Maternity Care in the Second Half of the 20th Century

My Husband was with the Military in the M.E. when I had my Daughter, I went through it on my own and he did'nt know what he had until she was 2 weeks old. Mt Son I had at home and it was a different experience all together.

I watch C.T.M and then tear it to shreds, it's a joke.

My late MIL worked in the Welsh valleys before WW2. She " prescribed" stout for expectant and nursing mums because, in these poor households, food priority went to the working man, and the women were often undernourished.
No proud miner wanted to hear that, but would feel comfortable spending a modest sum on stout, giving the woman iron, and important calories.

i had my first baby in 1970 after a 4 hour labour! no shaving, no enema. pethadine plus gas and air - i was "high"!!
i had an episiotomy which was sewn up crookedly and was home before my daughter was a day old! i hate hospitals.
the midwife visited and cut my painful stitches and i never looked back.
my son was born in 1973 (on my daughter's 3rd birthday) and everything was different. a 2 hour labour, no pethadine or gas and air. and a home birth as there wasn't time to get me to hospital!

DS born 1971, straightforward vaginal delivery (shave, enema and episiotomy normal then as already noted) DH in attendance throughout, 9 days in big London maternity hospital. Food plentiful if dull.
Breastfeeding established okay at homecoming.
DD induced 1973 but in fact it seems I got the dates wrong so she was only about 38 weeks. Normal delivery, midwife avoided episiotomy, well done her. Home after 2 days.
DD's experiences with GSs pretty awful in 2003 and 2006 in that she had no time to rest or get breastfeeding established, out of hospital more or less straight away.. She'd have been lost without me there for three weeks each time.

I had 4CS. And my daughter 2
I was in hospital from 7 to 5 days She was in 24 hrs
But with me at home to help she was very happy with this…better sleep at home…more relaxed .
I am very proud of going home early…if you have help..for better recovery

Two babies, born either end of the 1980s, one in a maternity unit NW of London, the other in hospital on South Coast.
On neither occasion was I anywhere near a doctor, both were delivered by (wonderful) midwives with no stitches. First one we stayed in for a week, second one we were out inside 18hrs.
Both were breast-fed, even when I went back to work (I had support and access to a fridge organised by other mums, both times).

@maggiemaybe
And does anyone else remember being given a free bottle of stout at bedtime? grin

Yes! DC2 was born in Rottenrow ( long gone now, a very oldfashioned maternity hospital in Glasgow, ruled with a rod of iron by old-school Matron. It served the deprived east end of Glasgow . I have never encountered such superb, delicious hospital food before or since; all made on site, and we were fed three cooked meals daily. In between the three cooked meals came three large snacks; milky drinks with home baking. And last thing at night, a large glass of Guinness.

I 'd been admitted for rest. I don't like beer and never drank alcohol when pregnant. So I politely declined the Guinness. The nurese told matron. Matron came stalking down the ward arms akimbo to order " This is for the good of BABY, so drink it." and stood over me till I did. She told me the average full term birthweight was 4 pounds (due to maternal deprivation) and this was why they admitted us mothers early to feed us up and improve the baby birthweight. and breast milk supply. I pointed out, in my English RP accent, that 1 had been admitted for rest because I was carrying a large late baby, and had three kids under five.

She said " Here, ALL my mothers drink Guinness".

Stoked by compulsory Guinness, baby weighed in at 10 lbS.

My first daughter was born in 1976. I was admitted to hospital with what I now believe was pre-eclampsia, although no one ever told me that was what it was.
I was quite small then and my bump was huge, no scans in those days.
I was in labour for over 24 hours before she was finally born with forceps and a ventouse cap. I believe she got stuck and if I had had a scan they would have seen that I probably needed a C-section. She weighed just under 10lbs. My husband was not allowed to be with me for the birth.
I hemorrhaged after she was born and was put into a room on my own. I had a lot of stitches and found the whole thing very traumatic.
Babies were kept in the nursery and only brought out for feeding. I was in hospital for about 6 days.
My second daughter was born in 1979 in a different hospital.
I had an epidural with her and she was born at 38 weeks and weighed just under 7lbs. A totally different experience.
My daughter's experiences were totally different to mine. Two emergency C-sections and 3 normal births.
I'm not sure that things are better, only different.

