One born every minute.....

I don't think I screamed either, I had my DS at home and I didn't want to scare DD who was in the next room. Screaming is pointless it just wastes energy you can use to push with.

I had my first when I had just turned 17. I remember being absolutely terrified as they were wheeling my into the labour room and a woman in the next room was screaming like a bloomin' banshee. I really thought someone was murdering her. I've had three births, one with no pain control or anything and never, NEVER once screamed.

No drugs got into hospital far too late,but no screaming just a few grunts

I was a birthing wimp. Lots of drugs and epidural. I decided natural childbirth was not for me. Having said that you can't escape all the pain and I didn't scream (although I found out that I knew a lot more swear words than I thought lol).

I also had my first when I was 17 - could not understand why people made such a fuss, no worse than a bit of constipation. No pain relieve as I did not need it.

Had my second when I was 20, found out if was not so easy! Because the baby was under stress I had limited pain killers. However I did not scream, just grunted a bit. Also made up my mind that 2 were more than enough children and if he wanted any more he could F....... have them himself!

I would tell the silly mares to stop screaming and get on with giving birth. Screaming is using energy that could be put to better use.

In ten births, neither of my daughters ever got an epidural - there was always some good reason why it couldn't be done.
My sister was slapped by a Sister for groaning too loudly and told off for having red nail varnish on - well, it was 1955!
I also had to be quiet for my second birth, which was at home, with an 18-month old in the next bedroom. Fortunately, it was an 'easy' birth, only three hours from waking with contractions to delivery, but I can still remember sitting on the lavatory thinking that such pain could not be normal! My husband had to look after the toddler and burn the placenta on the coal fire. I didn't want him in the room at the birth.
I had the same midwife right the way through my pregnancy - she was a 'Miss', very calm and knowledgeable. She had me lying on my side for the delivery and drew the baby out backwards between my legs. My first birth, in hospital, had been lying on my back, which is about the worst position you can imagine. I was not allowed to get off the bed although I knew that it would help me to walk around, as I could do with a home birth.

Absolutely no point in screaming - total waste of energy - a bit of groaning perhaps allowed! I had all of mine fairly easily. one with pethidine, two with nothing. My only complaint with DD1 was sore elbows where I had been struggling to sit up more in order to push with only the benefit of 2 rather flat pillows!!

I didn't scream. I moaned a bit. However, I am somewhat puzzled by this thread so far. People scream under torture, with severe injury after a car accident etc. My cousins's elderly mother screamed every time she had her dressings changed whilst in hospital. In my experience the pain of childbirth was shockingly excrutiating. So why do we feel we should keep quiet?

When I was admitted the afternoon before being induced with my first there was an African Lady down the corridor she had me terrified, she started chanting then screaming and singing for the whole night, it echoed along the old hospital corridor she sounded possessed. I was glad when I was taken to the delivery room. Where I quietly grunted

I kept quiet because I was too embarrassed to make a big fuss. It is also very unnerving for other women to hear someone screaming.
I have a friend who worked for years in A & E. She said young men would come in screaming for some slight injury, but old people with broken hips would say 'Don't worry about me, look after the other people first'.

I did quite a lot of moaning, and when I was having my twin daughters the doctor told a midwife to tell me to shut up! I was only on gas and air, and I ignored him. It was a relatively easy delivery - the second one pushed the first one out and she made room for a quick delivery of the second, who was breach! They were seven minutes apart. The easiest delivery was my second son - quiet delivery room, one midwife and husband, three good pushes and it was done. First son/first baby was hard work, little progress, feeling sick, forceps, lots of stitches, good job it didn't put me off having more!

The screaming probably makes the programme more dramatic!! Am I cynical?

Two elective C. sections meant that I had to go in the night before to be prepped early next day, if I had been a new mum [having had previous SVD] think I would have packed up and gone home it was terrifying to listen to the screams

I didn't scream - but I sympathise with those who do - if it helps them the what the heck.

However, I do think that screaming means the mum has lost control and is frightened and that can make pain worse. Being helped to stay calm does help to stay on top of the pain.

No pain relief for any of my five because I kept telling myself that I could manage 'one more' contraction before I needed it - I didn't scream or swear, but I did say, 'oh dear' quite a lot which for some reason had the midwives giggling.
I've been very fortunate to be birth partners now for three people and love the idea of being a 'Doula' (which I had to google because I'd never heard the term before coming across it on One born.)

I am sure Epidurals were not around when I had my children, all that was on offer was gas and air and that was gross so I didn't use it. I gave birth to a nine pounder with no family member there and because it was at home it was an easier birth than the hospital one. My labours were long, posterior presentation in each case but the midwives were no nonesense types and we just got on with it.

I was going to post before about the screaming, but thought I might be shouted down...(no pun intended!).
When I had my DD I was eventually given pethidine, which didn't actually take the pain away, but seemed to suspend it somewhere outside my body, and no, I didn't scream.
Later, in the ward with about 10 other new mums, one of the nurses came in and asked who had been making "all that fuss", and one of us shamefacedly admitted to it. It was apparently not the done thing - and that was only thirty-odd years ago!

All my screams were locked inside my head. I grunted. Also offered to clean up 'the mess' immediately after delivery of my first born.

Hmm.

I have had 3 children.

My 1st two I whimpered, rather than screamed. Both very long and highly medicalised and ended up with an epidural.

My 3rd was born in 90 minutes, start to finish. I yelled myself horse. I don't feel ashamed of it either. I had not so much as a paracetamol in pain relief, and it takes the same number of contractions to get them out regardless of how long it takes so the pain was insane. My yelling (and yep, screaming for the final push) was my way of handling the pain. I was by myself (no birth partner) and I talked my way up each contraction hill, getting louder and louder until the crest - and then had a breather on the way down.

In fact I have very positive feelings about my 3rd birth. I was naked and loud and it felt RIGHT.

I think the noises I made with number three were probably more like ROARS than anything else! I can relate to your description very easily, avocado! I think my number three was my noisiest as well. Just getting good at the whole malarky when I had to stop (age, y'know; I was only six weeks off 45; she was my last good egg).

People have different pain thresholds anyway. One is allowed to object to pain. That's all a scream/yell/roar (whatever you want to call it) is.

With my first two babies I was very good and didn't make much noise at all but with baby number three I made somuch noise a midwife who was attending a birth with another lady came bursting into my delivery room telling me to keep the noise down as I could be heard up and down the corridor

I had an epidural for both my daughters and therefore I was as quiet as a mouse! Probably the odd moan that I was hungry or bored as my husband kept disappearing to the pub across the road from the hospital for a quick drink and a bite of lunch!!

I do think that the young today (!?! - that makes me sound like my mother! I'm not that old - my daughters were born in the 70s) complain about the slightest inconvenience or discomfort.

Oh come off it - I don't care how stiff your upper lip is, giving birth is not a slight inconvenience or discomfort.