i saw my first live birth in sudan this summer. it was intense. the woman was pushing, even though her water hadn't broken yet. guess where i was standing as she was pushing? yep, right between her legs. thankfully one of the nurses gave me a good shove right as the water broke- spraying about 3 feet forward in the exact location i had just been in. whew- glad i missed that one.
anyways, i've been thinking a lot about that birth lately. i later had the pleasure of naming the child (isaiah), who's mother made barely a sound when she delivered. only occasional "oooh loo-loo", in just above a whisper. this is just one many many instances which proves that african women are a hell of a lot tougher than most american women can dream to be. including myself. in fact, the only time the mother showed any sign of great pain was the day after the birth, when murielle had to sew her lady parts back together. she was squeezing my arm so tight during that procedure that my arm literally went numb and then i thought i was going to pass out. i think the squeezing was justified.
did i mention the absence of any anesthetic throughout the entire procedure? including the lady parts part? yeah.
that wasn't the only time i thought i would pass out in that hospital. in fact, before any of the action had even begun in isaiah's birth, i was imagining what was about to happen as murielle described it to me, and i had to leave the room and put my head between my knees. case in point.
2 comments:
love the birth control video. and it was so great to see you too =) I'm not sure if I've met drew or not. I think no, but it's the same as the sean thing, I was all, oh yeah totally have looked at like all your facebook pictures and your blog...ha...ha...awkward.
no Sean understood and didn't think it was weird at all. he just chuckled and said, "small world!"
i found your blog! yay. and awesome that you got to be with a woman giving birth. i'd love to be a doula so ya..love that.
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