I was in hospital for a week before DD1 was born in a big London hospital in 1969 and ten days afterwards. DD stayed in for a further three weeks My consultant, who I only saw once, was the Queen’s obstetrician at the time. His Houseman came and danced for us on the ward. By the time she came home I was rested and hair done etc. I soon learnt the truth with babies two and three!

Also my dh had to save his entire years leave, then 2 weeks, to use when I came home.

Would add it wasn’t usual for fathers to be present at the birth, and my husband needed special permission to be with me.

I had all three of my children in our local hospital in a four bedded ward When baby one was born early and needed special care she was sent to Glasgow the nearest SCBU.I was moved into a single room with its own shower room “ In case I upset the others in the ward” I had spent a number of weeks with pre eclampsia on bed rest and had a very long 42 hour Labour while the registrars tried to stop it with drugs.
Baby died after 4 days.I was sent home to recover36 hours after her birth,
Baby two arrived on her due date after a 10 hour Labour ,the consultant kept me on the ward for 10 days .My daughter had been born on the same day of the month at exactly the same time as her sister and my imagination and nerves were in overdrive ,scared she would die too.
Baby 3 ,I had awful sickness and lost a lot of weight then at 27 weeks was diagnosed with pre eclampsia again.I was only in hospital for 3 days when they delivered him by c section.
His weight dipped to under two pounds in his first week BUT we took him home at 10 weeks weighing still under 4 pounds .
Hes 37 and the father of 3 beautiful girls .
I can honestly say treatment was good ,staff sat with me during his first days and overnight and the head sister visited us at home for weeks
The only issue was with baby one and that was because the consultant was off for the weekend and had to be called in when the midwives felt it had gone on too long He was a very strict doctor ,anyone on here from West Dunbartonshire will know of him ,he raided lockers and took treats or sweets away ,had us all on diets as we were on bed rest and wouldn,t use extra calories and bribed us after surgery to do our exercises with a brandy.I,d have preferred a chunk of cheese .He could be harsh ,told me that baby one would likely die so go home and try again but I had great confidence in him a d remember him fondly
There were also 6 early losses where I feel I was treated with compassion and care .

My experience in mid 70 s with my two children was exactly as described by Magenta in her OP.

My 1st baby was born in 1974. I was shaved and had an enema, and also an episiotomy and stitches, and was in for 10 days. No stirrups though, but gave birth flat on my back without pain relief, not even gas and air. I was very shy in those days and it didn't occur to me to ask for it.

We were given instruction how to breastfeed but the babies were kept in the nursery overnight so that mothers could have unbroken sleep. Unfortunately I woke really early with painful breasts and leaking due to not giving night feeds.

I remember ringing my Mum when my milk "came in" and asking her to go to Mothercare and buy a bra with the biggest cups available. I was a small, slim person who overnight had developed absolutely enormous painful breasts.

During the mornings in hospital we were given pelvic floor exercises and "mothercraft" lessons, and then visiting was in the afternoon.

On day 3 after the birth, I was given a laxative suppository because I was constipated and terrified of straining/breaking my stitches.

It was my 1st baby so I didn't realise I had been stitched up "too tightly", and had to return and be cut again and re-stitched about a week after leaving hospital!!! No anaesthetic!!

Things were completely different when I had my 2nd baby in 1977. No shaving and no enema, consequently I poo'ed on the bed during labour. My son was 3 lbs. heavier than my first baby (my daughter) and came out like a battering ram, so I had yet another episiotomy, more stitches, and a great deal of internal bruising.

As he was my 2nd baby and I had no problems with him latching on, I went home after 24 hours, but could hardly walk due to the bruising and stitching. For over a month I had to sit on a rubber ring.

