Did you have babies in the 60's?

I had my two in military hospitals in 1978 & 1983, the Army hospital in 1978 was still stuck in the 60s with four hourly feeds to the minute. My daughter was an eight pounder and so hungry, bless her. I was in for a full seven days, having been in for a week or so beforehand as she was two weeks overdue.

By 1983 things were a lot more relaxed. Apart from being given a lumbar puncture instead of an epidural, my stay in a RAF hospital was lovely. Out after five days, feeding on demand and good quality disposable nappies.

Living in Germany we found that the German baby clothes were quite old fashioned. I had little vests that tied at the back and lots of baby gowns. Some of them tied up at the bottom with ribbons.
Velour was much in evidence for 70s German baby and toddler clothes along with 'stramplers'; basically dungarees with feet and broad shoulder straps. Babygros were so much easier. Toddler shoes were ferociously expensive. We bought them mail order from Mothercare as much as possible

When DC3 was born in 1982 there were frequently no clean nighties to be had in the hospital; those that they did manage to find had most of the ties missing from the back. We were not supposed to bring in our own clothes for the baby.
I remember those velour babygros and outfits - lovely; they made the baby feel all soft and cuddly!

My DD had velour babygros for little GD, only three years ago. One was cream with brown bear 'paws' and an appliqued bear on the front. I think you can still get them. John Lewis?

Oh, how lovely, but we don't have any babies .....

rosequartz - you could always get one of those amazingly life-like dolls to dress in a velour babygro? You know, like the one the police recently thought was a baby left in the car?

Oh yes I know, we still have one, it is years old.

I remember DD1 carrying it round when we were out somewhere and a woman came and told me off for allowing my little girl to carry the baby, it wasn't safe!!
She has already got some clothes, amongst them a little knitted pram set that the same DD wore herself (made by DM)

I was a midwife late 70's so when DD born I thought I knew what I was doing (not!). I had a 45 minute labour and thought my back had broken. When DS arrived three years later it was a 15 minute labour.....

So nostalgic reading this thread, so much still applied with mine. Nowadays it's bring just about everything into hospital with you, from baby clothes to breast pads.

I made tiny nighties and smocked dresses and romper suits, all in white with coloured stitching. Seems so long ago now

That's just reminded me - this was 1980 not the sixties though - we were given a list of what to bring into hospital, including maternity sanitary pads. The packs were taken away immediately 'to be sterilised' and we were given NHS issue pads after the birth.

Rumour had it that the Dr Whites which we'd all brought in were given to the private patients...

When I was in hospital to be sterilised in 1973, a lady in the bed 2 beds from me was in tears at visiting time, and her husband, who was Polish, kept patting her hand and saying "never mind, no more white doctors", she eventually figured it out that he meant no more Dr. Whites!

Sorry, should have said that she`d had a hysterectomy, not sterilisation.

When my first baby was born there was a private patient on my floor of the Maternity Hospital. This was in 1970. She had her own room and to everyone's amazement her meals were served with silver service.

Us mums were impressed but decided we preferred being in a our 4 bedded rooms and going to the day room for our meals.

Hi to all you young grannies! My didn't you have a comfy time in Hosp/nursing homes !! A week taking it easy , wow!
1959 was my first born, and primitive by all your accounts! No mother , had baby in my own bed !no running hot water, nor heating, was up on second day cooking for my self, hubby who had the w/end home from nat/service, and father who ran the shop! Yes we did have bath with geyser to heat water.
No washing machine, just a boiler! Twas hard but just got on with it ! Have a large extended family now all very happy some better off some very poor, ages range from 54yrs down to 6mths! Born on at Georges day in USA, so our little St George the dragon slayer!!

Does anyone who had a home birth in the 1960's, remember a newspaper wrapped parcel, being handed to the new Daddy by the midwife, and asking him to bury it in the garden? It contained the afterbirth etc!!!. You can imagine his face. ??

No, the midwife took it away with her. I did ask why all the boiling water that they always seemed to demand in films, she said that actually only a drop was needed to sterilise any equipment she might use, the rest was to keep husbands and family occupied!

My H was told he must burn the placenta as no matter how deep it was buried the local dogs would dig the garden up for it. We didn't have a fireplace so he had to put it in a galvanised bucket,soak it in petrol and burn it,keeping a very close eye on it.

I had my second baby at home and the midwife took the placenta away as we had no fireplace to burn it in.
I remember my sister being born at home when we had open fires in all the bedrooms, the midwife burned everything in the room.

Just remembered, in case you thought I was spoilt rotten (I was) with baby 4 and a long 'rest' in hospital, I was sterilised straight after the birth as I knew I would carry on to have more lovely babies that we couldn't afford if I wasn't. I wasn't supposed to lift any thing for 6 weeks afterwards, a bit difficult with all those littlies at home.

I had my first DC in 1973. A home delivery was planned and we had a long mirror propped at the end of the bed so that I could watch the proceedings - I had been to NCT classes and expected the birth to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience.... DC was due on the 5th August but eventually arrived on the 27th!. After three days in labour, I was taken to hospital and had a Caesarean section the next day - under anaesthetic of course.
DC no. 2 arrived in 1975. She was due on the 15th August but eventually arrived on the 4th September!

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I've so enjoyed reading all your posts and memories have been unearthed for me too. I think on balance some things were better in the past - certainly longer stays in hospital to ensure the new mother got a few nights of sleep. I think it's ridiculous now how quickly they discharge mothers and babies.

