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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Pamela.Ebrey on Wednesday 15 August 12 15:37 BST (UK)
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Hi everyone!
I'm hoping someone can help answer a silly question that is driving my father and I crazy... it's a stupid little thing but we are both spending way too much time trying to figure out why a jam jar was apparently an essential tool for having a baby in 1961.
My mother died last year and I acquired a load of old family papers from helping my Dad clean out the loft. Among said papers was a list from the Warwickshire County Council that was sent to my mom; it was entitled "Requirements for Home Confinements" and was obviously a list of things needed if you were going to have your baby at home.
This was probably for my brother, who was born at home in 1961, and the list contains those things you would normally expect to have on hand at such a time.. towels, soap, baby powder, etc.
But right in the middle of the "For Mother" list is...
1 jam jar.
And not just any old jam jar, either... carefully written next to it is:
"2lb size with lid"
Now.. both of my children were born in a hospital and I don't recall seeing or needing a jam jar at any point in the process.
My Dad and I have gone really silly trying to imagine what this could possibly have been used for.. his best suggestion was that it could be used to pickle the baby in if it was stillborn.. then at least you'd have something to show for all that effort!
I know the answer is probably something extremely mundane and ordinary but it has provided hours of entertainment for Dad and me. (We found out recently that one of my daughter's friends is expecting... both Dad and I cried in unison "Don't forget your jam jar!" I'm sure we must be tipping over the edge into lunacy at this point.
So, aside from the question of what the jam jar was to be used for... have any of you ever come across incongruous items in an otherwise sane and sober document? Did you ever find out why it was there?
Someone please put us out of our misery.....
Pamela
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I'd say it was for the midwife to put the placenta in.
A 2 lb jar would be fairly large, wouldn't it?
Dawn M
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I'd say it was for the midwife to put the placenta in.
A 2 lb jar would be fairly large, wouldn't it?
Dawn M
That would be my guess too. I think it would be quite tricky slipping it into a 1lb jar, hence the 2lb specification!
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The expert sitting alongside me points out that the midwife will weigh the placenta, was a set of scales mentioned :) :) :), mind her doctor suggested four bottles of guiness as an aid to milk production :o :o :o
mike
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No mention at all of scales, but there was a notation for "Newspapers and brown paper" which I assumed was for the disposition of the placenta.
One of my earlier musings was perhaps that the jam jar should be filled with whiskey!! Not so long ago, here in southern USA you could... acquire... moonshine that would come in jam jars... and not particularly clean ones either, as I remember, I mean read in a book somewhere ;D
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I think placenta too.
The newspapers and brown paper were to go under mother to minimise the mattress getting messy. Brown paper bottom as its more water repellant than newspaper, newspaper on top though I expect the print came off ;D
1961? I don't suppose dad was even in the room to mop the fevered brow ::)
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I'd go along for the placenta too !
Never heard about paper under the mother, but it makes sense in the days before plastic sheeting !
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Here in NZ a new t.v show about the myths of motherhood is about to start.
In the ads for the show it said about women drinking beer to bring on milk, another was scrubbing nipples with a tooth brush ready for breast feeding :o Ouch.
Don't forget the "Glowing" Pregnancy...Where on earth did that come from? General tiredness, back pain, nausea, weight gain, veins, I never glowed looked like a beached whale.
Now a jam jar is totally new to me, maybe for the drink of beer ;D especially after all of the complaints of above, then you have to contend with a non stop crying new born ::) I certainly think a good strong drink is needed after that.
Suzy W
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I think placenta too.
The newspapers and brown paper were to go under mother to minimise the mattress getting messy. Brown paper bottom as its more water repellant than newspaper, newspaper on top though I expect the print came off ;D
1961? I don't suppose dad was even in the room to mop the fevered brow ::)
My mother told me that her knees were covered in print where she had been kneeling on the newspaper put down on the bed when she was having me, so the above is definitely correct. And as for dad to be there!!! Back in the 1940's not only was it not done for dads to be there but they had to work. Despite knowing mum was in labour he still had to go to work and he didnt get to see us until he came home from work that evening. Imagine that now.
