Child Birth in my Life and Around the World

As long as I can remember, all I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. I have always loved babies! My dream came true in 1986 when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I was 23 years old and couldn’t wait to meet my son.  My pregnancy was “easy” until the beginning of the eighth month when I began to feel pain at the top of my left leg. I called the doctor and he said the baby was probably pressing on a nerve. Every day the pain got worse until my leg was swollen, hot and purple. When I called the doctor again, his partner answered and said she wanted to see me immediately. At the hospital I was told that I had a large blood clot in my leg and both my and my unborn child’s lives were in danger. I was hospitalized and given intravenous medication for the next two weeks to stabilize the clot. I learned how to give myself injections of a blood thinner and was allowed to go home for a few weeks to prepare for my sons birth.

When labor began, my husband and I returned to the hospital and met the high-risk team that would deliver my son. I was excited and scared at the same time. Labor continued for over twenty hours until my baby began showing signs of distress. The doctors decided to do a c-section but couldn’t because of the blood thinners in my system. Attempts to use both forceps and a vacuum were unsuccessful. I remember seeing my mom (a registered nurse and mother of nine children) standing against the wall. She looked terrified, and I new I was in trouble.  A few minutes later my doctor told one of the nurses to “get on top of me.” I remember Larry, a large but gentle man straddling me on the delivery table. He looked into my eyes and whispered to me to try and not fight what was to come next. When the doctor ordered Larry to do so, he sat on me with all of his weight. With the help of Larry’s force and a fourth degree episiotomy, Steven entered the world two contractions later. Steven’s Apgar score was a three and he was rushed away before I could see him. I knew he was alive because I heard him cry as he was carried out of the delivery room. Forty minutes later the pediatrician returned and told me Steven was perfectly healthy. I was overjoyed, grateful and relieved. This was not the delivery I had prepared for, but I was blessed with a healthy baby!

I have often wondered if the trauma Steven experienced during my pregnancy and his birth had an effect on his development. Steven is a bright and talented 27 year old today, but school was a challenge for him. His teachers wanted my husband and I to medicate him for attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, but we resisted. Steven eventually finished high school at the continuation campus and had little interest in college. He has a successful career today in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles and I couldn’t be any happier or prouder of him! 

I have also reflected on what the outcome would have been for my son and I if we didn’t have access to the high-risk medical team that saved our lives. All of my doctors agreed that without medical intervention, we would have died from complications associated with blood clots.

            In contrast, I chose to research how high-risk pregnancies and deliveries were treated in the developing region of West Africa near the time of my son’s birth. According to the World Health Organization, 99% of maternal mortality occurs in developing countries with 95% being avoidable at little cost. (Publique, 1999) The first International Conference on Safe Motherhood was held in 1987 to sensitize the world to this tragedy. In West Africa, the maternal mortality ratio is the highest with 1020 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births when it is 27/100,000 in developed countries. (Publique, 1999) Direct obstetric causes make up 80 % of the maternal mortalities, however cultural mores and economic hardship also contribute to the high risk pregnancies that often go untreated because of minimal health services. 

If a woman in West Africa experienced a similar pregnancy to mine, she might have made it to a clinic where there were no impatient beds or electricity. The medical staff wouldn’t have had enough supplies and she and her baby probably would have lost their lives.

I found this comparison heart breaking. Too many woman and children loose their lives do to inadequate health and medical attention. Some of the reasons for high maternal and infant mortality rates in West Africa can be solved easily with vaccines and prenatal care, while other circumstances are much more complicated.

References

Sante Publique, 1999 Pregnancy and Delivery in Western Africa. High Risk Motherhood http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10504833