As of Feb 9: grandmother (can this really have happened to ME?)

My daughter and son-in-law have paid me the enormous compliment of  
allowing me to be there for the birth and the first few days. Such an  
honor!  Their daughter was born in a birthing pool after a normally  
demanding and intense labor lasting somewhat less than 24 hours, and  
they were perfectly fine to go home ten hours later.  It took the baby  
all of half an hour after birth to find her way to her mother's  
breast.  I wasn't in the room at the time, they did it themselves.

The birth was at Føderiket, the only free-standing birth center in  
Oslo, and one seemingly destined for closure because some salamander  
somewhere can't bear the idea of there being one institution in  
Norway's largest city where women can give birth naturally and on  
their own terms.  Seems it costs too much to run.  I wonder how much  
the mass disempowerment of women during birth and the postpartum stay  
costs us, and I'm sure no one has even considered doing the analysis.

Seeing a birth be allowed to run its course even when it doesn't keep  
to some capricious schedule is such a rare thing in hospitals.  Every  
woman should have the right to be cared for as my daughter was, and  
is, when she is having a child.  That we don't organize things so this  
is the rule rather than the very rare exception is a mystery to me.

My grandbaby daughter is just beautiful, of course!  This is the  
credential I think I am happiest to receive of any I can think of in  
my life.  I'm sure the feeling can be described, but not by me, not  
today.

Rachel Myr
midwife, ammehjelper, IBCLC and now 'mormor'

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