Miriam O’ Callaghan has offered one piece of advice to expectant mums when it comes to giving birth.
The journalist. who has four girls and four boys herself, admits that it’s something she gets asked about a lot because ‘she’s done it so many times’.
“They wait for my answer as if I will have great wisdom to impart. But I only have one thing to say: ‘Have an epidural’.”
“Whoever invented the epidural should get a medal. I never wanted a natural childbirth, never. I had one every single time. Even at the age of 26 [with Alannah]. As I always say, it’s like a man planning to have his leg amputated without anaesthetic. He wouldn’t do it,” she told Independent.ie
“I know there are women who are amazing at giving birth without anything, and I know there is a whole school of thought that it’s the right thing, but I’m hopeless at giving birth.”
She added that there can be negative opinions about having epidurals, but that it’s important to do whats right for you.
“I think even when I had Alannah, there was a lot of judgment,” Miriam says. “There was a lot of a pressure to have the baby naturally, but I knew from a young age that I don’t like pain.
“But it’s a very important issue; the judgment.
“There’s a lot of pressure on women these days – you must have a natural birth, you must breastfeed, you must lose the weight. It’s enormous, and women must try to block it out.”
“You know every time you read an article about being a mother, you know you are going to read another one, a week later, saying the absolute opposite.”
We love Miriam’s attitude!
