A Birth That I Saw

It all started with a phone call that said, “We are going to be induced at 8PM tomorrow and you should bring clothes to stay the night.”

This was my cousin calling to let me know that his wife would be heading to the hospital and that my godson will be born soon. I had promised to be there for everything so that I could take any pictures that they wanted.

I went to the hospital and they induced my cousin and we waited and waited. It took 3 inducements and 2 nights later my cousin was starting to get harder contractions. By the next morning, my cousin was ready to have the baby, but the baby was still not ready to come out! Since I knew that the baby loved hearing his dad’s voice, I talked my cousin into going to the foot of the bed and reading to the baby. The baby starting kicking and moving and it was about an hour later that we were in the process of delivering a baby.

I chose this example because the lead up and the process it took for my godson to come out was amazing. He was and is a determined little boy and the long hours of sitting at the hospital, was well worth it all.

My thoughts on birth are very simple; it’s a natural part of life. My godson came into a warm, inviting hospital room with his mother, father, and godmother there to support him. I believe that because of the process of talking to the baby in the womb and playing with him, my godson will grow up to have a connection with his parents that some may not have.

In America there are doctors and nurses that are there to take care of a mother and baby. In Africa, there are not only doctors and nurses but there are midwives and doulas. The midwife goes into their homes or the hospital and is there to deliver the baby. Doulas are coaches for the mothers and there to relax the mother by reducing stress. It seemed that many women only went to the hospital if things started to turn for the worse. In America birth outside a hospital is mainly unheard of. Both countries are the same though in the thought of having a stress free birth so that the baby comes into the world without the extra stresses that will come later in life.