No paternity leave in my husband's job (police officer) and my Mum worked, so I had no help and just had to muddle through. My son was a very hungry baby and never stopped eating, so I didn't get more than 2 hours sleep at any one time until he was 6 months old. In his 40s he is still always hungry!

I remember playing doctors and nurses with my toddler daughter and encouraging her to bandage me up just so that I could lie down for a little while!! I was so exhausted. One day I drove into town with my handbag on the roof of the car. I was a zombie.

I was thrilled with my babies, though, and had friends with babies so wasn't isolated.

I had my 2 children in 2 different military hospitals in Germany, my son was born in 1972 and I was in hospital for 10 days. My daughter was born in 1979 and I stayed in for 7 days.
No complications straightforward births, I just wanted to go home.

Oh yes, I was given a Mogadon and my husband was sent home at midnight in the expectation of me being there all night. DD2 arrived at 2am…

DH missed the birth but made it back to witness the sewing up of the episiotomy. The midwife had remembered that my GP was attending a function at the hospital and called him up to the ward to do the honours. I think she regretted it (I certainly did!) when he turned up in full evening dress three sheets to the wind and demanded their biggest needle. Fortunately the whisky fumes he breathed over me anaesthetised me to some extent.

Moth62

I seem to remember sucking a lot of ice cubes during my second labour. The tea and toast afterwards was very welcome though!

Number 1, waters had broken 5 weeks before due date so I was in hospital, military, because of infection risk. I didn't sleep well because of a light. They had planned to induce next day but then said it would be a day later as they were already doing 1! The night before the big day I started having twinges, the midwife I had spoken to about the light gave me a couple of sleeping tablets. When I asked about the timings for next day she cheerily said, Oh, you'll have had it before morning, you're well on the way! Er, why have you just given me sleeping tablets then!? Oh, shit!
It was an interesting night.
Number 2, different military hospital an hour away, more straightforward but one of the nurses got annoyed when I wouldn't drink sweet tea, apparently I needed it but I told her I would throw up and there was enough cleaning up already.

I had my two in 1979 and 1981. Two different hospitals.
For the first one I was shaved, but no enema. Labour was longish and boring most of the time as baby was hooked up to a foetal monitor. Had an episiotomy sewn up so tightly that it was painful to laugh or cough for a few days. Babies were kept on the ward in a bedside cot. Breastfeeding was neither encouraged or discouraged but he took to it well so no problems. He got jaundice so was in an incubator at my bedside for a few days and this made my stay longer than I’d expected.

Second baby was meant to be a home delivery but came 4 weeks early and I was told it had to be a hospital birth because it would be low birth weight (it wasn’t as it turned out) no shave or enema. No episiotomy , a small tear and a more expert stitcher😆 Babies at bedside in ward. I begged to be sent home on 2nd day as I shouldn’t have been there at all. I was allowed to go as feeding established and baby fine.

I had gas and air only for both. I was happy with the care both times.

Thank you for sharing your experiences pinkprincess.
I had similar problems even though I was taller than you.

For first pregnancy I was supposed to have a normal delivery despite the fact that the baby's lie was variable and unstable and the head was not engaged at 42 weeks and I ended up having an emergency caesarian. I had pelvimetry done which showed I have an android pelvis.

The second time almost exactly the same thing happened again but they were still insisting that I have a normal delivery. I ended up having another emergency caesarian at 38 weeks when monitoring showed foetal distress. This was during the 1980s and I had an epidural both times.

My daughter in 1986 was using a birthing chair in hospital, straightforward delivery, three hour labour.
My son was a planned home birth in 1991, my placenta was coming away so he had to be suctioned out, all was well, we had a GP in attendance, two midwives and an ambulance outside! He was a one hour labour, I was sterilised a year later.

