On Birth Days

Edith here. My 1888 midwife Rose Carroll attends births in her clients' homes as her profession. When I was having babies several decades ago, I also enlisted home birth midwives. In fact, today is my younger son's birthday.

Baby Allan, one week old

Despite working with a well-known independent midwife (with physician backup) for my older son's birth, his positioning and large head led us to need a C-section after forty-eight hours of labor. These are the cases where, unlike in 1888, we are glad for antiseptic procedure and skilled surgeons. My nine-pound twelve-ounce son (with his sixteen-inch head) was fine. The hospital nurses said they'd never seen such a big head on a newborn. I ended up fine, too, and we nursed as a couple until I became pregnant with Allan's younger brother two years later.

I had done my homework and I knew second births are usually faster and easier than firsts. We again signed up with an independent midwife for a home birth, also known as VBAC: vaginal birth after Cesarean.

Edith and midwife Miriam Khalsa

To my dismay I experienced two days of vigorous labor just like the first time. I walked the halls. I labored on hands and knees and in a tub.
I squatted. My baby was lodged in a transverse (face up) position and nothing was bringing that little guy out, so we were forced to endure another surgery. Imagine my surprise when they said this nine-pound eight-ounce boy's head measured sixteen and a half inches!

Baby John David, a few days old

From my studies, I believe if Rose Carroll had encountered births like these, she would have waited longer, but if the baby showed signs of serious distress, she could have transferred the mother to the new hospital across the river in Newburyport. C-sections were being done by then, and the importance of keeping incisions clean to avoid infections was known.

John David and Allan, with Anna, my goddaughter and their friend for life (who was born at home with a midwife)

Perhaps the third Quaker Midwife Mystery will include an emergency C-section. Meanwhile, my second baby also thrived and is now a smart, generous, hardworking, thoughtful, handsome, and fun twenty-seven year old. Happy birthday, John David!

Readers: want to share your birth story - your own, your child's, or one you witnessed? Any experience with home birth, or are you squarely in the hospital camp?

Delivering the Truth, Edith Maxwell's first Quaker Midwife Mystery, releases April 8 from Midnight Ink. She writes several other mystery series as well as award-winning short stories, and blogs with the Wicked Cozy Authors.