Hubby's handling the delivery

[ArtIsLife]

(When you do all get pregnant) How will your loved one handle the delivery? Just curious. My DH is grossed out by blood and biological stuff like that, it doesn't bother me too much because he will still be there but maybe I just won't have him look or cut the cord... are any of your men the same way or no?

 

[annio84]

My DH didn't cut the cord at my daughter's birth. He was very clear beforehand that he didn't want to so that was fine. He was very good apart from that though

 

[NovemberSnow]

I think my DH is secretly nervous but trying not to show it! I think he'll be great though, I definitely want him to be there. He's said he'd like to cut the cord but I doubt very much he'll want to look below the waist!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

Hubby doesn't handle blood well (he gets sick watching the combat medic videos he has to watch for training), but he had no problem with the delivery. During the pushing stage he held one of my legs (so he had a prime view of everything), and he'd run back and forth from the bathroom to me during the breaks with a cold washcloth for my face. None of the downstairs stuff grossed him out, and he cut the cord. I was the one that refused to look at anything that came out of me besides the baby.

Your husband may surprise you! The birth experience is just so different from anything else.

 

[MissMcCoy]

My hubby was completely fine through both of my deliveries, Although he almost missed them because he wanted to go out for a damn smoke!

Im the one that's didn't want a mirror to see what was going on down there... I didn't want to touch to feel babies head coming out.
This time I think I might... I also want baby placed directly on me...

Dad is 2 for 2 cutting cords... cant break that record now.

One thing that seriously shocked and surprised me about the birth of my first was the amount of blood afterwards.... Its crazy! Blood EVERWHERE! Don't even try to stand up for your shower without someone standing there with a massive pad ready!

 

[justplay91]

My OH was pretty good about everything, and he's not usually great with blood and guts stuff. He helped to hold my legs and he cut the cord. The only thing he needed some prodding to do was look when the head was visible. The doctor and nurses kept yelling at him to do it, and he finally reluctantly did. It doesn't seem to have damaged him or put him off to sex or anything, so I guess we came out unscathed!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

One thing that seriously shocked and surprised me about the birth of my first was the amount of blood afterwards.... Its crazy! Blood EVERWHERE! Don't even try to stand up for your shower without someone standing there with a massive pad ready!

Seriously! I remember getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom, and leaving little droplets of blood on the floor in my wake. I had just changed my pad before that too. I was prepared for a heavy flow, but not a walking crime scene!

 

[ArtIsLife]

Thanks for all your responses!

Oh I didn't know there was bleeding afterward... glad I have that warning...ick. I will want to see what's going on down there for sure, and I want the baby on my lap.

Hope my DH doesn't pass out! I will be so terrified/excited and I will need him to cheer me on and let me cry in his shoulder during labor, plus I don't want him to miss anything!

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

You may bleed for a few weeks post-birth (lochia). After the first couple days it became like a period-flow for me, and then tapered off until it stopped. I swear it's the body's revenge for not having a period for all those months!

 

[Iveneverseen]

He will be fine. we have 2 kids together and he was at the birth of both of them ( one vaginal one section)

 

[aimee-lou]

My hubby is s biology student. He asked if he could have a feel oh my cervix when i was 8cm dilated and was fascinated by the cord. Even he was a bit freaked out when the midwife stood in the doorway with my placenta in a sick bowl and 'it's huge. Wanna see it?' Lol

Oh and the blood. Don't mean to freak people out but don't forget about after pains as well.

 

[ArtIsLife]

After pains? I thought all pain was gone after baby comes out???? At least that's what my mom said...

 

[stephaniexx]

My hubby has been brill all three times and has cut all their cords. He's not squeamish in the slightest. But ohhhh yes the bleeding! The room tends to look like a murder scene for a while

Artislife - you can bleed as long as 6-8 weeks straight after the birth. May be longer, may be just for a couple weeks. My first two daughters I only bled for 10 days, with my third I bled for 6 weeks. It's nasty at first and you NEED massive maternity sanitary towels but it tails off into sort of a light period. And after pains, for ME, lasted a couple of days and were like mild contractions. They get worse with each baby!

 

[Iveneverseen]

I bled for 10 weeks after my third.
I only remember after pains with my second though.

 

[ArtIsLife]

Ive been in the room for two births, so I've seen how messy they can be, but yeah I did not know about the after bleeding and the after pains. Huh. Well at least by then you get to enjoy your baby so you know it was all worth it.

 

[EmmySocks]

Mine is either going to be absolutely amazing or completely freak out. He won't watch anything like One Born Every Minute because of the noise and the blood, but he can be really supportive and caring when i'm involved and he is great at staying calm in a chaotic situation. Which of these traits will take over during the birth? Your guess is as good as mine! I don't even think he knows! xxx

 

[MissMcCoy]

Ah yes the after pains!
I never felt anything with my first, But it was brutal with my son.

Both my labors were 100% natural. But I needed some pain relief for the dang after pains.

I nurse my babies so that helps the uterus really contract. Its good! BUT it hurts!

The after bleeding lasted for like a week for me. Just that initial after birth period is crazy. I even passed a clot the size of an apple! That was sick. The nurse has to come in and check it for tissue...

 

[staralfur]

My DH is a biomedical engineer and works with biomedical waste, so he's seen much worse. The only thing that freaked him out was the idea of cutting the cord for some reason (I think he was more afraid of somehow screwing it up than he was grossed out by it), and he swore he wouldn't do it... but when the moment came, he did it.

I will be mad at him until the day I die about what he did AFTER the delivery, though. He went home to let the dogs out a few hours after my LO was born and he never came back. I called him ALL DAY and his phone just rang and rang. I sent him a million texts. I hadn't slept in 30 hours, I just spent 18 hours in labour, my LO would not be put down, and I was a crying, miserable mess. He FINALLY showed up like 12 hours later, said he passed out on the couch with the dog's leashes in his hands and everything. I don't really believe him, I think he turned his phone on silent and slept the day away. 😠

Anyway...

Yeah, the post-partum bleeding is nuts. I had to have my sheets changed every hour because every time I moved I just exploded blood straight through my pads and underwear all over the bed. I passed HUGE clots as well, even over a week after giving birth. I went to the bathroom once at home and passed a clot the size of a baseball, it felt like I was giving birth to a steak.

 

[ArtIsLife]

Wow! That's crazy! I had no idea there was any bleeding at all after birth... wow. And I cannot believe he left you for that long right after giving birth! I would have freaked out like you did! I wouldn't have believed him either, he is lucky he is alive! Haha

 

[tverb84]

After pains? I thought all pain was gone after baby comes out???? At least that's what my mom said...

Same here. I really hope my brothers girlfriend won't want me in the delivery room when she has the baby. I'll want to be at the hospital in the waiting room but I'm not sure about the delivery room. She'll probably want her mom with her.

I've heard of women needing to be stitched up after giving birth and blood doesn't scare me considering I volunteer at the blood clinic. Just yesterday this donor started rebleeding and I handed him a cloth type thing to put on his arm. The nurse wrapped up his arm after that. I know that's hardly comparable to giving birth but it takes a lot to scare me.