I had my two children in 1969 and 1972.Both born by emergency c section because of serious complications .in labour.
I am only 4ft 10 ins tall with narrow hips but old that I was ok for vaginal delivery in my first pregnancy.I am a qualified nurse and midwife so suspected this was risky.Both C Sections under GA which was normal then.
My first baby head never engaged and when my waters broke he went into transverse lie and passed meconium which is a sign of foetal distress.I can remember being rushed to theatre they were running with me on a trolly.I stopped breathing under the GA and we both almost died.Was in hospital 12 days had the longitudinal cut but all stitches were out by th the we went home.
Second pregnancy spent in fear no counselling existed then.I was told it was ok for vaginal delivery again because the first section was because of the transverse lie. Baby's head got stuck in my pelvis in labour.Never engaged either.Another c section as my contractions stopped and it was thought my uterus had ruptured.It thankfully had not but baby got out just in time.
Today I would have possibly had elective section the first time and certainly the second time.Also had tubal tie done during second section as I had decided during pregnancy for this to be done as was terrified of going though childbirth again.
My first son has autism and other problems which could have been related to his horrible birth.My younger son is father and grandfather now.
In some ways modern day are better in that epidurals have replaced GA for most sections and you can request one which was unthinkable then.I do not agree with short hospital stays after sections but this is due to current state of the NHS.
20-30 years before I gave birth I would have died with my first baby.
Sorry for one rant but OP was wanting to now what it was like.

I’m not sure that the care I was given during the actual births in the 80s was much different from that given now, but the hospital stay afterwards was vastly different. Several days each time (by choice - I could have opted for 36 hours for numbers two and three, but I enjoyed the rest!) in a peaceful, spotlessly clean, well-run ward with a matron in charge. If she saw any nurses chatting she’d despatch them to ask round all the “ladies” to see if they needed anything. We were shown how to care for our babies, even though it had all been covered previously in free antenatal classes. All the babies were wheeled into the nursery overnight, and brought to us for breastfeeding if we chose, or bottle-fed by nurses. They were there for another hour every afternoon, when the curtains were drawn and we all had afternoon naps, on our stomachs as dictated by matron! Meals were served at set times, and were good quality - I remember being appalled when one mum complained that her breakfast toast wasn’t done enough! We’d exercise classes every morning, working those pelvic floors. Visitors were restricted to a couple of hours a day, and two per bed only. And does anyone else remember being given a free bottle of stout at bedtime?

It wouldn’t have suited some, as it was very regimented, but nobody was forced to opt for the longer stay, and I felt I was looked after very well. I venture onto Mumsnet occasionally and the threads about maternity care these days paint a totally different picture. Some of the posts are quite shocking. And judging from the experiences of my own daughters and daughter-in-law, there definitely is a postcode lottery even now in maternity care.

theworriedwell

I was born in the 50s. My parents were living with my grand mother, aunt uncle and my one year old sister. No bathroom, toilet In the backyard. She asked for a hospital delivery and was told she had her own bedroom so no need for hospital. Your mother was lucky.

I agree theworriedwell my mother was lucky. It would seem that even in the early days of the NHS there was a postcode lottery when it came to how patients were treated.

I was born and grew up in Inner London and I know things were different in different parts of the country or maybe even different parts of London.

For instance my DH was an only child and he was born in Broadstairs during the 1950s. He was delivered at home by a lone midwife despite the fact that it was his mother's first pregnancy.

I had my first baby with a normal delivery and spent 2 weeks in hospital.
My day consisted of feeding my DD then eating a cooked breakfast made by somebody else. Physio, depending on the type of delivery and how many days post-natal you were, followed by coffee and biscuits. Then on various days a group of Mums would be shown how to bath and top & tail your baby, care of the umbilical cord, getting comfortable with breast feeding and general advice on caring for a baby. Feeding our babies again followed by our lunch then a nap. Tea and biscuits was followed by visitors but the babies were kept in the nursery. Once visiting ended the babies came back to us and stayed through Dad's visiting until we got ready for bed and the final feed.
On leaving hospital, the community midwife called every day for 10 days and when she left the health visitor would be knocking at the door.
Today's Mums have a 6 hour discharge, very sketchy post-natal care and then people wonder why there is a rise in post natal depression and Mums finding it hard to cope.