Re: [ozmidwifery] Noises in labour

[G Lemay]

Jackie,  I love this story.  I wonder if I could submit it to Jan at Midwifery Today magazine for inclusion in one of their magazines?  Let me know.  Gloria in Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Maternity Ward Mareeba Hospital wrote: The discussion a few weeks ago about noises in labour started me thinking about a woman I met a couple of years ago.    She was a small woman with a mild speech impediment.  She had an overbearing husband, who came to all her antenatal visits and answered questions for her.  He would frequently say things to put her down.   She had a fairly traumatic vacuum extraction in a big busy hospital for her first birth, and was unsuccessful in her attempts to breastfeed.   This was her second pregnancy and she really wanted a normal birth and to be able to breastfeed, and I felt she was quietly determined, but also afraid of ‘failing’ again.   When she came to hospital in early labour, her husband was with her and was talking for her as usual, but as the labour progressed things started to change.   As she started making more noise in labour, he started to quieten down.  When she whipped her nightie off and threw it on the floor he started backing towards the door.  She was obviously feeling hot because next she lay flat on her back on the cold floor with arms and legs out, moaning and groaning.  He was looking horrified, but hanging in there.   She was becoming more vocal and when she was contracting she started to say repeatedly, through the course of the contraction, “Bugger Balls”.  This finally did it, he left.   She continued to repeat those words throughout her labour, and seemed to really enjoy saying it.  She had a great labour and birth, and went on to successfully breastfeed her baby for over a year – in spite of her husband and mother-in-law undermining her.   It was an amazing birth to witness because you could see the change in power in the relationship – as she became stronger and louder, he seemed to shrink.   The relationship did appear to revert in the days after the birth, but I believe the strength and confidence she discovered during her birth helped her to breastfeed.   This is one birth that will live in my memory forever.   Jacky ***************************************************************** This email, including any attachments sent with it, is confidential and for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). This confidentiality is not waived or lost, if you receive it and you are not the intended recipient(s), or if it is transmitted/ received in error. Any unauthorised use, alteration, disclosure, distribution or review of this email is strictly prohibited. The information contained in this email, including any attachment sent with it, may be subject to a statutory duty of confidentiality if it relates to health service matters. If you are not the intended recipient(s), or if you have received this email in error, you are asked to immediately notify the sender by telephone collect on Australia +61 1800 198 175 or by return email. You should also delete this email, and any copies, from your computer system network and destroy any hard copies produced. If not an intended recipient of this email, you must not copy, distribute or take any action(s) that relies on it; any form of disclosure, modification, distribution and/or publication of this email is also prohibited. Although Queensland Health takes all reasonable steps to ensure this email does not contain malicious software, Queensland Health does not accept responsibility for the consequences if any person?s computer inadvertently suffers any disruption to services, loss of information, harm or is infected with a virus, other malicious computer programme or code that may occur as a consequence of receiving this email. Unless stated otherwise, this email represents only the views of the sender and not the views of the Queensland Government. ****************************************************************