Follow my blog with Bloglovin Things that I thought I would care about during labour that I really didn't care about.

1. My appearance. Yep I realise how ridiculous that is now. I was vain enough to think that I would be worried about how my hair and make-up looked during labour. By the time I had my baby I did not look in any way glamorous. Nor did I care in the slightest.
I will say however that I am glad that I packed my make-up in my hospital bag because the next morning I did apply a full face, and I felt so much better for it.

2. Doing a poop. I was so so worried about this. I even bought some glycerol suppositories to use when I went into labour to try and reduce the chances of it happening. The thought of defecating in front of my partner was bad enough let alone a room full of complete strangers.
So I didn't use the suppositories in the end, and I genuinely have no idea if I pooped or not. I don't think I did but I don't actaully care either way. To anyone else worried about this I would advise them to get your partner to stay at the head end once you start pushing and make sure that he knows that if he does witness you pooing yourself then it is a secret that he should tell nobody especially not you. 

3. The noises that I would make. When you watch births on television the noises the women make are some what disturbing. I wanted to remain as quiet and dignified as possible during my labour and birth. When it came to it I was bellowing like a constipated cow at the top of my voice and I couldn't care less.

4.People looking at my bits. I am no prude but I am a fairly modest person, I used to find a smear test traumatic enough. The thought of people examining me filled me with embarrassment especially when personal grooming becomes a challenge towards the end of pregnancy. 
I ended up having an episiotomy, forceps, stitches and then to top it off a finger up my bum to check for tearing. There were about four doctors and midwives looking at me while my legs were in stirrups and I did not care one bit.

My advise to anyone expecting a baby who is concerned about some or all of the points above would be not to worry. I know that is easy to say but these things are trivial and once you are in active labour none of them will worry you at all. Make sure you have a supportive birthing partner who you feel completely comfortable with and talk about anything that you are worried about with them. Most importantly remember that midwives deliver babies every day and they have seen everything before. Being as relaxed as possible is going to make your birth easier and more enjoyable. 

Jx

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