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| Alot of births you think of messy and just not something you want to dress up for...and in a hospital you think it's in a backless paper-thin gown.
The other day one of the labors came in wearing and looking her best. She had on a beautiful red summer dress with spagetti straps and it flowed when she walked. She labored for 6 hours in it; walking, breathing, talking, crying, breathing... finally when she was on the birthstool she let us change her into an old tee-shirt to have the baby...but I couldn't help but think she looked like she was getting ready to meet one of the most important people ever. her son.it was about the most priceless thought ever...
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| Recently my little friend Kris gave birth. She and I became text buddies and actually got to know eachother before she delivered, Kaizhen Mia. I was the primary student midwife at her birth and found it a bit daunting. You see before labor, Kris was a sweet very tiny woman who had a lot of spunk. In labor she turned into a raging machine of pain. Her boyfriend Anton can attest to this. He very bravely endured his hair being pulled thru contractions, his shirt almost torn off his body as well as an occasional spontaneous slap for no reason at all. Well actually there was reason, you see he took a nap. He had been up since 2am and it was 4 in the afternoon...who wouldn't take alittle nap. But she is dilating at 9cm and can't seem to get the last bit of cervix to dissappear for not 1 or 2 or even 3 hours...she arrested for a full 4 hours at 9 cm....not fun at all! But happy to say that kaizhen was born kicking and screaming at around 6pm and her mother did not tear! And almost as soon as she was out, raging Kris transformed back into this quiet little 18 year old, curious about her babies first moments and resting against her boyfriend with a content little grin on her face. Oh but the shift was not over yet...no, no I had to get thru mary ann's birth. Mary Ann is 15, she and her boyfriend arrive and stay outside the yard of the clinic cause they are shy but eventually at 7cm she comes to me being supported by her boyfriend crying. And she didn't stop, she cried and cried and cried...and then she got short of breath she was crying herself silly....so i started breathing exercises and let her lie down for awhile...(lying down is not a great position to get a baby to descend and engage and dilate the cervix but when she has been working hard and just needs that little rest before pushing stage then by all means lie down).
Anyway, some concentrated breathing and rupturing the membranes and Mary Ann got on the birthstool and very quickly and efficiently birthed her very big (for filipino standards) boy, John Kyle. She was pro, and as soon as we caught him and put him on her stomache, she started calling him John Kyle.
2 births of first time mums....first babies are always the hardest but after witnessing these two women fight thru contractions for hours, I think they are awfully rewarding...and kinda funny....I mean they are so cute when they come to you at 4 cm and say, "Oh Ate, sobrang sakit!" translation "Oh, sister this is too painful!" and all I can think is, "oh honey, this is only the beginning, you poor baby". Labor watching is about as fun as deciding to watch a full nine innings of baseball...you know at one point it will end but there are times when you think the torture will never end. The only thing that get you thru is that there is an end...and I've gotta say that baby out is way cooler than any home runs I;ve seen lately.
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|  so went to grad, presented the Stephen Enns memorial scholarship...played settlers after to de-(whatever you feel when you have to present your brothers award). Turned out to be a great day, suprising me again with how great God is even when your doing something that technically should put you over the edge of that precarious ledge we call 'emotionally stable'. But all I could think of after was that at least I was the youngest and best dressed presenter...yes, it comforted me...in a small way.
But now it's back to dilation, fetal presentation and can i say the wonderful world of placenta...seriously I am going to ask one of the ladies if I can keep it sometime. They are the coolest thing since....well, if you really know what to look for and when you think that they sustained and grew a new little life for 9 months....they deserve a bit more than a, "Well, thats the grossest pizza I've ever seen!"
Placenta's are babies best friends...not like I'm supporting lotus birthing (carrying the placenta around with the baby for the first week of life) but maybe burying it in your back yard has more sense than I first thought. Seriously, have you ever wondered why kids make imaginary friends for themselves...i bet it all goes back to life in utero and that good ol' placenta...what do you think you were doing for nine months with only a piece of meat to keep you company...duh, taking to it. And it wasn't meat, it was Fred, or Joe, or Sarah....i really think we should explore the psychological significance of placenta's to children's thought and development.
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we go to births together.
