy Lady, I'm sure this is what you meant, but I just wanted to clarify for others reading your post - I don't think different birth experiences are *just* a case of people having different pain thresholds.


Some people's contractions may simply be a lot more painful than others. For example, my sister-in-law let me know that the contractions in the early stages of her labour for her first baby were 'painful but bearable' (equivalent to v bad gas pains) and gradually increased in intensity, but for her second baby the contractions were unbearable right from the start. I doubt that her pain threshold suddenly decreased between the two births - rather, it seems more likely that she was simply 'luckier' the first time round. I'm completely aware that perception of pain can be increased by things such as fear, feeling alone, etc etc. but none of these applied to my s-i-l.


As another example, a fit and brave friend who has climbed Kilimanjaro and has also run a marathon had a horrendous birth experience - despite having prepared with yoga, childbirth classes, breathing exercises, etc. She described the pain until the epidural kicked in as the worst possible torture one could ever imagine. Her pain threshold is sky-high, and she's one of the bravest people I know, so I guess she was just unlucky. As a final example, an old school colleage who I remember as being the biggest wimp ever (cried, screamed and generally 'made a huge fuss' at injections, took a week off for a twisted ankle, etc) remarked that her labour was 'easy' and was bearly worse than period pains.


So, I guess this all goes to show that you never know what sort of experience you're going to have. Perhaps the 20-year old in 'One Born Every Minute' was simply having particularly painful contractions. In other words, anyone reading this who needs/needed to have pain relief right throughout their labour shouldn't feel less 'brave' because of it or blame their low pain threshold.

Thanks Newcomer for that input because I have been surprised by the amount of mothers on various websites commenting on the way the young girl was behaving, I never once thought when I was watching the programme that she was being over the top because I just naturally presumed that she must have been in a lot of pain, and I don't think anyone would be over the top just for the sake of it!

I always thought I had a strong pain threshold, I even pierced my own nose when I was young, always went gym, walked everywhere, and so on, but the moment the pessary kicked in, I was in absolute agony, I could not walk, sit down, sleep, I had two shots of pethidine, I had various tablet painkillers, it did not work,I had gas and air, and I have never ever known such pain in my life and I spent hours in pain, when I was rushed to the labour ward, I could not push, the midwives were really rough and was attempting to hold my legs open in order to get me to push but I couldn't, the pain was so intense that I automatically kept closing my legs! I ended up with an epidural, and I still felt all my contractions, I had the maximum amount ( kept hitting the top up button non stop!!) then they had to come and give me another epidural as it didn't work properly on my left side, and I STILL felt the contractions but it was more bearable. So I think people should not comment on how people deal with their contractions unless THEY personally are experiencing her pain ( which is not possible) then they can comment. If anyone has told me that I was overracting I would be so angry because I was in horrific pain.


My sister however, cannot take any pain, is completely unfit, is a bit of a lightweight yet she gave birth with no pain relief or anything. I was very jealous!! The next day she was off shopping and going around to people's houses. I was housebound for weeks after my episiotomy which got infected which means I ended up back in hospital for treatment...

So I don't think anyone should be bragging about keeping calm, and she was making it worse etc, each labour is unique to us and it might be hard for people who had reasonable easy births to understand, but some of us have absolutely horrible births and no amount of keeping calm, preparations etc will make the pain lessen! I know for a fact that nothing would have made my pain easier ( apart from the midwife inserting the pessary in the right place for a start but who is to say my pain would have been any easier?)


Looking forward to seeing tomorrow's one, especially Joy by name but not by nature!!

Hey - huge apologies to anyone who felt upset by my post, not my intention at all. As I said, the main thing I realised (yet again) is just how lucky I have been. People said after my births how amazing I was, but I never thought I was, I was just plain lucky, and that's all.


I am in no doubt that some labours are much, much more painful than others (to clarify I didn't actually say it was 'just' a case of pain thresholds), I know much more to it than that, things like baby's position and size etc. all make a huge difference.


I do keep wanting to tell these women to get off their backs though because I found it hugly painful to be on my back during a contraction - I know it may be different for others, but in the footage some of them don't seem to even try other positions, and in the case of dilating I've always been told that getting upright so their head is pressing on the cervix will help to speed up dilation.


Anyway, sorry again if I caused offence, really not intended.


:)) Molly

Hi Molly, many thanks for your reply - I completely understood your original post and where you were coming from, but I felt I should comment in case anyone had misconstrued it/read it too quickly.


And I thought the same thing as you when I saw the girl lying on her back - I couldn't work out why no-one seemed to even suggest getting off the bed. She was already in great pain, so there would be little to lose from trying a different position, and it might have helped. But perhaps she had already tried it, and that part simply wasn't included in the documentary.

Oh my word, I spent most of last night's episode in tears. Firstly for Lisa finally being able to cuddle her baby and take him home, but mainly during the commercial break when it wasn't clear whether that newborn baby was going to make it or not, he was so lifeless and floppy for a while. So heartbreaking for his parents, but amazing when he started to cry.


He came good in the end, but I thought the husband was a complete and utter tool during her early labour. Berating her for not being able to decide what she wanted to do, and making comments like "you were 4 centimetres, your probably only 1 now! - helpful!


Did anyone think that the midwife featured last night who seemed to be part of a group akin to Brierely etc was really good at her job, but exceptionally irritating? If I knoew she was going to be my midwife throught out my pregnancy, I think I might have had a go at swapping!

I agree with everything you said vickster. That lady's husband was soooo horrible when he was just going on and on about how she should have just had a c section in the first place bla bla bla. In his pre-birth camera piece he was saying how his management course would help him talk to the midwife if he didn't agree - yeah right - he waited until she was out of the room until he moaned about everything and had a go at his poor wife.

I was crying within minutes of the program starting. I can't believe how amazing and strong that lovely girl was. She was so good at explaining her feelings and honest about (jokingly) being jealous of the nurse feeding her baby and her partner holding him/her.


As for the other mother... I couldn't believe how much pressure was put on her by both her husband and the midwife.

I can't get the quotes out of my head

'I didn't think i'd be allowed to have another paracetamol...'

I felt it was the midwife's 'itch' to do a VBAC and not the mum's...

'I hope I'm not calling you on Thursday to bring the mother in for the c-section' i.e. i hope she hasn't 'failed'


and the dad was pressuring her to opt for an c-section so he 'didn?t have to sit in a room for another 30 hrs'...

poor poor woman


As for handing her her lifeless baby! What was that about? I can't get that image out of my head, let alone the poor mum. She looked decidedly traumatised by the whole thing and i'm not surprised.

This programme (and even this thread) continues to completely freak me out 'cos of the pain and unpredictability of childbirth!


Yes, the waterbirth was amazing - the baby's head was just hanging there in the water calmly for what seemed like ages and the mother was so serene.


Admired the mum who had previously had a C-section, she was brave, especially given her (as Vickster has said) complete tool of a bloke. In addition to berating her for attempting natural labour and being negative when she was in the midst of it and the midwife had nipped out, he said "millions of other women do this, what's wrong with you, do you have a low pain threshold or something?" (she hadn't even moaned about the pain) and moaned that the midwives weren't listening to him and how long HE had been waiting around. GRRRR! But did warm to him a bit more at the end when he was all emotional and the baby was initially unwell - terrifying.


The girl whose baby was in the SCBU was really articulate and honest.

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