December 2020

I met mummy number 17 in her 33rd week, and we talked for hours about natural birth and preparation for labour. She was well read and researched and did antenatal classes on Zoom in Italy, as that was what she felt most comfortable with in her mother tongue.

Pregnancy was uneventful and especially enjoyable as she managed to go for a few months to see her parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thankfully she returned safe and well and endured the 14 days home quarantine without incident.

Baby was due 9^th January, so plenty of time for me to enjoy my Christmas and New Years holiday. How wrong I was!  The doctor performed a scan at 38 weeks and realized there was very little water around the baby so decided to induce labour the very next day. We were on our way back from our holiday in Yala when she went ahead with the procedure and as it happened, she birthed really quickly while we were still on the motorway.

I was incredibly sad not to have been present, but have accepted the fact that I can’t be there for all the women. She had an epidural and the doctor gave her extra special care knowing I was not present. Baby Carla was born weighing 3.2 kg and mum was overjoyed. I visited her at home after they were discharged from hospital and she was doing brilliantly, even though she was not feeling it. Frequent messages on What’s app, answering lots of questions and providing explanations gave her the confidence she can be a good mum.  She has done an amazing job considering she had no other help apart from her husband. Baby Carla is 6 weeks now and she is a sweetie. Weekends by the sea are apparently perfect, she is no trouble at all.

Happy mummy, happy baby. Congratulations to the new family.

Rennie