A UK midwife has revealed the tell-tale sign she sees in labouring mothers that means their baby is coming almost imminently. Angie, a registered health visitor and antenatal educator with over 11 years of clinical experience, shared the insight on TikTok, where she is known as The Eco Midwife.
Louder means closer to birth
Addressing worries about making noise in the delivery room, she said: "Five things we don't give a s**t about as midwives. We don't care if you scream, shout, F, blind, swear, tell your partner where to shove it. Whatever brings you some degree of comfort in labour, we're happy with."
"And from experience, usually the louder that someone gets, the closer to having a baby they are. There are particular noises that happen around that pushing stage for many women, so if you're going into a unit and you hear some shouting and screaming, normally it's because they're about to have their baby in their arms."
What midwives don't mind
The midwife also addressed birth preferences and other matters midwives aren't bothered about during labour. She added: "Five things we don't give a s**t about as midwives. Hair. Firstly, whether you have a full bush, a semi-bush, a total eclipse of said bush."
"Two. Poop. We don't care if you s**t yourself in labour, because there's a great sign that a head's coming down, progress is being made, and we will clear it away as discreetly as you possibly can. Poo is great. Midwives love poo."
"And we don't mind if you change your mind either. We do not hold you accountable for the birth preferences you choose. You can change your mind at any stage. What we want to know as midwives is how we can support you the best."
What midwives genuinely care about
Angie subsequently outlined the matters midwives genuinely prioritise when meeting expectant mothers in labour or new mums at home. She explained: "As midwives, we want you to feel as empowered and informed throughout your entire pregnancy to make the choices that feel right for you. Informed, empowered, supported - that's what we care about as midwives: that you are making the choices that feel right to you, that you feel informed about that decision-making, and that you have the most amount of support."
She continued: "And in order to achieve this, we need the time to spend with the women, the people, the families within our care. We need more midwives."
Countless mothers flooded the comments section, sharing their own labour experiences and reflecting on the care they'd received from their midwives. One mum confessed: "God I was so embarrassed when I could smell [poop emoji] but bless them, you all do an amazing job."
Another revealed: "I was aggressively 'shushed' by the midwife while in labour with my first baby. Thankfully the midwives with my 2nd and 3rd were great advocates of 'scream the place down if it helps'." A third recalled: "My husband and I could hear someone screaming in the next room and we were silently cheering them on!"
