05/18/25 - There was another expecting mom in there also delivering. Her butt was facing me.

A compilation of obstetrician stories:

“When I went to deliver my baby and I walked into the labour room, there was another expecting mom in there also delivering. Her butt was facing me. How do I describe it? It’s like a black hole the size of a bowl. Blood and disinfectant everywhere…I couldn’t even stay upright anymore. I just burst into tears and tried to run away, and three doctors grabbed me and put me on the bed…my hair still stands on end thinking about it now.”

“I interned in the labour and delivery unit for two weeks, and I can tell everyone that it’s real. If a baby died in the womb before it fully developed, then you still have to give birth to it, and you can’t get any pain relief at all. I saw the poor lady be in so much pain that she was hitting her own head. You could hear her screams all up and down the corridor. I knew that moment I would never put myself through this in my life.”

“When I first started interning in labour and delivery, I heard the sound of an episiotomy for the first time, the blunt sound of scissors ripping through flesh. I had nightmares for days. It’s flesh. It’s a living human’s flesh! And they just cut it open. After the delivery, the mom is lying in bed, completely exhausted, and a nurse sews her up, poking the needle into her again and again, pulling it through. It hurt so much she was shaking. I still remember posting to social media, “How much do I have to love someone to do this for them?””

“People are saying they went to their ob/gyn for a pregnancy appointment and the doctor was super cold? I just gotta clarify that they’re not asking if you want an abortion because they’re looking down on you! They don’t ask people they don’t like if they want abortions! It’s a part of the job. If a doctor saw someone was pregnant and immediately started acting happy and congratulating them, a woman who really needed an abortion or was on the fence might give in or be too shy to ask for an abortion (like if they’re getting divorced), and this will ruin their life and the baby’s. So they only change their attitude when you say you want to keep the baby.”

“I’ve heard other people say that ob/gyns think it’s bad karma to do abortions for people so they have a really bad attitude about it.”

“There was a little girl in our department who had syphilis at 13-years-old and was pregnant. She said she’d been secretly taking contraceptive pills thinking that would get rid of the baby and got discovered by her parents and they dragged her other the hospital. Her parents asked her who the dad was, and she said she didn’t know. They did end up finding the baby daddy, and he was 27-years-old. Made my jaw drop. 27 and 13.”

“Every time I went for my checkup, the doctor would ask me, “Is this your first baby?” And I would tell him truthfully that it was. And most doctors don’t say anything after that. Then one time, after a doctor asked, I asked him why he kept asking if this was my first baby, and he hesitated and said, “Because you have stretch marks.” And I was like, “Ohhhhh.” After that, every time a doctor asks, I would add that I have stretch marks from when I was fat. At my fattest, I was 90kg. And it got a lot easier talking to them after that.”

“One time, I was taking my kid to the hospital to check their height, and a 40-something-year-old auntie was next to me, bringing her kid in for weight. The doctor asked how many kids and abortions she’s had, and she said she’d gotten pregnant 11 times and had 3 kids. Holy shit, I was dumbfounded.”

“From a superstitious angle, how much karma does she have that 11 different kids want to be reincarnated with her?”

“I went to check on inconsistent periods, and there was a 30-something-year-old mom with her middle school daughter, going to the ob/gyn department. She said she was pregnant, and the doctor thought the mom was pregnant and asked if she wanted to keep it. The mom said the daughter was the one pregnant, and the doctor immediately flipped out on her.”

“My first baby, I tried for half a year and nothing. I was a bit anxious, and a fortune teller that my mom knew told me to not eat anything cold and I’ll get pregnant in two months. I didn’t believe it, but I followed his instructions, and within two months, I really did get pregnant. When I was trying for my second baby, the same fortune teller told me that I was destined to have three kids, and I’d have both sons and daughters. But I only wanted two babies. Who would get pregnant a third time? When I got pregnant with my second baby and went to get it confirmed at the hospital, they only saw one embryo, so I thought he wasn’t too accurate them. Then when I went to get an nuchal ultrasound, the doctor said it was twins and I’d have to pay double for the NT.”

