Other Boleyn Girl births

[sapphire_chan]

Not bad for semi-reclined births with coached pushing. Could've sworn they were still using birth stools during the Tudor era, though.

[savithny]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Not bad for semi-reclined births with coached pushing. Could've sworn they were still using birth stools during the Tudor era, though.

The biography of Henry VIIIs wives I read a few years back talked about how the birth would be on a lower sofa at the foot of the bed -- at least for queens.

Of course, queens also had to be "confined" in an airless room with all the windows shut up and blocked with blankets for up to a month before the birth and something like six weeks after. Yuck. I don't know how far down the social ladder that practice extended.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by savithny

The biography of Henry VIIIs wives I read a few years back talked about how the birth would be on a lower sofa at the foot of the bed -- at least for queens.

Of course, queens also had to be "confined" in an airless room with all the windows shut up and blocked with blankets for up to a month before the birth and something like six weeks after. Yuck. I don't know how far down the social ladder that practice extended.

Googling found a book that quotes mentions of birthing stools in documents from the early 16th century, so it couldn't have been all of society that got stuck with couches.

my friend sitting next to me got an earful about lousy birth positions when she muttered to me "have fun with your homebirth" during the first scene.

[Sileree]

I was just glad they weren't completely flat on their backs. At least they were propped up to almost sitting level.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Sileree

I was just glad they weren't completely flat on their backs. At least they were propped up to almost sitting level.

This has been addressed in another thread, but actually the positions they were in would've pushed the coccyx right into the pelvic opening and would also put an extra bend into the baby's path out. It would be marginally better for reducing the work of the uterus, but the reduction in the pelvic opening pretty much makes the semi-reclining/laying flat competition a draw.

[Sileree]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

This has been addressed in another thread, but actually the positions they were in would've pushed the coccyx right into the pelvic opening and would also put an extra bend into the baby's path out. It would be marginally better for reducing the work of the uterus, but the reduction in the pelvic opening pretty much makes the semi-reclining/laying flat competition a draw.

I didn't say it was the best position physiologically.

I just don't like it personally when women in movies are always on their backs. I thought it was at least slightly better to show, for appearance's sake, them being somewhat upright.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Sileree

I didn't say it was the best position physiologically.

I just don't like it personally when women in movies are always on their backs. I thought it was at least slightly better to show, for appearance's sake, them being somewhat upright.

Got it. I've only seen semi-reclining births in the movies so that didn't register with me the same way.