Weepy wuss's (OBEM) - How will I toughen up?

Again I sniffed and cried my way through OBEM tonight having done exactly the same on Sunday night (Call the Midwife), and through last weeks midwife telly, & the week before and so on. I'm pathetic - a glimpse of a happy Mum & Dad, a sad Mum or Dad or whatever & I'm off. It's become a family joke that it's more fun to watch Mum than the telly!

So, I'm beginning to worry - how will I manage my lachrimose tendencies when I'm at the coal face? It really isn't appropriate surely to have a student MW weeping all over the new parents. has anyone else had/got this problem or worry? If so can you offer me any reassurance that I'll toughen up after a while?

Its really quite different when youre actually there, being a part of it, I reckon. At least, it is where nursing is concerned- I weep fairly easily these days too (I blame the children!) but you keep yourself together far more easily when its real, IMO....
Does that make sense?

Koala, I got teary at OBEM tonight but when I saw a birth in placement I had no time to get emotional I was busy thinking about other things. It really surprised me as I did think I would cry at the first one. That said I've only seen one birth so might be different in the future.

I feel exactly the same I think the nervous looking girl was a student midwife which made me think about how I would deal with it and the expressions on your face as she showed fear emotional episode thou x

They all had 'the Look' , mind you.....no wonder, that seemed pretty close to the edge, that one!

it's very different in real life!
i cry during most episodes of OBEM and Call the Midwife and yet i can certainly hold it together in real life! lol.
Once that adrenaline is pumping when you're actually there, the tears take a back seat! and as for the happy cries - i shed a tear if the dad cries usually! not a problem though, it's a privileged position to be in and you've shared in something special! (so long as you don;t end up a quivering wreck and overshadow anything that the parents are going through obviously! lol)

There are a few threads about this already. It is very different when you are at a delivery compared to watching OBEM at home. I cry at home as it is really lovely seeing a family come together, but when I'm at the birth myself I'm too busy checking the time of birth, assessing the baby for the APGAR score, cutting and clamping, looking that everything is going OK, etc. You will be fine when you are doing it - your professional persona takes over.

Well that's a relief. I'll clearly have to develop a stiff upper lip professional persona I can kind of see how you would be too busy to be indulging in the weepiness (it does feel like an indulgence cos it's sort of 2nd hand emotion isn't it) that viewing the scenario's on telly produces.

Thanks for the reassurance everyone - right, off to read "catching babies" & weep over that instead

I always cry at the telly but not on placement!! The 15th birth I saw (including witnesses and catches)was the first one I cried at... The Dad had been saying the woman really wanted a girl but they would be happy with either, and as I passed the baby to her through her legs (she was on all fours) He looked between the babies legs and said 'we got a girl' and did a little dance and cried.... My mentor had a little tear in her eye aswell and we had a little hug lol it was really lovely