“You really wanted a natural birth didn’t you?” I whispered into Julia’s ear, as she lifted her full weight off the bed into a semi-backbend, eyes blazing, doing all she could to get away from the back pain and maintain internal control. She nodded. With compassion I affirmed the obvious, “But you didn’t think you would have to work this hard….” My voice trailed into the subconscious and she re-determined with her blazing focus to enter the river of mystery. With one contraction she was carried away into her phase of pushing.
I had only met Julia a few hours before. Alison Bastien, my friend and colleague, had greeted me warmly but briefly upon my arrival in Mexico. “Love you. Welcome! Hey, there’s this great gal in labor at the famous midwife hospital, C.A.S.A. She’s a determined VBAC and the sun is close to setting which means her labor is probably picking up. Please go see her.”