20 things about labour and delivery you MUST know!

Many pregnant women assume that a normal delivery is easier than a c-section even considering labour pain. Make up your mind after reading this...

By: Swapna C | | Updated: April 23, 2018 2:51 pm

Tags: Delivery Labour & delivery Vaginal birth

If you ever stop to think about what happens during a “normal” delivery, then the picture in your head is usually straight out of a movie. The actress is screaming in pain while being wheeled into an operation theatre. She huffs and puffs and a baby comes out wailing and everybody starts congratulating the parents! First of all, the politically correct term is vaginal delivery and not normal delivery. And second of all, it is nothing like what they show in the movies. Or, perhaps it is rarely like that. Even your prenatal class will not prepare you enough for the actual labour and delivery process. But, if you are curious and a control freak, then here are some cringe worthy things nobody talks about and you want to be prepared for!

Everyone’s water does not break. You may experience one of these initial signs of labour instead.
You won’t deliver the moment you reach the hospital. You may be in labour for hours on end.
The doctors may then induce labour by giving you Pitocin. (Read 6 shocking things doctors do to pregnant women in India.)
After inducing labour, you may have intermittent contractions. (Mine were 45 minutes apart for over 12 hours.) Here are 9 practical tips to help you through a normal delivery
The nurses will shave not just your pubic hair but your abdomen and your thigh area. (I insisted on hair removal cream and spatula.)
You may be asked to walk around to speed up labour or may have to be on complete bed rest if there are any issues.
Your gynaecologist or her assistants will perform internal exams, not once but MANY times.
The internal exams may hurt and many women complain of how rude or even cruel some of the doctors have been. (They say things like, “It hurts because you are not relaxing your muscles.”) Read more about Walking, squatting and other things that DID NOT help me have a vaginal (natural) delivery
Also, you will be wheeled into a labour room and not the operation theatre.
There will be no semblance of privacy with your gynaecologist, neonatologist, anaesthesiologist and their nurses and assistants in the room. Plus you, plus family member, plus the stem cell banking nurse (if you choose it).
When you are sufficiently dilated, if your water has not broken, they will puncture the amniotic sac.
Your feet will be high up in stirrups, which is the normal position for delivery unless you choose a nursing home with facilities like water birthing or a birthing stool.
You might want to opt for an epidural, which is a blessed relief.
They will massage your abdomen to position the baby correctly
Whether you need it or not, you will get an episiotomy.
Everyone in the room will scream, “Push, push, push” every second of every contraction as though you have forgotten why you are there.
Your baby may poop inside you.
You might void yourself before and during delivery. This means you may throw up or poop during labour. (So think before you say you want your hubby in the room.)
Post delivery you have stitches and a wound to heal. Yes, yes stitches are there in the vagina even though it is not a c-section.
You may or may not lactate immediately after the baby is born. Be prepared for either scenario and carry a breast pump to the hospital.