The Miracle of Child Birth

My Experience....

It took 29 hours for me to give birth to my first child which was due to my determination not to have the dreaded.....C-Section. That has now been over 22 years ago and I can still remember the bright lights, white walls, and the delivery room being too cold. My nurses seemed to know exactly what I needed, so they didn't bother to even ask me how I was doing. Talk about a need for sensitivity training in appropriate bedside manners. I thought over and over again, my goodness... my mom did this 3 times, SERIOUSLY!!!! After giving birth, I recall being too tired to even left my head up to see my baby though I wanted to (it's called labor for a reason). Following what they called recovery, I was placed in a semi-private room (which I will forever be grateful for) with a woman who had previous experience in what I was learning as I go. A nurse quickly rolled my baby in the room and then left. Everything seemed fine until the sounds of what began as soft cries started. Oh no... I thought. As I tried to gather my strength to care for my child, I realized that I was still numb from the waist down and unable to adequately move. I began to quietly cry in frustration, when my neighbor came over with a smile and asked if she could help me. I could only nod with relief because at this point I needed so much help I was overwhelmed with relief by her offer. She gently placed my child in my arms, adjusted my bed, and asked if I was better now. She encouraged me to be patience with myself, that I would not have all the answers overnight. My neighbor was discharged the next morning and even though I didn't know her long.....she made a lasting impression on me with her kindness and I was able to enjoy the bonding experience with my baby. 

My first birthing experience did have its high points in comparison to what goes on in South Africa. It has been a common practice for nurses there to pinch, slap, and ignore calls for help from women in labor. Imagine being release from the hospital without painkillers or antibiotics after having a C-Section. Yikes, that just screams infection waiting to happen in my opinion. Having such a negative experience can cause resentment and even worst a high mortality rate leaving babies with no mothers or an alternative person to bond with. I have only mention a few misdoings, however here is a link if you are interested in reading what goes on further http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232413.php

If you were wondering, I did do my research and therefore had a much better experience with the birth of my second child. As I always say, you do better when you know better:)