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Childbirth, early to mid-20th century UK

The experience of childbirth has changed a great deal across the years. This page gives examples and personal recollections from hospital and home births before and after the National Health Service (NHS) including costs and pain relief, particularly the gas and air machine. Later developments are also considered.

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By the webmaster, based on recollections of her mother, herself and others - with additional research

Home births pre-NHS, i.e. before 1948

In the early years of the 20th century, most women from working class families gave birth at home under the care of older women in the family. It is doubtful whether families could have afforded anything else, especially as women had so many babies, there being no contraception.

The local midwife or a doctor was only called in an emergency, if then.

There was of course no pain relief for women from the working classes, although lengths of cotton fabric were often tied to the bedpost for women in labour to pull on to distract from the pain. Midwives could be sent for if considered necessary, but at a cost. In better-off families chloroform, morphine or nitrous oxide might have been available.

There is an interesting description of a home birth in an air-raid shelter during the blitz of World War Two.

'The Panel' to defray costs

There was something called 'the Panel' which was a local health insurance organisation which could help with the costs. Contributing families were described as 'on the Panel'.

Giving birth in a pre-NHS maternity hospital in 1939

I was born in 1939 in a dedicated maternity hospital. I understand that dedicated maternity hospitals were quite common at the time. As it was before the NHS, the hospital was fee-paying.

My mother often spoke of her experiences. She said she was turned away from the local hospital because it was full. She was then taken miles and miles in an ambulance in the dark to what felt like goodness knows where while feeling very frightened and alone. The 'goodness knows where' turned out to be where I was to be born - Bushey Maternity Hospital in what was then the wilds of the the country.

Pain relief

My mother was given no pain killers, which was the norm at the time, and she was ordered about as if she was a child. She was never addressed by her name, but as "Mother" which I understand was also common. I suspect that childbirth, being a painful experience, couldn't be eased, so the simplest reaction for hospital staff was to bully.

After the birth my mother was left on a trolley overnight and found the next morning by a cleaner who said, "You shouldn't be here!" My mother always said, though, that she was quite contented on the trolley, knowing that the whole experience was behind her.

Hospital costs

My father's comments were all in terms of the cost of the hospital confinement, because, as already stated, there was no NHS at the time, and most women had their babies much more cheaply at home - see more below.

I seem to remember being told that the cost of the hospital was £32 or £33. It was certainly over £30 which was a great deal of money in 1939. My father always said that he had to sell his car to pay for it which upset me greatly as I took it as my fault. When he realised this he added that the money from the car also paid for my mother's sewing machine and a few other bits and pieces.

Giving birth in an NHS maternity hospital in 1965

Years later, in 1965, I had my own first child in another dedicated maternity hospital, Perivale Maternity Hospital, by then an NHS one.

Pain relief

By this time, women were given pain relief - although the wonderfully effective epidurals were decades away.

I was given whiffs of gas from a gas and air machine which seemed to help in no way whatsoever. The gas was a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide gas, which is a breathable anaesthetic. Neither of any help was all the preparation of breath control and relaxation, known as natural childbirth taught in the antenatal classes.

Some of my contemporary friends, though, said that gas and air did help, so maybe I would have found the whole experience even more painful without it. We must all be different, as I have even met women who had their babies so easily that it didn't hurt at all, even with no pain relief.

Duration of stay in the maternity hospital

One thing that was significantly different then from nowadays was that I, along with other normal healthy women with no birth complications, was kept as an in-patient for a minimum if 10 whole days. In my case, the stay was supposed to be for a fortnight, but I was let out early as having no obvious complications. My meals during all this time in hospital were at no cost to myself but I did have to surrender the baby's free milk tokens for the period. This has always seemed to me like strange accounting.

Incidentally I felt that the nurses did bully during the birth when women felt pain even with the gas and air machine. It was of course all they had at their disposal, and I'm sure it must be different now with epidurals.

Home births post-NHS in 1967

Although it was normal practice for first babies to be born in hospital, later babies were to be born at home unless there had been any complications with the first birth. So, in 1967, my second baby was born at home under the care of a local midwife who had to be alerted from a public phone a few streets away. She arrived some hours later, having been caught up in traffic, carrying a portable 'gas and air' machine. The birth was much easier second time round, and I was up and about that same afternoon.

After-care

The care after a birth was good, with a midwife calling in regularly at the house to check on things. I can't remember how frequently she came or for how long after the birth. When midwives' visits ceased, mothers and their babies were put into the care of a local clinic. Presumably advice was available there, but my experience was primarily of wasting time waiting around just to have babies weighed. I did, though, meet other mothers who have remained good friends.

Later developments

The proportion of home births in the UK dropped from over 90% in 1939 to less than 1% in 1991. This was largely due policy decisions which are outlined on the page about antenatal care.

Text and images are copyright

If you can add anything to this page or provide a relevant photo, I would be pleased if you would contact me.

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