Your mothers' take on motherhood.

Ah, I see, now.
Well, I can imagine, unfortunately!

I had two ‘back’ labours. As Elaine says, it occurs when the baby is facing the wrong way in the pelvis and causes pains in the back. Normally a foetus faces the back so that the widest part of the head fits through the widest part of the pelvis. If the baby isn’t so positioned, it’s a heck of a tight squeeze for the head to pass through the pelvis. Quart in a pint pot comes to mind! ???

Well, I didn't know any of that!
Thank you, but why must the baby turn?
It's all a mystery...

I was born in a different town as my mother was unmarried and sent to a mother and baby home. I was to be adopted and she had to provide a layette for me. She was in labour for 3 days (she says) and I was covered in green stuff which meant I was in distress but not so recognised then. When my granny and aunt saw me they decided I would not be adopted so went home with my Mum.

MissAdventure

Ooh, a back labour!
I've heard of those. --but I don't know what they are--

Means the baby is lying with it's back towards the mothers back and if it stays that way in labour has to turn all the way round as it travels down. Sometimes leads to a longer and more painful labour. If it doesn't turn it is born facing up (face to pubes). DD2 was born that way though she was 5 weeks early.

My mum quite often went to help out when people had home births.
I wonder if it was because she was meticulously clean?

I was born in a wheelchair as they were taking my mother to the delivery room and she gave birth to my sister on her own as the midwife had left the room. I had my first with some gas and air and my son with no anaesthesia at all.

I was born in 1951 in a little back to back house in Birmingham. I made a slightly early appearance after the midwife told mum that nothing was happening and she'd left to complete her other visits.
All hell broke loose after mum drank a strong cup of tea. My father was driving frantically round the Neighbourhood trying to find the midwife whilst my granny struggled to get my mother upstairs into the bedroom.
Finally dad arrived with midwife and her bike in the van and she proceeded to drag my bewildered father up the stairs with her.
He helped with my birth and said it was the most amazing experience of his life.
The birth of my second child mirrored my mother's experience with me. A strong cup of tea worked wonders.
In answer to the OP, my mother didn't say much about childbirth but my grandmother did,
"It's the pains of hell."

My mother had heard of “natural childbirth” which was just beginning to gain popularity in 1951. She went to some classes, especially relaxation. I was about 2 weeks overdue and she had gone for a long walk the previous day in the hope of getting me started! It must have been a relatively short labour for a first baby - she went into the nursing home around midday and I was born about 8-45 pm - natural, easy birth, from what she told me.
Interestingly I had short labours and easy births for my 5 - I took a bit of gas and air on last one just to see what it was like! My 2 daughters were similar - one had 2nd baby at home delivered by her husband, he arrived so fast.

Mum was given twilight sleep with her first baby, my sister, thought that was ok as she was more or less out of it for the birth.

By the time I arrived, nearly 3 years later, the new, younger GP, (home births back in the early 50’s), did not believe in TS and my birth was much more painful.

“The sharpest pain, but the soonest forgot” was how mum described childbirth. I tend to agree.

Fathers were not allowed near when I was born in hospital just at the start of the NHS But it cost my parents nothing for her 10 day stay.
However I was the 2nd girl and mum cried with disappointment until DF told her they could always try again!!
Mum was given something to knock her out so wasn't conscious at the actual birth . She said I was brought to her at teatime, with my hair in a curl on the top of my head and smelling clean. None of this skin on skin in those days!
She told me, before I went into labour the first time, that the pain was akin to being torn apart. Not nice.

Poor Floradora. That's a terrible story . Your poor mum. xx

Precisely nothing.

I was a second child, and was born at home.
When my arrival was imminent, the midwife dragged my dad, who had been keeping out of the way downstairs, into the bedroom. She told him that he'd been there at the start, 9 months earlier, and he could damned well be there at the end, too.

My Grandma came next day to help my mum. Apparently the first thing she did was start cleaning out the already clean and tidy display cabinet!

Ooh, a back labour!
I've heard of those. but I don't know what they are

I was born in hospital 1954. Second child, five 1/2 years after my brother.

All I can remember is my Mum telling me that all her pains were in her back. Also that they were so thrilled that I was a girl as they had been living with her parents and now they would be offered a council flat.

I can remember an almost magical air when going to see my Aunt and her new baby.
Both in white cotton nightshirt, like some mystical beings...

I ve just been reading up on Twilight Sleep and it sounds brutal and may explain why my Nan ended up with a very bad prolapse

All 5 of us were born at home and I don’t ever remember my Mum talking about it to me or about giving birth in general. She was 40 when she had her youngest my brother I was 4+ and don’t even remember him being born.

My mother was in a small hospital where she had been a nurse when I made an unexpected appearance. She did not know she was expecting twins and when the first baby was born, she was still born , as had my parent's previous baby. Suddenly the doctor said " oh there is another one here " and I popped out . My mother and I both had rhesus negative blood which can be a problem so perhaps the others were rhesus positive. My father took one look at me and said " you'll never raise that " . That set the tone for our relationship until he died when I was 12. I do not have one happy memory of him . My mother was lovely and loved by everyone. How I wish my twin sister had lived wehat a difference it would have made to my life. I managed to get the still born certificates for my siblings ( in Scotland ) which were not pleasant reading . Sadly neither had been given a name and had my mother still been alive we would have named them . I have not found my brother's grave but found my sister's . She is in the same cemetary as my father but an unmarked grave.

I was born at the end of the war in a nursing home in a town about two hours away no idea how she got there as we didn’t have a car and I never thought to ask train I guess my school friend was born a month after me at the same nursing home so I m guessing that was an outreach for our town I don’t know anything about my birth but my Nan told me when she had mum which was 1922 she was given something called twilight sleep I guess it was a light anaesthetic she said she knew nothing about the birth

That's shocking!

This was in the maternity hospital by the way

My mother was 22 when she had me she told me she was left in her room all on her own and she didn’t even have any idea where the baby would come out!! ?‍♀️

I’m the youngest of 5 so I guess my mother was an expert by then

At home with the midwife, my poor mum was 40 and I was her first (and last) baby! I think she had some problems as the doctor had to be called.