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by Roger Marwood MSc FRCOG Roger is a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. He has 40 years experience working in a busy NHS hospitals in West London and has personally supervised around 20 000 pregnancies and countless deliveries. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Imperial College, where he is an acclaimed and popular teacher. Life is full of surprises and so too, of course, is Pregnancy. For many couples , getting there can be an ordeal, a mystery or, for almost half of all women, an unplanned and an unpredicted surprise. Once the initial shock of that […]

TWO – The Delivery Some lucky women , start labour by themselves, cope really well with TENS, a bit of gas and oxygen, jump in the birthing pool and after 4 hrs push out a beautiful 3.5 kilo baby who hardly touches the sides, cries immediately and jumps straight on the breast. No cut, no tear, like a big Orgasm! Dream on, I hear you say, but it does happen.   About 20 % of women do not find labour the worst thing that has ever happened and find they can cope with minimal pain relief and can push the […]

THREE – How are you after the birth? Just imagine:- Breast feeding is easy, the baby feeds and sleeps , you are up only once in the night, and you can get back into your favourite jeans after two weeks. You enjoy your new role as a mother and just love all the attention, visitors, presents and are delighted to get back to the white wine and even the odd ciggy. The pelvic floor is in place and sex last night was not a bad you thought it would be, so there is definitely life after babies, and maybe we […]

FOUR – The Baby At last!  It’s why we are here, after all. And I see now that pregnancy and delivery were just the foreplay, or the prologue, the introduction to the real event. He regained his birthweight in a week and after a few broken nights is feeding six times a day and is easy to wind and settles nicely. I’m sure I’m going to get that first smile any time soon. His skin is perfect and the health visitor says he’s on the 60 th centile, and he’s quiet in restaurants and just loves it when his father […]

Well there you have it. Marwood’s five unpredictables. I think I’ve seen almost every combination of Good /Bad in the 5 phases Does anyone ever get all five Goods. Well yes, a few lucky ones, who often do not realise how lucky they really are.  They tend to think that they have discovered the secret to the Universe, and often have special tips on diet, exercise, breathing, baby care and so on, which will enable you to have a similar experience. But really it’s so often down to good fortune. It’s extremely rare to get all five Bads. Perhaps a […]