A friend of mine gave birth this weekend: after 12 hours of labor, she delivered an almost-10 pound baby. Good gracious. The baby is adorable; downright magical, really. So cute. It’ll be amazing to see her grow, and to see how her parents keep up!
But honestly, having known a few details from pregnancy–and fleshing out these tidbits with what I’ve heard from other older women–I have to say that pregnancy and childbirth are pretty much the scariest things that women do. Did you know that you lose a lot of hair after birth? Or that you bleed for weeks and weeks afterwards? Or that you can poop during labor? Or that pooping after birth is excruciating? Or that you will pee every time you sneeze after giving birth? Or that your sex life will never be the same again? And of course, your boobs suffer. And you get nasty rashes before and after birth. Also: varicose veins, excessive facial hair, back pain, hemorrhoids, anal tearing, heartburn, constipation, and vomiting. All this is enough to make me doubt the existence of a kind and loving deity.
Kudos to the women who do it, but count me OUT.
I’ve always wanted kids of my own, but info like what you’ve written here makes me really wonder whether I want them that badly. We’re putting it off as long as we can, but if I get to my biological endpoint for safely giving birth, and I still feel this conflicted, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Comment by lisa — June 16, 2008 @ 5:00 pm |
Perhaps you’ll have a happy accident, that makes up your mind for you!
It must vary enormously from woman to woman; some women have very easy, even enjoyable pregnancies, and then other women puke and weep and bleed the whole way through.
Every woman who’s ever had kids says it was worth the body-ruinage, so…I guess it must be worth it.
Comment by apricot — June 18, 2008 @ 10:47 am |
My mom says it was the most joyful experience of her life, and it wasn’t hard. I know when my youngest sister was born, she came out so quickly no one was quite ready. This made me happy for my heredity until I learned that my aunt, my mom’s sister, was in labor for hours and hours with my cousin, and had a very hard time.
I did talk to one woman once who said, “Most people have a short memory for pain. That’s why women have more than one kid, because they don’t remember how much it hurts. I REMEMBER. That’s why my son is an only child.”
Comment by lisa — June 19, 2008 @ 11:19 am |