“When my friend had her first baby at 24-years-old, she said the doctor who did her delivery was shocked she’s never had a miscarriage before. The doctor was like, “Not a lot of women haven’t ever had a miscarriage these days.” Is this true? I’m 30-years-old, naturally got pregnant with my first baby, and I’ve never had a miscarriage either. When I heard what she said, I was really shocked that it’s that rare to have never had a miscarriage. Would it really shock doctors this much?”

“When I was 23, pregnant with my oldest daughter, I went to the hospital to check the HCG and do an ultrasound. The doctor got the report results back, looked at my husband (baby face) and checked my info (born in 1997), and his face fell and he said, “If you don’t want it, you should schedule a surgery right away.” We were both shocked. My husband hurried to say, “We want it! Who said we didn’t want it? We’re married and everything! We even applied for a Child Permit!” [a thing back in the One Child Policy days where you need to provide proof that it’s your first baby in order to get a permit that allows you access to various hospital services]. And he started taking out all his paperwork. And the doctor immediately lightened up, like, ‘Oh wow, you were so young I thought you were just a college couple. I didn’t think you were married this young!””

“Because too many people are there for an abortion. When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing the doctor asked me was this really cold, official, “Do you want this baby?” And I was like, “Of course, I’ve been trying for a year.” And the doctor immediately got way nicer and patiently told me everything I needed to do.”

“When I was pregnant, I was pretty young, only 22-years-old. And I like to wear kinda childish clothes, like poofy dresses, JK [Japanese school uniform look], etc. The day I went to the hospital, I was wearing a floofy overall dress, with my hair up in a bun with a hair clip. As soon as I entered the ob/gyn department, everyone was staring at me. When I went into the office, the doctor also looked at me all weird and specifically double-checked my age. I saw her breathe out a sigh of relief. After that, I always made sure to dress more mature when I went in.”

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A compilation of what expensive hobbies people have:

“Playing a PS5. I went about 1000RMB on games and membership every year.”

“That’s not that expensive. Better than foot-washing.” [Most foot-washing places are apparently known for providing sex work as an additional service.]

“I bought a lathe and milling machine for my balcony so I can DIY my own engines. Is this an expensive hobby?”

“I’ve used more than a million RMB’s worth of guitars, and I still haven’t bought a house for myself.”

“Fishing! I’ve bought a ton of gear! I don’t even have space to put them anymore!”

“Buying cigars. I don’t even smoke them. I just like collecting them.”

“I don’t know if it’s expensive, but I love life. I like turning leaves I find while I’m out fishing into dried specimens to turn into art. All the decorative art I have for my house gets boring to look at after a while, so it’s not bad to frame leaves I found myself. It’s very rustic and a little bit museum-like. Season after season, every time I see them, it’s another memory of nature.”

“Buying ancient manuscripts. I spend about a million a year.”

“Skiing, deep sea fishing, Texas Hold ‘Em. I don’t take any seasons off.”

“Making stuff out of bamboo. Bamboo carvings, pen holders, fidget toys, flutes, Chinese flutes. It’s not expensive though.”

“All kinds of stocks, funds, bitcoin, lottery, real estate investments. I mostly lose money on all of them.”

“Computers, keyboards, mouses, data cords, chargers, and woks.”

“But you can use a computer for years.”

“Deep sea fishing. Every time, I only catch super cheap fish. Why can’t I get a moonfish?”

“Playing with flashlights. This is only a very small part of my collection.” [Very blurry photo of a shelf full of flashlights.]

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“Pakistan’s counter attack has began.

Pakistan has officially launched military operations in response to India’s incessant provocation.

This operation targets multiple targets within India, across multiple regions of India.

Pakistan claims that the initial operation has already hit a missile storage facility in the Punjab area of India.

India has not responded so far.”

Comments say, “This is such a fun war India and Pakistan is having. No matter who’s winning or losing, we’re getting great music and dance out of it.” [Probably in reference to an incredibly ear-wormy, parody song that someone wrote after India’s jets were shot down that has been going viral on the Chinese internet.]