were you told you weren't in labour?

Not me but when my youngest D had her first baby she was told to stay at home and have a warm relaxing bath as having contractions every 3 minutes wasn't a reason to go to hospital. Once I saw the blood in the bath we heaved her out and straight to the hospital where despite her protestations they insisted on a formal admission and a wee test. Even when her waters seeped under the loo door they weren't worried. Her baby arrived on the admissions room floor less than 5 minutes after arrival. The look on the midwife's face as she yelled down the corridor "2 midwives and 4 pillows, here, NOW!" will remain indelibly printed in my mind. D's 2nd came just as quickly but they were prepared this time...... !

Same as Aggie, much eye rolling, given a sleeping tablet, husband sent home, delivered within the hour

I would do the opposite. When expecting our first born there was concerns over a Welsh activist group who were trying the blow up reservoirs etc. My husband was on night duty , baby due 1st March, we were living in a flat waiting for a police house, no neighbours. Doctor was concerned I was on my own at night and could fall or be taken ill, he arranged I was taken to the cottage hospital before my husband went on duty and collected next morning, this was to go on for a week. 4th February a very cross me was dropped off st the hospital, given a private ward and settled to sleep. A nurse looked in and I said this mattress is so hard, she fetched maternity sister , examined me and said you are in labour, know all said - no I'm not, not ready until 1st March, she said - you may not be ready but the baby is. Our darling daughter arrived 40 minutes later . Husband had no idea, sister phoned the station, station phoned H.Q. And her birth was announced on every police radio in the force. That was some entry into the world

My youngest daughter was in labour and watching her I said to the midwife she’s going to have this baby soon. The midwife scoffed and said as it was a first baby there was plenty of time to go. I insisted she examine my daughter and when she did there was immediate panic stations. Baby was born less than a hour after my daughter was admitted!

The best place for someone in labour is to stay at home and stay upright as long as possible! Midwives would advise mums not to come into hospital too early. No one can predict 100% when a baby will be born - it sounds as if some of the gransnetters had midwives who were poor at communication - As a midwife myself i would never have told someone they were not in labour as you never know for sure!! Have now had 16 grandchildren
(17th due yesterday) and they have all had good experience of child birth!

Luckily I had a straightforward labour and delivery both tines but the hospital first time round was horrible - not clean, and really off hand staff. Another mum (who I met there and who remained a friend) was berated and told to stop making a fuss, that she was not in labour, and MUST eat the cheese salad she has been given. (This was forty plus years ago - can you imagine it now?) She forced down the salad, promptly brought it up all over the bossy sister's apron, and delivered her son about twenty minutes later.

With my 2nd son, I woke in the night with contractions and even my ex husband told me I was just imagining it and said to go back to sleep ! Yes, it was 3 weeks premature, and yes it was also on my 1st sons 2nd birthday. I convinced him that I was def in labour, got my parents out of bed at 1am: to hear my Mum doubting me too ! They came round to be with my toddler, then me and my ex went to the hospital, and yes, I was told for the 3rd time by a nurse that I was too early and was I sure. I was sure and son number 2 was duly delivered on his brothers birthday ....

Its more common than I thought! Having my second, I went about four weeks past my supposed due date. I started with contractions, was taken into hospital where they admitted me, told my husband I'd be ok until the evening so he went off to look after our daughter. Soon after, they informed me I wasn't having contractions at all so should go home. I was so upset I began walking down through town with my suitcase, tears rolling down my face because I just couldn't sit there and wait for my husband to come all the way back! I often wonder what drivers thought as they passed this hugely pregnant crying woman with her suitcase! In the end I got so far, I was worried he'd never find me so I trudged all the way back up the hill to the hospital, husband arrived and so did strong contractions! Even when I was in the middle of really strong contractions, the midwife put her hand on my tummy and told me I definitely wasn't in labour, she knew better until my son emerged a few minutes later!

I remember giving birth to my first child,she was a week late and quite small. Been in labour about 12 hours and within a few seconds of pushing her out the Midwife,who hadn't been particularly helpful, turned to me and said'Are you sure you were due' !!

I was in the labour ward, having regular, though not dramatic, contractions. H turned up and asked the midwives how I was doing. They said it would be a long time before anything happened and he popped off home without seeing me. Half an hour later, DS2 decided it was time to make an appearance and his father missed his birth. I enjoyed making him feel guilty about that.

As we didn't have transport I had to phone the hospital to say I was in labour and ask for an ambulance. The midwife asked if my waters had broken. I replied that they hadn't. She then asked how I knew I was in labour. I told her I was crippled with pain and couldn't stand up. She hummed and arghed for a while then said that she'd send an ambulance but I'd better be in labour because they were very busy and had better things to do than look after mums who only 'thought' they were in labour. By the time the ambulance arrived I was having contractions every couple of minutes but told the paramedic that I was scared that I wasn't in labour. He told me I was so far into labour that he was scared I'd have the baby in the ambulance. DD1 arrived about an hour after I got to hospital.

1st labour, my waters broke but only came out as a trickle because the head was so tightly engaged. Young Doctor decreed that I was not in labour and was sending me home until I jumped down from the labour bed and he saw the trickle. Send DH home, saying the baby would arrive sometime before Christmas (this was in January) but I spent a painful, lonely, long night on the Labour Ward until the older Consultant's rounds in the morning. Consultant put her stethoscope on my back instead of my tummy, announced that I was in advanced labour and should be encouraged to push rather than pant.

They lowered the end of the bed, went to get some stands? for my feet and DD1 arrived with my first and only big push, shot off the end of the bed, bungy jumping on her cord. It was quite surreal and nothing like I had expected, no pethadine, no gas and air, although they did give me gas and air for the extensive stitching as I could not stop shaking.

