I was always amazed that my mom didn't kill me! But years later, thinking about it, she had nine younger siblings and 5 older ones, so I'm pretty sure that's what saved me.
OH.MY.OH. People who raise so many children are amazing. Your mother and grandparents have probably seen everything -wow!
My great-great-grandmother had more than 20 pregnancies (17 surviving children) and died at 52. She literally was pregnant all her adult life. I have a daguerrotype (precursor of a photo) that shows her at 35 - she looks like 70! There is definitely something to be said for being an atheist and using contraception (even at her time there were condoms but being catholic - and presumably fearing talk - she apparently hadn't her hubby use them).
My great-grandmother had 10 pregnancies and 8 surviving children (1 son, 7 daughters, they desperately wanted a son). So many pregnancies wear out the female body. Modern women, especially the career women types, even fear the consequences of just one pregnancy: remaining overweight, stretch marks, skin irritations, failing libido and beauty. Alas, some women give birth to two or three children and look better and fitter than childless women. Nature can be cruel. One might ask how human kind survived until now.....
Good point.On the other hand: if Darwin was really right and it's a just matter of the best adapted ones surviving and propagating it's a miracle that the male of the species didn't get extinct milennia ago. Propably another example for nature's grim sense of humour..
10 pregnancies - your great grandmother was amazing! It’s so irksome! If your great grandmother can survive 20 pregnancies then men can just shut up and deal. Holy crap. No wonder she died so young. Amazing what humans evidently can survive.
My mum had 14 pregnancies. She wanted 6 kids, but had 4 and was lucky to have that. RH factor issues. She had a stillbirth and lots of miscarriages. Her first baby was OK, of course, but she lost quite a few between that child and me. I'm only here because I'm also RH negative. After I had my miscarriage (my first pregnancy), I got the shot of Rhogam, which didn't exist in her time. Good thing or I'd have probably ended up childless. With each baby I had, I made sure I either had my shot, or that the baby's blood was also RH negative. I can't imagine how horrible it had to have been for her, especially losing her 2nd child right at term.
What does Rh mean. Is it more than just the + or - thing? I don't have any kids. Maybe my body rejected them early on
Rh is short for Rhesus factor. You're right, it's that +/- thing. There are 5 different genetic types for Rh+ and only one Rh-, hence the latter is rather rare. Many Europeans and some Northern Africans have it, but among Asians and most Africans it is quite uncommon. Only Rh- mothers with a Rh+ partner (and therefore Rh+ offspring) have this pregnancy problem. Usually, the blood transfer between mother and baby works only one way: her blood gets into the fetus via the umbellical cord, whereas no blood of the baby gets into her system until a few days before birth. Unfortunately, a Rh- mother will develop antibodies against a Rh+ child's blood. With the first one, it's usually no prob because the mother's immune reaction to the baby's blood starts too late to do much damage. However, with the second and any further Rh+ pregnancies, the mother will have a full-size immuno attack standing by. And this time it doesn't wait for the baby's blood to get into contact with hers. As soon as her blood (which by then already contains antibodies) enters the fetus, it starts to attack the fetus' own blood cells. This does critical damage to the fetus and unless treated in time, the baby will be stillborn, usually at a very early stage.
In third world countries, yes. But Rhogam is readily available these days and it's much less likely to occur once it's known to be a factor.
It's propably a good idea to get tested before one gets pregnant. I'm rh- myself, as is my mom, so fortunately no prob there. However, both my siblings are rh+ and ensuring the younger one's survival was a rather tricky thing back in the 70s. You're welcome I've always had a talent for explaining things in an understandable way. Some 20 years ago I got a severe reprimand by one of my bosses for writing an expertise in a way laypersons could actually understand *gasp*
After losing 7 or 8 pregnancies (including a stillbirth and twins), with me, they decided to take me early by caesarean. I was due in October (always loved that month) but born in late August. As a result I was quite jaundiced and they did a blood transfusion. All for naught. I could have baked a bit longer as I'm RH negative. *lol*
welcome to the club! I was 6 weeks too early. My mom wanted to "just dig over the compost heap" before the belly was too much in the way and 60 hours later her belly was a good deal flatter. (That compost was rather fateful in a second way: 19 years later I became a landscape gardener and worked as such for a few years to earn enough money for university fees so that I could study biology. Life demonstrates a sense of humour when you least expect it.) Our GP, who is also an obstetrician, thought I was stillborn, put me on the window sill in the sun while caring for my mom and almost suffered a heart failure when I suddenly started bawling *snicker*. He still teases me about that when we meet. People do tend to massively underrate us pretermers
From the pretty important to the frivolous; You get what you pay for. Tried a cheaper eyeliner and it turned into a spider web-like glob of black by late afternoon. I had to wash it off as soon as I got home because my eyes were sticking together. I didn’t even think my lashes were long enough to get tangled into each other. Grrrrrr