The Language of Labor

Yesterday I cared for a woman in labor. I supported her through contractions, encouraged her softly when she looked afraid and placed the baby gently on her chest when she pushed him out. We spoke, but did not speak the same language. We spoke through hand motions, through facial expressions, and through touch. She had an interpreter with her, but most times we did not need to say words to understand each other. It was really quite beautiful.

Her birth was the third baby that I have officially caught as a student midwife. It was an amazing unmedicated labor. The type of labor and birth that would usually be seen in a birth center or at home. She never had an IV, she never stayed in bed for more than 5 minutes, and aside from the 20 minute NST on admission, she was never hooked up to a monitor. She was checked twice, once on admission, and once 4 hours later. She was 5cm on admission, 7-8cm four hours later, and two hours after that, her bag of waters was bulging out and she was ready to push. She began pushing while standing, then sitting and then gave birth squatting. It was her first baby and she only pushed for 25 minutes. 20 of those minutes were the baby's head crowning. As I looked around the room, the two nurses, two midwifery students, and midwife were all watching this woman in awe as she squatted and swung her hips back and forth to push out her son. One of the nurses later remarked how incredible it was to see a woman so instinctively follow her body's urges. In a tertiary care center where epidural births are the norm, the nurses do not often have the opportunity to witness the amazing process of an unmedicated labor and birth.

I feel honored to have been the one to catch this baby boy. I felt full from a day of supporting a woman in labor and holding her hand when the contractions became strong. As I placed the baby boy on her chest, she shreaked with joy and pride. Even though she was speaking a language I could not understand, the look on her face told it all "did you see that everyone, I did that! I JUST DID THAT!" After I had given her a few stitches and cleaned her up, I went up to say congratulations and goodbye. She held onto my hand and called over her translator. She thanked me for being so supportive, and for being there for her when she really needed it. We held hands for a few moments and silently thanked each other for a wonderful day.