the blue wall, birth 3
I’d seen Nan come into the clinic for pre-natal checks over the 6 weeks I’ve been in Hyden. I watched her belly grow until she could rest her elbows on her table of a pregnant stomach. For weeks she kicked her mother out of the room for any pelvic/vaginal exam, and I wondered what would happen when it came to birthing. One day she asked me to record her babies heart beat onto her cell phone. I caught a story of “dad’s” nasty behavior towards her. I heard how much she loved this hidden gem to come. How ready she was for the swelling to be over and the little guy to be out.
My favorite story was one her mother told during one clinic visit. The midwife routinely asked if mom was feeling good movement from the baby. Both Nan and her mother, Cammie, answered with enthusiasm, “Sure is”, in unison. Cammie went onto to explain. “Nan hasn’t sleeping well. When mama’s wanted to sleep, the baby was ready to rock n’ roll. I like to sleep with her when she’s restless. And Nan will snuggle her belly right up to my back. And that baby, wow, that baby kicks me in the back all night long!”
After many false attempts, Nan finally came into the hospital in active labor. The progress was slow. The midwife patiently waited it out, allowing ample time to deliver vaginally.
When Nan arrived at 10pm she was at 2cm.
10am she was at 4cm.
3pm at 6 cm and developed a fever.
6pm she finally opened up to 9cm, with a partially swollen cervix.
At this point the midwife told Nan she’d check her again in an hour. If the cervix hadn’t progressed she’d need a C-section. “The reason there is no progress is because something is not right –the baby may not fit, or is turned the wrong way, or something else.”
At 7pm she was regressed at 8 cm was a very swollen cervix. The Operating Room Crew was called in. The midwife slowly explained the procedure to Nan and Cammie, and tried to calm their nerves.
For this Section I was at Nan’s head. A blue sheet covers her body and is raised high at her chest. She cannot see the work below and the surgeon and nurses cannot see their patient's face. As I was standing at her head, I could both see Nan (who was awake) and the surgery over the blue sheet.
The blue cloth divides what is human and what is medical. Nan can fell no pain, only immense pressure. On one side I see her squirms, turning her head from side to side. She repeats, “My chest, the pressure” over and over. On the other side of the blue wall the scrubbed people cut and pull at her insides. It’s bloody. Muscle tissue is exposed. He reaches in and pulls out a 9lb 8oz baby. The little guy is huge.
I held Nan’s hand and ensured her that everything was ok. Then I looked over the blue barrier to see sewing and tugging. From the middle, as I watched them soak up abdominal blood with rags, Nan squeezed my hand so tight the tips of my fingers began to turn blue.
The surgery ended. The blue wall came down. Mama recovered in her bed. Baby recovered in the incubator. For their first touch, the nurse rolled mama up to the baby. She reached into his glass box and held his tiny, little hand.
My favorite story was one her mother told during one clinic visit. The midwife routinely asked if mom was feeling good movement from the baby. Both Nan and her mother, Cammie, answered with enthusiasm, “Sure is”, in unison. Cammie went onto to explain. “Nan hasn’t sleeping well. When mama’s wanted to sleep, the baby was ready to rock n’ roll. I like to sleep with her when she’s restless. And Nan will snuggle her belly right up to my back. And that baby, wow, that baby kicks me in the back all night long!”
After many false attempts, Nan finally came into the hospital in active labor. The progress was slow. The midwife patiently waited it out, allowing ample time to deliver vaginally.
When Nan arrived at 10pm she was at 2cm.
10am she was at 4cm.
3pm at 6 cm and developed a fever.
6pm she finally opened up to 9cm, with a partially swollen cervix.
At this point the midwife told Nan she’d check her again in an hour. If the cervix hadn’t progressed she’d need a C-section. “The reason there is no progress is because something is not right –the baby may not fit, or is turned the wrong way, or something else.”
At 7pm she was regressed at 8 cm was a very swollen cervix. The Operating Room Crew was called in. The midwife slowly explained the procedure to Nan and Cammie, and tried to calm their nerves.
For this Section I was at Nan’s head. A blue sheet covers her body and is raised high at her chest. She cannot see the work below and the surgeon and nurses cannot see their patient's face. As I was standing at her head, I could both see Nan (who was awake) and the surgery over the blue sheet.
The blue cloth divides what is human and what is medical. Nan can fell no pain, only immense pressure. On one side I see her squirms, turning her head from side to side. She repeats, “My chest, the pressure” over and over. On the other side of the blue wall the scrubbed people cut and pull at her insides. It’s bloody. Muscle tissue is exposed. He reaches in and pulls out a 9lb 8oz baby. The little guy is huge.
I held Nan’s hand and ensured her that everything was ok. Then I looked over the blue barrier to see sewing and tugging. From the middle, as I watched them soak up abdominal blood with rags, Nan squeezed my hand so tight the tips of my fingers began to turn blue.
The surgery ended. The blue wall came down. Mama recovered in her bed. Baby recovered in the incubator. For their first touch, the nurse rolled mama up to the baby. She reached into his glass box and held his tiny, little hand.
