Baby, I’m helping, I am. We’re doing it. We got it now. I’m right here, helping. Are you ready? We’re going to ride this next one, baby. Hang on. Here we go.
It was 3:00 in the morning and we were all crammed into a birth room together at the hospital—the staff midwife and me, family members and friends.
She was tired. It had been a long labor, but she was nearly there. The contractions were sweeping over her, like giant breakers battering the shore, relentless, one piled on top of another.
They were spooned together on the bed. She was naked, and he was in sweat pants, shirtless. His arms wrapped around her body, rocking her like a little child to the rhythm of her deep breathing and soft moaning. He was intensely present, drawing her into his body with each wave. His voice was melodic and steady as he supported her through each contraction.
In the corner on the floor, two friends sat, fellow jazz musicians, composing a new score to the rhythm of the baby’s heart beat… ta dah, ta dah, ta dah ta dah…one hundred and thirty beats a minute…ta dah, ta dah, ta dah…snapping their fingers, creating a song to welcome this child into the world…an offering. On the edge of the couch sat the grandparents, calmly taking it all in. Maintaining vigilance, their breathing in rhythm with their daughter’s, but quiet.
Contraction after contraction…Help me…I’m here, baby. I will never leave you…Help me, please help me…Just one more, baby, here we go. We’ll do it together…Sweat dripping from their bodies…
Suddenly she got up. While a nurse helped her to the bathroom, her husband sat up on the side of the bed, head in his hands. Then he walked over to me, tears welling in his eyes. Standing there he said, “That’s all I’ve got…and it’s not enough…” This loving and gentle husband, in one sentence, gave me a profound glimpse of what it must be like for these men, such devoted protectors, who choose to enter into the mysterious world of women and birth.
And now, when she began to bear down, he cradled her in the bed by making a nest of his body that she could curl up in. As she pushed, so did he. He roared when she roared. They moved and breathed as one organism.
As the baby slipped into the world, the room exploded in a joyful celebration. Birthday melodies welcomed the new one, serenaded from faces soaked in tears. “We did it, baby! We did it!” he shouted.
Thank you for Sharing Candace! Such a beautiful story! I've been considering midwifery lately.
ReplyDeletei think most people don't know that this is what birth can look like in it's natural, supported state. i'm so glad you're getting this on paper and sharing it. thank you thank you...
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