Childbirth mess.

[Joe_the_Lion]

Not being a father nor ever witnessed a childbirth, I was just wondering if the mothers (and to a lesser extent, the fathers) are weary of all the gunk that comes out with the baby.

What I have seen on TV, it looks like some roadkill has just popped out with blood, gunk, jellyfish, a string of sausages and amidst it all a little bundle in the shape of a baby. The midwife or nurse then wraps the baby and the gunk in a blanket and hands it straight to the mother. I am sure in the olden days they had a bath first. The mother often kisses her newborn whilst the baby is still all manky.

My question is,

Is the joy of childbirth and subsequent smarting of you minny stretched to its hilt, more over-powering than worrying about tasting some baby gunk and getting your maternity gown all gooey with muck?

Also, how long is it til they bathe the baby, and does the gunk smell?

[Doc Spock]

Strange question, the placenta is also known as the after birth because it is discharged from the womb after the child is born. When the umbilical cord is severed the placenta has yet to be discharged. Is that about right ladies.

[cazzz1975]

I am sure when you make an honest woman of ummm you will find out joe ;)

[rugeleyboy]

although it looks like its an explosion in a gunk factory, its not actually like that at all, i was very honoured to cut the ambilical cord with both of my children and the only time i felt a bit "whoa" wwas when , as doc spock says, the after birth came out in a bag like form.

i was so overjoyed to kiss my children i didnt notice that there was any smell involved in childbirth?

but i can honestly say it was the best thing to have experienced ever!!

[Black Noir]

I had 2nd mini BN in the birthpool and there was certainly more gunk than I remembered with 1st BNlet, they had a fishing net to scoop out bits of floating innards, and by- products of pushing to hard.

That said baby was nice and clean.

I hope thats put your mind at rest JTL :)

[Goodsoulette]

babies dont smell and the most important thing is keeping baby warm. You normally bath the baby the next morning or at night depending on time of birth. Neither of mine had any gunk on them, Evan had a litte bit in his ears but that was it.

Maternity gown, haha....you mean Ramones tshirt???

[dizydosydoll]

when my baby was born he didnt have as much gunk on him as i had seen on the television nor was he a bluey gray colour he was more red, but even if he had been full of gunk i would of still kissed him you cant help that feeling you get.

when i was alot younger a women i knew asked me to go along with her why she had twins and i am quite skwemish but i balled my eyes out because its such a wonderful thing to do and see.

[cazzz1975]

I gave birth in the exam room (not the labour room), I dont recall a huge amount of gunk, there wasnt a smell, they clean up the babies quickly as well as the mom. after they check all is well.

your description of gunk and whether is smelled reminded me of a similar question asked by the 11 year olds in my daughters school.

and they say men grow up!!! ;)

[~max~]

While on the subject....I've always wondered:
1/ How much does it hurt exactly with an epidural?
2/ Do you have to push again to expel the after-birth or does it sort of "slip out"? (eeewww, btw! lol)

[nat_84]

This is an insightful question for a mother-to-be... I know that i have the option on one of my forms as to whether i want the baby handed to me immediately after the birth or whether i want her cleaned and wrapped in a towel....

I also have an antenatal class tonight, perhaps i could print of your question and ask the midwife Joe.... ....

[Goodsoulette]

max I had an epidural with my first and it didn't hurt at all, after that. I really didnt want one but after 27 hours I was snackered. So no pain with the epidural but very hard to push, I burst a blood vessel in my eye over doing the force.

They give you an injection in your thigh to speed up the delivery of the afterbirth and the midwife kida pulls on the chord and it comes out.

[fine,thanks]

nat, just go with your instincts,

[Goodsoulette]

oh Ill just add with a good epidural you will fill no pain and still have movement in your legs. Which is exactly what I had but rare apparently.

[~max~]

Thanks for that, Goodsoulette. I'm very curious about the whole process. Maybe I'm getting broody! lol
Can they give you the epidural from the start though, or is it necessary to be able to feel the contractions in the first stages of labour? My pain threshold is very very low....lol

[smudge]

Had two babies - the first daughter was 5lb 6ozs & looked like a beautiful little doll, with hardly any gunk on her. She was slightly blue to begin with, but rosy cheeks soon appreared after a little help from the midwife!

The second daughter was 7lb 10ozs & just as beautiful. She was a nice pink colour, with hardly any gunk on her either!

Must have been all that water I drank!

[nat_84]

I will do fine, thanks - "gunk" is the least of my worries!

[~max~]

Oh, and while I'm at it....Is it usual for the woman to poo while pushing? I've heard that a few times! And is it THAT embarassing or are you past caring by that stage?

[cazzz1975]

I had an epidural with my first, the pain relief was good, they had trouble injecting into my back as it kept spasming!!!, eventually got it in, I did have to be told when o push as I couldnt feel it.

afterwards I had a catheter (couldnt feel my bladder fill) for a few days and since then I have had severe back pain, it took me longer to recover than when I had my other 2, which were born naturally with no pain relief (including gas and air)

I recovered quickly and was up and about a few hours later!

[redcrx]

you just dont seem to care if they have any gunk on them, they smell lovely and they look beautiful!

Baby was bathed within 5 hours of being born although they still missed little bits of stuff that were caught in his hair.

The only bit i found made me squeamish in whole thing was whenh they asked if i wanted to feel babys head as it crowned. It felt soft and was slimey, i screamed lol

[redcrx]

max, yes it is quite common to poo apparently but chances are you wont even know youve done it as childbirth feels like that anyway. Midwives are good at clearing any mess away as well i was told. We even saw the sieve that they use for the birthing pools.