If your birth(s) happened 150 years ago,
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| After a c-section, my disappointed wife was talking with her (awesome) OB, who said, "Well, it would could have been worse. 100 years ago you and the baby would have died." Definitely put things in perspective. |
Anonymous
| No. My body is not made for childbirth. |
Anonymous
| I would but my preemie wouldn’t have made it |
Anonymous
|
The first two, yes - I gave birth without an epidural and although unpleasant they were fine.
My last one: I was so exhausted that I took an epidural after twenty hours of active labor. (Labor stalled at 7 cm for five hours). I was able to nap. I do not know how I would have made it without being able to nap, which I wouldn’t have done without the epidural. They had to kind of move my baby’s head as he was crowning. It was rough. Very rough recovery too. After the fact they told me that his head was a bit tilted which is why labor took so long (24 hours). |
Anonymous
When an OB responds to someone’s birth trauma with “it could be worse—100 years ago you wouldn’t have survived,” it can feel dismissive and unhelpful. Comments like this often come across as minimizing the patient’s experience, suggesting that because they and their baby survived, their trauma isn’t valid. Going through a difficult birth, like an emergency C-section, can be physically and emotionally overwhelming, and comparing it to historical outcomes doesn’t help someone process the pain they actually feel. A more supportive approach would acknowledge that the experience was hard and that their feelings are real and important. It’s essential for women to feel heard and understood, especially in vulnerable moments. A compassionate response would encourage open dialogue, showing that their well-being matters—not just physically, but emotionally too. Mothers need to feel safe talking about their trauma and get the support they need to heal.It is inappropriate for a doctor to tell her or anyone what/how someone else “should” feel and smacks of CYA if they thought you might be litegous. |
Anonymous
| Not today, no. No one lives to be 150. |
Anonymous
No. I wouldn’t have been born yet |
Anonymous
| Unlikely, both children were breech so I had c-sections. |
Anonymous
| Yes and I’d have 10-15 |
Anonymous
| Nope not me or my kids. All of us breech. |
Anonymous
|
Funny, when my mom told me her story of my birth, it actually sounded like it happened 150 years ago. My mom is very petite and I was a large baby. The doctor told her that an epidural wasn’t an option because of her chronic back pain. Her water broke at home. She labored for a long time at the hospital. She struggled and my birth became an emergency situation. Instead of a c section, two doctors pressed on her stomach until I was low enough to pull me out with forceps. I was born with meconium and there was concern about that. It sounded awful, but it gave me confidence that my kids would be born vaginally. I figured if my mom’s tiny body handled, my larger bone structure would be even better suited.
It wasn’t. I labored for two days at home. I was already tired by the time I went to the hospital. The doctor broke my bag of waters and got me an epidural. I labored until I got to 10cm. Then, I pushed for three hours. The nurse suggested my pushing would be more effective if I let the epidural wear off. It wasn’t - by the time the doctor asked me if I wanted to keep trying, I was yelling for a c section. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t stay awake for it, once they got my epidural started again. My baby was small and born with a cute little cone head. I was told she had gotten stuck. My second was a scheduled C. I guess neither of them would have made it. |
Anonymous
| No X 3 |
Anonymous
No and neither would my daughter. |
Anonymous
| How could anybody be 150 yo? |
Anonymous
| No. Baby was 9 lbs. Labor wasn’t progressing. Probably we would both be dead. Instead, unplanned c-section and both healthy now. |