I was born in 1967, at that time they were still knocking moms out during childbirth, my sister was born with gas a few years later, and my dad wasn’t present for either birth.
I'm a year older than you, and my mom says she woke up after the birth, and she'd see a pink or blue card on her nightstand, letting her know whether she'd have a boy or a girl.
A story that would never happen today: With her youngest, she went into labor 10 weeks early (preemies just didn't live back then), and she told the doctor, "DO NOT PUT ME TO SLEEP. I WANT TO GIVE THIS BABY EVERY POSSIBLE CHANCE TO MAKE IT, AND IF THE BABY ONLY LIVES A FEW MINUTES, I WANT TO BE AWAKE." Believing the baby would die, he knocked her out. When she woke up, she had no card on her nightstand; she was sure the baby was dead, and she freaked out. The nurse had forgotten the card. The baby was in the hospital a long time, but he beat the odds and lived.
Oh, and the the 1966 pediatrician told her breastfeeding me was a bad idea, but she said she couldn't afford formula. With her next child, the same ped said, "You wouldn't listen to me with the first one, I guess you're going to give this second child second-best as well." But with that last child, the preemie, the pediatrician FORBID HER to breastfeed, and -- terrified for his health -- she did what she was told and gave him formula.
I think we've taken things too far the other direction these days -- birth plans that try to decide about medication before you're in the situation, looking for an experience, forgetting that a healthy baby is the real goal -- but THIS is why things swung in that direction.