Myths About Childbirth That Must Be Busted
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Every pregnant woman, or woman hoping to become pregnant, deserves to know the truth about labor. Your doula might talk about it as if it’s all fairy dust and unicorn songs, and your delivery coach might pump you up with pep talk that you’re sure will override the discomfort of delivery. But don’t let either of them fool you—there’s more to it. The fact that childbirth is such a life-altering, and exhausting experience might be the reason that not enough women pass on information about it—they’re usually fawning over their baby or sleeping off medication in the hours after labor, and when they come to, they’re far too busy to take down notes about the experience. But here are some myths about childbirth that must be busted.
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Myth: 20 hours of labor is 20 hours of labor
Any time you upset your mother she might remind you that she was in labor with you for 20 hours so you better respect. And she’s right—you should respect your mama, but she is probably misconstruing some facts about labor for you.
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Truth: It’s not all contractions
Labor covers the time a woman feels her first contraction to the time that the baby arrives. Women may sit in the hospital for 20 hours (or several days!) waiting for the baby to come after that first contraction, however, several hours can go by without a single contraction.
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Myth: Contractions are horrific
In movies, when a woman says she’s having a contraction, she looks incredibly pained. She probably heels over, grabbing her stomach and squinting her eyes. Two people rush to her side to help her sit down. They look just awful, but that’s not the whole picture.
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Truth: Contractions vary
Some contractions just feel like bad gas or period cramps. Contractions can vary in intensity and they don’t progress in a simple, predictable manner (like better to worse). During several days of labor, some contractions might feel like somebody is ripping your intestines out, and some might feel like an incoming fart.
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Myth: You have to witness all the gore
A lot of mothers prepare for childbirth by watching those old school, high school health class “miracle of life” videos. You know, the ones where doctors hold up squiggling infants covered in all manner of goop and blood. And they get a nice glamour shot of that recently obliterated vagina. These videos don’t exactly make women excited for their own birth.
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Truth: You can see as much or as little as you want
Your doctor will not force you to watch anything. If you’d like, he can put a mirror at the end of the bed and you can witness it all! But if you say you’d rather look away, and just be handed your baby once he’s all cleaned off, that’s fine, too.
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Myth: The delivery is the worst part
There’s usually a lot of crying and screaming involved in delivery, which can lead one to think that it’s the worst part of having a baby.
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Myth: The blood ends with the delivery
If you were to watch a montage scene in a film about a new mother, you’d probably see the pregnancy, the very messy birth, and then the clean, bright days that follow. But this can be misleading.
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Myth: All the vaginal damage is internal
You probably know that you’ll be pretty, err, loose down there for a while after birth. Your doctor will even recommend that you refrain from intercourse for weeks or months after delivery. But don’t expect all the damage to be tucked away inside of your vaginal walls.
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Truth: Your labia can swell
Your labia can swell to three times its normal size. It’s rather alarming looking, and can cause you to feel quite sensitive down there. But fortunately (or unfortunately) this is normal, and it will return to its normal size.
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Myth: C-Sections are a breeze
If you decide (or your doctor recommends) to get a C-section instead of going through regular labor, don’t expect to be walking down easy street.
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Truth: The recovery is tremendous
You probably have to be bedridden for 12 to 24 hours after a C-section. The epidural does quite a number on your legs, so it’s not safe for you to walk right away.
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Myth: You forget all of the pain
We’ve all seen those hysterical scenes in which a mother says, “I want another baby…” and her partner says, “After giving birth to the last one, you said you’d never go through that again!” to which the mother says, “I don’t remember it being all that bad…” This has lead many to believe that some magic powers make you forget about the pain of childbirth.
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Truth: You might not forget
Plenty of women report vividly remembering the pain of childbirth. And yet, many of those same women would do it all over again because they love their baby so much.
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