Miracle to Birth

I have been blessed with three miracle births in my lifetime.  It is very hard to pick just one of those experiences to write about.  If I had to choose just one experience to write about I would chose the birth of my first child, Shelby.  I was twenty years old and had been married only two years.  I can remember being extremely sick and laying in bed coughing and coughing.  I had called my then husband and can remember he would not come home, and we only had one car.  I had gotten up to get a drink at the sink when I all of a sudden began to pee down my leg…  It was not pee.  It was my water.  I called my mom, and then my doctor, and husband.  Off to the hospital we went.  After several tests it was determined I have suffered pre-rupture of membranes and I was 34 weeks pregnant.  Doctors admitted me to labor and deliver and after a million pricks and sticks I began being induced.  After 9 hours of active labor I was only at 4 centimeters dilated and my parents had arrived.  The induction continued for 65 more hours.  I had to have three epidurals and final reached the “crowning” moment.  Life flight was standing by to transport my newborn baby to a hospital that had a neonatal intensive care unit.  I delivered my 6 pound baby girl 5 weeks early.  I ended up fracturing my tailbone and cracking three ribs due to the relentless labor and side affect from being inducted for 3 days straight.  I was so worried that my baby would be premature and not be able to breathe on her own.  I awaited doctors assessment of her and the next thing I see is my mom crying.  I thought, “Something terrible has happen.”  They were tears of joy!  My mom cried, “She’s perfect!”  I started crying with her.  Shelby did not have to be transported and was very stable but doctors were placing her in an oxygen supplement tank for the first few hours and were going to observe her.  I was told that I was not going to be able to hold my new baby for a little while longer.  Finally after four hours they wheel me into the small isolation room in the nursery.  They she was… Laying there with her feet in the air, IV’s in each tiny hand, and oxygen capsule over her head, she was ok.   I was so terrified that something was wrong with my precious gift from above.  After close observation and series of testing the only thing doctors could determine was that Shelby’s eyelashes, fingernails, and toenails had not formed yet.  She was slightly jaundice, but otherwise a healthy baby girl.  It was later discovered that the preterm labor caused severe acid reflux disease that she still battle even today.  She also had severely under developed estuation tubes, which resulted in multiple surgeries on her ears and 20% hearing loss in her right ear.   As a young mom not knowing what difficulties would face me in my child’s early development, I have learned that preterm labor can affect children long after birth.  In the moment you just hope for a textbook pregnancy and delivery. When things do not go as planned, it’s then you hope that the decisions you make as a parent will not hinder your child’s normal child development.

Having a baby in Japan

I read several articles about births in Japan.  Their culture those modernized is still very different.  The United States is a very much customer service based economy.  What customers want they get.  In Japan luxuries are a privilege and have to be respected know matter if the customer can afford or not.  For instance, In Japan doctors are respected and treated the all knowing authority and not to be questioned.  It is their status among society that they would not be a doctor unless they knew the “right” decisions to make.  So as a new mom to ask for specific treatment or to question a doctor’s methods is unheard and considered rude.   The natural non intervention methods of the western communities do not happen in Japan.  Hospitals are designed just for births and the request weather to receive drugs or the position in which the mother feels most comfortable to deliver is not up to the patient it is ordered by the Sensei or Doctor.  It brings me to a realization that western child development is a matter of taste and questionability.  In cultures like Japan development is decided for a child and a parent follows through on the instructions and does not question what is best for their child.  We are very privileged in America to have so many choices and opinions.

Gray, A. (2012, April). Giving Birth, having a baby in Japan. Retrieved from global compassion: http://www.globalcompassion.com/japan-birth.htm