Same sort of scenario for birth #2 although I did tell them that my contractions were all at the back. I was told that I had a 'rat trap' pelvis which did not dilate slowly just opened and closed for a few seconds - hence a baby 'shot from guns' like puffed wheat.

With my second child, in the 80s and living in London, I was allowed to go 2 weeks overdue. The hospital focused on ‘Natual’ births wherever possible and wouldn’t induce me.
I wasenormous and just about exploding, I could not sit or lie comfortably, so in the early morning DH and I went to the hospital determined not to leave without the baby being born.
They hummed and hahed, and decided to examine me. DS was just about to arrive, so they punctured the amniotic sac and there he was!

Not me but a family member was in hospital with high BP. She thought labour had started so told a midwife, who said she hadn't been in labour on the last ward round so couldn't be in labour now.

After 45mins of increasing contractions, staff finally believed her and she asked for some pain relief. She was told it was too late and that she should have asked earlier!

She had the baby shortly afterwards - her entire labour was 90 minutes. Her second baby arrived in just 35 minutes. I've always been vaguely disappointed that they never went for baby No 3.

No quite the opposite! I drifted in for my usual appointment and was told by the nurse I was in Labour. I drifted home and daughter was born the following day within an hour of arriving at hospital

Son was born within half an hour or even less I suppose. I got onto the delivery table and only seem to have a couple of contractions and he was born. We were both in shock, but survived ok.

DD2 was sure she was in labour although it was her first baby. We went over to look after her stepdaughter. Three times her and her husband went to the wretched hospital over 12 hours, Three times she was sent away as not far enough in labour.
Eventually we went out with our stepgrandaughter, and DD felt she needed the loo. Discovered the baby was coming. Her husband put a dustbin liner on their bed and healthy babygirl appeared.
He phoned 999 and an emergency midwife luckily was nearby, and attended to everything else.
The midwife put in an official complaint to the hospital.
DD said the maternity unit was not busy and every time she was there, the nurses were doing their Christmas card lists, etc.

I too was told I'd had a miscarriage and taken by ambulance to hospital for a D&C. There was no bed for me and I was taken to another hospital. Two days later, I was told that I would have a scan before they did the proceedure. My daughter is now 33.
Like others here I was told that I had probably miscarried a twin and my daughter was the surviving twin. She nearly died at 35 weeks, as she was being strangled by the cord. I was in and out of hospital during the whole pregnancy. I kept saying that something was wrong, but it wasn't until my consultant came to see in the ward, that he listened to me and I was rushed down to the labour ward my daughter was born after a traumatic labour and had to be resuscitated. A mother's instincts always kick in.

Yes, humpty, babies only brought to you for feeding and at visiting times. However, matron did not believe in having idle hands on her wards; every afternoon we had to choose between rolling STs up and packing them into tins for sterilizing or making cotton balls from hanks of cotton wool. Six years later I was in the same place, and everything had changed; ward maids to make the beds, and babies hanging in cradles from a frame at the bottom of our beds from first morning feed until 10pm feed. No afternoon "forced labour" but a smoke filled TV room for entertainment.

*post sorry

Cherry your lost reminds me that when I was pregnant a colleague - a generation older* advised me to make sure I had plenty of books to read when I went in, as both her babies were taken to the nursery and only brought to her for feeding, in her 2-week stay - if only!!!!!

It's beyond me how they can get it wrong so many times! Any midwives/doctors on here who could explain why that is? Also, why are so many women treated as if they are children and told they are making a fuss? My DiL had an undiagnosed UTI and had to go to hospital three times before her GP finally made the diagnosis. My daughter is a few days over due (hence my preoccupation with all things labour) - hope she gets better treatment.

Rather the opposite for me; 1966 and I was booked into a 12 bed maternity home for the birth, went for a Tuesday antenatal clinic a fortnight before the due date, and I and five other women were told to come back that evening as they had 6 empty beds and needed something to do...
Four of us were settled into a ward that evening, and the woman in the next bed to me said she was already in labour (it was her fifth) and was moved to the labour room. Next morning, the matron came on her rounds, got us out of bed and her and a nurse showed us how to strip our beds and remake them. We had to do this every morning of our two week stay, and they were inspected! When we were all back in our freshly made beds she examined us, two more were in labour, I wasn't, so was dosed with orange juice and castor oil and told to get a move on. Thursday morning, same again, nothing doing. Friday morning, I was examined and pronounced to be in labour. It was news to me as I couldn't feel anything unusual, so she made me put my hands on my lump and feel for myself. When lunchtime came round, there was none sent for me as it had been reported to the kitchen that I was in labour and wouldn't want any. I soon put them right on that score and a plate duly arrived and I finished it with a nurse getting twitchy saying that I wouldn't make the labour room in time; I think she just wanted to get the shave and enema bit over before she went for her lunch. About an hour later I felt the first twinge, and delivered at 8pm, wondering what all the fuss was about.

I told the midwife that things would be quick..yes dear she said in ‘that’tone. Then she turned round and delivered our son!

Both my midwife's were of the older generation, could tell by heartbeat what sex they were going to be, within 1 ounce of weight and correct on length. They only used a manual listener(don't know what they are called). 30 odd years later with all technology DD was told it's going to be a girl
and guess what it was a boy. Dil was told she wasn't in labour and to go home come back when waters break. Home she went 30minutes drive got in house and collapsed with pain DS phoned an ambulance and when it arrived baby came out with sac intact.

Yes I was told all day I was not in labour and was given all my meals which I managed to eat. Had tea at 6pm then when DH arrived at 7pm for visiting told him to tell midwives I wanted to push! Baby born 45mins later. Good thing I didn't need a C section.