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Okay, so the votes are in and placenta-container it is! Ran it by my Dad and he thinks that makes sense. I also asked him if he was actually in the room with Mom when she was giving birth.
I was the first born child (1958) and was born in a maternity hospital due to some slight inconvenience with me coming out backwards. My Dad didn't know I'd been born until he came round and visited around 9am the next morning, by which time I was already three hours old.
But my brother (he for whom the jam jar was needed) was born at home in 1961. The midwife told my Dad he needed to leave the room and his job was to go downstairs and pace around until the job was done. He said he sat in the sitting room, which was sited directly under the bedroom, and tried to read a book. He knew that everything would be okay because he'd "seen how it was done on the telly.. and everything's always alright, despite the screaming!" When everything was done and dusted, he was called back upstairs to view the results.
However, when my next brother was born at home in 1965, my Dad was actually allowed to stay in the room and he saw everything. His only comment about that was, "Now I understand a bit more what all the screaming was about."
So, if the father was not at work and wanted to be there, I guess it the midwife (and the mother!) might have had a bit of a say in whether he was allowed in or not.
Pamela
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In the ads for the show it said about women drinking beer to bring on milk
My sister's midwife used to bring her a crate of Guinness, as prescribed by the doctor. They took the slogan "Guinness is Good for You" seriously!
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I think they used to advise Guinness for iron intake pre-iron pills. I remember my aunt having a baby in the sixties relishing her daily pint of Guinness :D
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My expert remembers iron pills and those huge horrible calcium tablets.
No I definately was't there to mop the fevered brow :o :o :o :o :o
At lest guiness was cheaper than brandy and babycham----- ooo there is no smiley for tight-fisted old git :) :) :) :)
mike
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I'll take bets there's an awful lot of new mothers would be pleased to see their partner's certain appendage in a 2lb jam jar just after giving birth ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Mine nearly had his hand broken off ;D ;D
Suzy W
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I think they used to advise Guinness for iron intake pre-iron pills. I remember my aunt having a baby in the sixties relishing her daily pint of Guinness :D
Guinness apparently has great restorative qualities :P :P
When I was a trainee nurse in the late 1950s, the NUN in charge of our Men's Surgical Ward used to regularly dose the men up with Guinness ;D ;D ;D
Dawn M
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My best bet is that the jam jar would be used to collect urine to test for protein and glucose. It would need to be big enough to wee into. This is only a guess. My first child was born in 1963 in hospital. barneysmum. ;D
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I'm sure my mum would know what the jam jar was for - but unfortunately I cannot ask her.
My sister was born in 1957, in hospital. Dad was allowed to go with mum in the ambulance but then was sent home when she was admitted. He came home on the bus with mum's clothes in his arms (they didn't even give him a bag to put them in). He remembers being very embarrassed when one of her rolled up stockings, unrolled itself as it rolled down the floor of the bus.
My brother was born in 1960, at home. My sister remembers the Black midwife (very unusual back then) and always calls her Nurse Pill (I'm not sure if this was her real name or not). For years our "swear word" was "District Nuse".
And I was born in 1967 in hospital. Dad made a big scene when he insisted on being in the delivery ward with my mum. Apparently he set a trend and many of their friends were together for the births of their babys after that. I always tease him that he only made a scene to stay with mum so he didn't have to take her stockings home on the bus (he did have a car in the carpark at the hospital but we still laugh about that stocking).
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I had a home birth in 1965 but was not required to provide a jam jar. The placenta was wrapped in newspaper and something else - may have been brown paper - taken downstairs and burned.
Lilym
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Yep, that`s how it was in 1957 for home births.Id say a 2lb jam jar was not big enough for a placenta. They were usually burnt but in difficult cases they were taken to a hospital and examined to be sure all had been parted with as otherwise heavy bleeding would occur, possibly leading to a fatal haemorrhage.
My midwife left one on a bus in her student days!
I can`t remember what the large jam jar was used for though. Dettol---OUCH---I remember that, talk about sting!
You collected a sealed box with everything in it sterile, to prevent infection and the dreaded puerperal fever which often followed confinements where everything was not really clean, amateur midwives with unclean hands and aprons etc.A great killer in days gone by.
