Comments on: Birthing trends: ‘Mad Men’ explores the horrors of giving birth in the ’60s; how about now and in the future?

By: Birthing trends: 'Mad Men' explores the horrors of giving birth in … | End Cigarettes Smoking Now!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:06:01 +0000

[...] A smart blogger placed an interesting blog post on Birthing trends: 'Mad Men' explores the horrors of giving birth in …Here’s a brief overview [...]

By: Please

Please — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:12:27 +0000

@ Shut Up Please – I did shut up or didn’t you notice. Idiot

By: Oh Shut Up Please

Oh Shut Up Please — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:15:47 +0000

@Please, well opinions are like *ssholes– everyone has one. You are not “entitled” to be taken seriously or to have your opinion respected. That kind of has to be earned.

The answer to your question “How could a man write about childbirth?” is very simple: imagination and empathy. Of which you clearly have neither.

By: JDJ

JDJ — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:47:46 +0000

July 4th, 1969, I stood at my window in Piedmont Hosp. early in the morning and watched the very first Peachtree Road Race trundle by . . . couple a hundred runners and that was it. Had already endured the shave/enema trauma and was soon to be induce with Pitocin; later I got whatever it was (not Twilight) and didn’t wake up until after 7 that night — they brought me my beautiful baby girl and I was ecstatic and sleepy. Can’t say I miss anything — was never in any great pain, just about what would be hard cramps. No complaints from me or hubby — that’s just how it was.

By: motherjanegoose

motherjanegoose — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:56:14 +0000

Enter your comments here

By: Faye

Faye — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:14:06 +0000

Gotcha, JATL – I am definitely NOT one of those folks! When my daughter has babies (not for several years, I hope) I’m going to recommend that she get at least an epidural – everyone I know who had one seems to have enjoyed the experience so much more. One nice thing about both my labors was that I had beautiful healthy kids with no complications! That made it all worth it :-)

By: JATL

JATL — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:26:40 +0000

New Stepmom -just listen to your husband regarding the birth watching. I do know some men who have been completely grossed out by it all, but most are not. I think most are able to separate what is happening in the delivery room and what happens in the bedroom. I was also very concerned about it because I worked with a guy who was hung up on it 10 years after his only child was born. My husband really wasn’t bothered. During our first birth, I made him stay up by my head, but at the very end he was suddenly “down there” -and I was so preoccupied and in pain I really didn’t care what was happening at that point. He watched the entire 2nd time primarily “down there” and I have to fight him off 1/2 the time because I’m not into sex twice a day! So, it really varies from man to man-and I think from experience. Face it -some births are more graphic and involve more blood, water, etc. than others. Just come to an agreement that you both are comfortable with.

By: JATL

JATL — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:04:33 +0000

I didn’t think you didn’t want drugs Faye. It sounded like you would have loved to have them! I’m sorry you had such a rough first experience. The women I’m talking about are kind of like (and often the same as) the breast-feeding nazis. Many women advocate and have natural childbirth and breastfeed forever, and that’s great, but there is that special little group who are zealots and think you’re horrible if you use drugs during childbirth or don’t solely breastfeed until the kid is 1 or 2. Their whole attitude really rankles me.

By: Faye

Faye — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:14:43 +0000

JATL – I envy you (and all my friends who got epis) – I didn’t want to sound like I was hardcore no-drugs – I wanted them; I just wasn’t given them! The Naval hospital didn’t give them unless you were having a C-section, and I got to the hospital too late to have them with my son! Those breathing exercises were for the birds, lol!

By: JATL

JATL — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:33:55 +0000

My mom always had horror stories of giving birth to me in 1970. They didn’t strap her into the stirrups, but several of her friends experienced that. She was given twilight sleep which ultimately led to an allergic reaction and messed up her thyroid. She didn’t necessarily hallucinate, but she said she was in a crazy fog and saying strange things. She kind of remembers (and was told later by him) telling the doctor that he should just hurry up so they could go plant oak trees in his front yard. She was in labor for 36 hours, and her regular doctor said he would have given her a c-section, but the ancient old-school doctor on call and in town then didn’t want to do one, so we both suffered. She never fully dilated and I was basically dragged out in stirrups. She was shaved and given an enema at the beginning -and my dad was shuffled off to the waiting room for the entire time. When she finally came to and the fog cleared, they brought me to her, and she didn’t even believe I was hers because she was used to bald and blonde babies, and I was huge with black hair and black eyes.

When I had my two, I enjoyed a Nudane narcotic drip and an epidural that actually worked with the second. The first baby epidural did not work very well and I had intense back labor -total labor was 14 hours. Second time around -I was zonked on Nudane and the epidural for most of it. Was in REAL labor for about 9 hours, but given the fabulous epi, I slept until I was awoken and told to push -two pushes and he was out! Say what you want natural childbirth folks, but it was a FANTASTIC way to have a baby through the miracle of modern science! Both of my babies scored 9s on their APGARs (I don’t think this is THAT meaningful, but the natural nazi types -not ALL of you -just some -refuse to believe the drugs don’t dull them, and they obviously weren’t dull). I truly suffered with my first for hours before the epidural and then it didn’t work very well, so I kept suffering, but it seemed much better since at least it got rid of my back labor. I was positively ecstatic when the 2nd baby epidural worked!