By Melissa Meehan
What are people’s obsession with birth stories?
I mean – I love hearing about them. But it seems I’m not alone.
A very good friend had a baby recently and so many of my friends texted me asking for all the juicy details.
How long was the labour? Was it natural? Did she tear or was she cut? And did she have pain killers? Was the recovery awful? Did she bounce back?
It was only after those questions were asked was there anything that enquired about the health of the babies.
And I can’t blame them. I love ALL of the gory details.
Having gone through birth myself, it’s great to hear about all of the different experiences of other women.
That’s because everyone has a different story and experience.
I’ve written about my speedy labour before and so many of my friends have had such different experiences.
My sister in law recently gave birth to twins, naturally, and I can’t imagine having the strength for that.
And another friend had a labour that lasted over a week.
Someone else I know had an epidural but it didn’t work!
It’s truly amazing what the female body can do. And these stories are a true testimony to that.
So yes, we may be a little nosy when wanting to find out all the gory details, but that’s because we know what the body can do and are in awe of it.
But what is in total opposition to that is how women talk about birth with those who haven’t experienced it.
It’s a taboo subject and many of us go into it without warning.
When I was pregnant with Little Miss I often mentioned to friends that I was terrified about the unknown.
And there was this weird code of silence around it.
Yes, they would say it hurts. But in a way they couldn’t explain.
And they were right. It’s a totally different kind of pain than you have ever experienced.
And believe it or not, you actually do forget it soon after as the adrenaline kicks in and you have the little one in your arms.
Things I wish I knew before giving birth:
– There really is no warning. It’s from zero to hero pretty quickly but your body somehow knows what to do
– Nothing can prepare you for the love you feel when they place that baby in your arms
– In the days after, it’s not where the stitches go that hurts – it’s the grazes that burn
– Your boobs become gigantic hard achy rocks (move aside Pamela Anderson) when your milk comes in and take a few days to settle down
– It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do – but the best!
– Your partner will have an amazing sense of respect for you they never had before after seeing what you can do
So for those of you who haven’t been through it before, yes it’s scary. But there’s nothing to worry about. Millions of women have done it before you and we all have stories to share. But you probably won’t hear them until you’ve been through it yourself.
