Most of it was a blur to me.
“Zara, can you hear me?”
My eyelid fluttered. I did not want to be disturbed from my peaceful sleep. And for once, I did not feel the urge or pressure to sleep sideways. I enjoy sleeping face up before the pregnancy. But the sounds continued and it made me uneasy in my dreams. For in my dream I was floating in a flowing river. It felt really good. For once I appreciated the water beneath my skin, the green grass by the side of the river and the sounds of the birds chirping away.
“Zara, Zara, I will not lose you. Wake up, can you hear me? I love you too much to lose…” I was shooked with a violent force.
The force woke up to a sea of faces, mostly unknown faces. They wore sky blue uniforms and some of them wore a white coat over it. They were men and women. Then my face lit up as I recognized just one out of the multitude. He held my hand and I could see tears freely running down his face.
“I thought for a moment that I had lost you” Daniel said.
“Ha, come off it. I am alive and I can see that I am still pregnant. How long was I gone for? ” I said to Daniel with a bright smile.
“For a little over an hour, then you blacked out again” he said
“How did you find me?” I asked
“I had a strong feeling that you had contractions this morning but you were too stubborn to admit it. So I decided to work for short hours and bring a midwife home. That’s how I found you on the floor.”
“Mrs. Wilson, I can see that you have regained consciousness. I am Doctor Keith, I will take this miraculous journey of childbirth with you. But first you must know that your water has broken, so we need to induce labour. We have checked and you are only 1cm gone”
Turning to face the hospital staff, Dr Keith said “wheel her to the labour room.”
I couldn’t believe it that I was actually doing this, having my baby. I wondered what the sex would be.
“Give us female children, your husband has no sister and same also with his father’s generation. The last generation that had female children were 4 generations ago. I want your husband to have a daughter and sister. At least let this family receive bride price, have people to come beg for our daughter’s hand in marriage. ” My mother in law said.
I was expressionless that day but I wondered why she took the pain to ask me for a female child, when the whole world knows that it is the man that determines the sex of the child.
“Mrs Wilson, I will insert this ball into your private in order to help you dilute faster.” Dr Keith said jolting me from my thoughts.
I screamed, the pain was raw and blinding.
“There you are, I am through” he said
“Can you stand up? Try to walk normal. He pulled the wheel chair and Daniel assisted in putting me back without any incident.
I shared the room with one other pregnant woman. She claimed to be in labour but I doubted her. She was singing and dancing. She made about 50 phone calls to tell family and friends that she was in labour. She took selfies each time she was done with a call.
Yes! I knew because I counted it all, for there was no way to kill the pain of the ball than to count.
Each time a hospital staff entered the room, the woman would scream “my waist o! My back o! Rub it rub it! Yes! Yesssss! I am sure the baby head is coming out. Take me to the labour room. Take me!”
I had gotten tired of her pretence, so I distracted myself with a book.
At the 3rd hour, a Nurse came to me, she noticed the ball had dropped and wheeled me off again to the labour room.
I was given a drip, I learnt it was called the hot drip. It made me to wish I was dead. It almost took my sanity then I heard
“Push…push”
I panted after the first try. “I want to poo and vomit” I said
“Do it here” said the midwife.
She thought I was being un serious. She dock her head close to my private and said “push”
At that moment I vomited on the floor and pooed on her face at the same time. I was embarrassed but I felt better.
The midwife was furious but she could not do anything about it. I could see a large frown had spread across her face…
floramichaels 