Do any of you watch "One born every minute" - have to say my experience was nothing like that at all........and as so many of you have said, men were not allowed in the delivery room, and were only allowed in at prescribed visiting times.

It's funny how our memories are still so clear of those times, all those years ago.

Rosequartz I think the lifelike dolls that NotooOld mentioned are relatively new and are called "re-borns" - they cost a fortune and they are very lifelike. I saw a programme on TV about them and it was very weird. Women were buying them and pushing them out in a real pram and buying baby clothes for them, and some had several of them. They are hand made and I think you can order one with specific looks. One woman ordered one that resembled her grandson when he was a baby (they had emigrated to USA) and she really missed him, so she got this "re-born" doll and was delighted. Her husband looked at it and said he didn't like it - looked like a dead baby - and I had exactly the same thought. But she bought a pram and pushed it about and bought baby clothes. She skyped her grandson and showed him the "baby" and he said "Don't be dumb grandma that's a doll.............."

Probably material for a new thread..........

I was so thrilled to be expecting in 1972 and read all the books and asked all the questions, went into labour, got to Stoke Mandeville Maternity unit and THREE days later was transferred to Bucks Hospital for a ventouse - DD was pulled out by something that looked like a sink plunger. I had an epidural, sister midwife and three pupils who had not seen this procedure, surgeon and two of his students likewise, and a lovely porter who brought me the best cup of tea I ever had! During the night, I asked for my husband and was told rather testily that the poor man was exhausted and was asleep and was not to be disturbed!! In 1974, I had my DS. I was determined to have a natural birth, but he was 10 lbs. 3ozs. so I had a ceaserian - I argued with the surgeon but he said 'you little ladies will marry big men, what can you expect?' After that I had a tubal ligation - We had one of each and decided to quit while we were ahead. The nursing staff were wonderful, except they kept eating my cherries that DH supplied and the chief midwife was a Victorian tartar. I had a Silver Cross pram given by MIL and it was rather tall and I could not see over the top. It was used for DD to sleep in in the garden every morning regardless of the weather. We were encouraged to give babies as much fresh air as possible. Brought back lots of memories reading this thread.

Bennan, my first pram was a Silver Cross coachbuilt as well, cream, wth a medium beige hood and apron. It was secondhand, but was like new, as the previous baby`s grandma had looked after her and the pram had never been outside, the tyres were still white! That pram did for 3 babies, then when I was expecting number 4, we decided to buy a new one. This time we went for a Pedigree, quite large still, but with a vinyl body, in navy and off white, with navy interior. Because they didn`t have it in stock with navy interior we had to order one, and it hadn`t arrived by the time I was ready to take the baby out (I had him at home), so I borrowed a pram from a girl around the corner, just for the afternoon, but hubby was livid when he got home from work and I told him. He said that our baby`s first outing should have been in his own pram. That pram was used for baby 5 as well, then after I was sterilised it was donated to the local home for unmarried mothers.

Son No 1 was born in 1967. My labour began at 4pm on Friday afternoon and he was born at 3pm on the Sunday. I was exhausted and swore never again. I was in hospital for 10 days. We were shown how to bathe the baby and encouraged to breast feed. We had babygros which I loved as they were so easy, and as he got bigger I bought little stretchy ribbed tights ehich he wore with hand knitted woolies. I had a burco boiler for the nappies but it was heavy on the electricity. Do you remember nappy liners? I used to drape the nappies over the fireguard to dry them. My MIL was shocked because I wasnt putting him on the potty but I had my Doctor Spock which was my bible! Coach built pram with a basket underneath, walked to the shops every day, parking the pram outside the supermarket.
We lived in a ground floor rented flat in a Victorian house which was bitterly cold, just a coal fire in the living room. Wind whistled through the gaps in the windows so we stuffed newspaper in the gaps but still got draughts through the floorboards.
It was another age.

I had my first baby in 1963 in St. Mary's Hospital Paddington. I visited doctor for check up and he said I want you in this afternoon as I had toxemia. I was nineteen and afraid. But nurse said to me the younger you are the easier it is! I was nineteen. They were going to induce me but at 3am I went into labour (I think fear played a part). the whole thing only took two and a half hours. This was 20th December so I was in all over Xmas and not happy about that, wondering what everyone was doing at home. We had to stay in ten days then. The hospitals in London had a raffle to win presents for the Xmas tree and ours won. So I had a present and baby too. Plus we had entertainment. Husbands could only visit in the evening and they were definately not present at the birth in those days. Whilst my husband was visiting an opera singer a man with a very deep voice arrived at my bedside serenading me, I was mortified. Christmas lunch was served to the mums at a long table and one of the surgeons carved the turkey!!!

yes I remember leaving my silver cross pram outside shops and baby was perfectly safe, well everyone did that. I didnt have a washing machine, had to wash all nappies by hand, boil in tin bucket on stove, bottles soaked in Milton.

My second baby born 1965, not such a nice hospital, had to be induced and had to stay in ten days again. Couldnt wait to go home.

Hoorah the day I got an automatic washing machine.

Forgot to mention prior to my second baby's birth I had high blood pressure so had to go into hospital (as I had my daughter running around and they wanted me to sit still and not do anything) . I just sat for a week in hospital until the blood pressure came down. That was a very long week, in a ward with women going into labour every two seconds.