#14 Giving birth in front of Grandpa

FACT OF THE DAY: In cultures that believe in reincarnation, many family members may gather to witness the rebirth of their ancestor – including Grandpa

I gave birth to all three of my babies in hospital, and at the moment of delivery there were three people with me; my husband, a midwife and a doctor (in fact a rather dishy male doctor at my second delivery which was either a welcome surprise or rather off-putting, I couldn’t work out which).

In terms of family, this is definitely what I wanted. I positively wanted my husband there, and I positively didn’t want anyone else there to see my emotional meltdowns and private parts.

#10 Birth in Bangladesh

FACT OF THE DAY: Childbirth is thought to be so ‘polluting’ in rural Bangladesh that the ‘dai’ who helps with the birth only bothers to wash her hands after she has finished dealing with the newborn and birth fluids, not before.

Right, today I am going to tackle one of the big ones – childbirth.

I have been slightly putting this off as it certainly doesn’t make for light reading. I guess we got a hint at this from the terrible birthing statistics around the world in post #2.

But today, I am going to describe the childbirth experiences in rural Bangladesh.

If you are hoping for descriptions of a lovely natural birth, with nurturing traditional birthing customs that ensure the safe delivery of the baby, then I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. If you are a fan of ‘natural birth’ you may find you’ve changed your mind after you’ve read this.

In fact, maybe this post should come with a health warning – not for the faint hearted, or anyone who is going to be giving birth soon.