by Doula Gillian Booth
It is early June and although baby Cairo is showing signs of being ready to emerge as Farheen’s belly grows, Farheen is not quite ready. “I need to clean the house before this baby comes,” Farheen asserts firmly. Fortunately, on the weekend of June 6, Farheen is blessed with bursts of energy to clean the house and put the final touches on baby Cairo’s room. A beautiful earth-toned weaving made by her friends at her blessingway now hangs on the bedroom wall. During the following week, Farheen takes time to relax, read, and spend time with Aisha and Chris. The days are sunny and hot, and the evenings are warm—summer has come early in Victoria.
Friday, June 12
2 p.m.—Farheen calls me with an update. She is having hints of contractions. “I’m not sure but I think the baby might come soon. I won’t ask Chris to come home from work, but I need you to be on standby.” Farheen feels mixed about whether to trust these light contractions and her feelings of the birth’s imminence.
5:30 p.m.—Farheen calls me to say, “Things seem to be happening. I think the baby might come tonight.”
8:30 p.m.—The contractions are nine minutes apart. Farheen’s friend Carolyn comes to put Aisha to bed and stay the night in case Aisha needs attention. Farheen is still not sure about whether this is the real thing. Then, on second thought, she says, “I know this is it.” Farheen and Chris go to bed to try to get some rest.
Saturday, June 13
9:30 a.m.—Aisha goes off to Buccaneer Days in Esquimalt with her grandmother. I arrive as Farheen and Chris move through a contraction on the living room floor. I get to work, setting up in the playroom, making some tea, watering the garden, and reading my book. It is a beautiful sunny day. Chris and Farheen go for a walk. The contractions are too strong to move through them comfortably out on the sidewalk. They move into the peaceful privacy of the backyard. Together they walk slowly, meditating and talking though each contraction. The garden is lush and green, with bright summer flowers.
Chris and I spend a relatively relaxed afternoon resting and massaging Farheen as her contractions continue. Farheen is very focused on conserving her energy in case the labor is long.
3 p.m.—Aisha arrives home from Buccaneer Days in time for a nap and her grandmother heads home for a break.
4 p.m.—Farheen calls the midwife Christina to check in. Christina comes by and checks Farheen’s progress. She says she is two centimeters dilated and the contractions could subside.
5:30 p.m.—I go home for a break and dinner. Farheen, Chris, and Aisha have roast chicken, vegetables, and salad for supper. After supper, Aisha goes to bed. Farheen’s contractions become more regular and stronger.
8:30 p.m.—Chris phones me to request my presence.
9 p.m.—As Farheen’s contractions get stronger, Chris and I help her to stay relaxed. Christina arrives with her birthing supplies. She checks Farheen, who is now five to six centimeters dilated. Farheen is getting tired. “I’m only halfway!” she says, expressing her concern about the long day she has just had. “More than halfway,” we encourage. Those last few centimeters can open quickly.
Farheen continues to breathe through her contractions and relax in between. Chris and I take turns massaging her as she rests, giving counter-pressure on her lower back as she contracts.
10 p.m.—Farheen is seven to eight centimeters. She stays focused on relaxing between contractions and breathing through the rough spots. She wants more support. She wants us to breathe with her. It is getting harder for her to focus and stay relaxed.
11 p.m.—The contractions get stronger. Farheen’s voice changes as she groans through a contraction. Christina says she can tell when the mother’s voice deepens that the baby will come soon. “Just tell me when you feel the need to push.”
11:20 p.m.—Farheen starts to push. She is on her hands and knees and Chris is whispering words of support in her ear. Christina and I are behind her. There’s no way she can hold back. We see the baby’s head and Chris and I switch places so Chris can see the baby come out. Christina wants Farheen to take it easy, but the baby comes out quickly at 11:39 p.m. He lets out a big, gasping cry. Chris holds the baby right away. Christina takes it from him and passes it through Farheen’s legs as she sits back. Farheen and Chris are blown away by this new being!
We shift Farheen into a more comfortable position and clean up around her. Then Christina checks the baby. It is a boy. She weighs him and measures him and wraps him up in a cotton blanket and gives him back to Farheen. She and Chris are very excited and very tired. They can barely believe that it has finally happened. Everyone gets a chance to hold the baby. Chris brings out the leftover chicken from the fridge and we all have a midnight snack. Finally, everyone leaves and Chris and Farheen go to sleep on the living room floor with new baby Cairo.
Gillian has attended over twenty-five births in Victoria and Mali, where she lived and worked with a village midwife for three months.