Fathers were not allowed in and I for one was very grateful, I`d have been looking after him!!!
Viktoria.
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I stayed in the maternity hospital for a fortnight after giving birth to my twin girls in 1989 and was given a bottle of Guinness every day with my lunch or tea - can't remember which meal but certainly not both! hic...
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I had a home birth in 1965 but was not required to provide a jam jar. The placenta was wrapped in newspaper and something else - may have been brown paper - taken downstairs and burned.
Lilym
Eeewww imagine the smell. What a way to tell the neighbours the baby was born :-X
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In NZ ladies can still take it home and plant under a tree. (A Maori custom). I was offered this, but not my cup of tea, all I could see is some cat digging it up ::)
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Just wondering if the jar was used for expressed milk?
Back in the 1960's when I was born the mother was in hospital for at least two weeks, unlike today shipped out within 1-2 days.
So the extra milk would have to be stored somewhere.
Suzy W
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2 lbs worth of breast milk! :o :o :o :o
That would be one hungery baby!
Seriously though, not every home had a fridge then, we did but I know my grandmother and several friends didn't so doubtful. It wouldn't be advisable to keep expressed milk refridgerated more than overnight anyway.
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Hi,
Jam Jar is a term I haven't heard for many years for a bottle that stores warm water. This term died out many decades ago. My grandmother used to use the term all of the time for a glass jar to house warm water , which brings back very fond memories
Just a thought.
It's very intriguing, the mind totally boggles -hopefully someone will come across your post who had the the same request for a 2lb jam jar when they gave birth and can enlighten us all
Kind regards
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Just thinking--- I wonder if the jar was used as a receptacle for forceps and they would be sterilized by being immersed in boiling water or a solution such as Dettol.
However I can imagine the jar cracking in the icy cold conditions of most bedrooms when we had ice INSIDE the windows in winter. It remains a mystery.
Viktoria
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Well folks, the mystery is solved! I happened to bump into two retired midwives this morning, and took the opportunity to ask about the jam jar. Without a second's hesitation they both replied "It's for the nailbrush!". It was to contain an orangey-coloured antiseptic solution used to ensure the midwife's fingernails were scrupulously clean.
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Tha nail brush!!! Well I would never have come up with that! Thanks Isabel H for solving one of the mysteries of my universe!
Pamela
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I'll take bets there's an awful lot of new mothers would be pleased to see their partner's certain appendage in a 2lb jam jar just after giving birth ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
well done IsabelH! (Although I still think my suggestion had some merit) ;) ;D
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...but what was the biscuit tin for????
Home birth 1964 - midwife reminded us not to forget the biscuit tin - and then specified it must be empty!! She then went on to tell the tale how she had delivered one baby and when she came to open the tin it was full of biscuits (the parents thought the midwife liked to eat biscuits when "delivering")
We never thought to ask what the biscuit tin would be used for- just got one in stock - but due to complications the birth took place in hospital - so we never did discover what the tin was for???
Suz
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When my daughter was born at home in 1975 the midwife told my husband to go and bury the placenta in the garden. It was very frosty and he had difficulty digging a large enough hole!
I didn't have to provide a biscuit tin though.
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My granny talked to me when I was expecting my first baby about how she had attended her sisters when they gave birth in the 1920s (and helped out when one miscarried), The biscuit tin was to put anything that might be used as a sanitary dressing in, then it would go in the oven to be baked to sterilize the contents.
Mother in law's first child was born in 1951, she had to take in a long strip of cotton sheeting and lots of safety pins for a breast binder - no nursing bras in those days!
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I suppose that makes sense -re biscuit tin
Suz
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My first baby is due in just over 5 weeks, I must remember to pack a jam jar and a biscuit tin in my hospital bag!!! :)
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Don't forget to eat the biscuits first!!!
Suz
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The biscuit tin was to put anything that might be used as a sanitary dressing in, then it would go in the oven to be baked to sterilize the contents.
I don't have a biscuit tin - I don't suppose the tupperware container would do the same job would it :o
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A ziplock bag might do the trick!