Miracles Happen

FINALLY! My 7 week long birth hiatus ended last night with a glorious birth! BH called at 1:53 to report contractions every 15" for the last 1 1/2 hour. Since this is her 3rd baby, we arranged to meet at the birth center. My prayer enroute was that God would give me a clear mind and all present would have his peace and that He would be glorified. I immediately got nervous because if He is going to be glorified, that means that there will probably be some circumstance that will be challenging. Or scary. It means that He will show his power and do something I couldn't do in order to receive the glory. Which is why I was not surprised when upon our arrival at the center I found mom to be 8cms dilated and in very active labor. Too active for me to leave her side. And a fetal heart rate of 100 beats per minute. And it stayed that way for the several minutes I listened, hoping to hear an increase after a minute or 2. I called the RN to come in, fully expecting that God would be my only other birth attendant. Of course, there is no more qualified birth attendant!

I was reminded of the analogy of the cooler that a nursing student had shared with me that week: There was once a 3 year old boy and his father, preparing supplies to go on a family campout. Once the cooler was full of food and ice, the father enlisted the help of his son to carry the cooler to the car. While the boy lifted his corner, using all of his might, the father carried the full load of the cooler. That is like what God does in his work in the world. He is the one with all of the strength and we are so weak. But he invites us to join Him in the work He is doing, allowing us the joy of participating and of knowing that we made a difference. God may not show up and show His power if we think we can carry the load alone. It is very dangerous ground to be on if we think it is our strength or wisdom or skill that will get the job done. I love the way that every birth serves as a reminder of this. It is such an awesome mystery and what a priviledge to witness the miracle time and again. Midwifing would in fact, be too scary to do if I did it alone. I have seen so many things that can "go wrong" and yet, those are the very things that God uses to show his glory! I'm so glad when I don't miss it. When I am able to trust in His care.

Anyway, BH delivered her baby girl 10 minutes after my RN assistant arrived. Despite the continued heartrate that was "non reassuring" but not ominous, during the 40 minutes she was there in labor, baby came out screaming and pink . Apgar scores of 9 and 10. And a true knot in her umbilical cord. Hmm, that explains the heartrate. But there really is no explanation for that baby being alive and healthy. Other than God chose to bless us, preserve that baby's life, and show His glory. As I showed the mom the placenta and cord and explained the significance of the knot in the cord, I was able to tell her that God was protecting her baby and that she is blessed to have her. And I pointed out that, as my t-shirt said, Miracles Happen. I don't think BH knows Jesus, but I hope that her miracle baby planted a seed.

Had BH had an ultrasound that detected the knot in the cord, she would have likely spent weeks on bedrest in the hospital with a fetal monitor and a c-section would have been done at the first sign of "non-reassuring" fetal heart tones. This is the way western medicine tries to control the mysteries of birth and tries to manipulate circumstances to "guarantee" a good outcome. Which is foolishness. We can guarantee no such thing. In fact, the meddling usually just creates more problems. But when we meddle and think we can do God's work (determining the outcome) we remove the possibility of the moms seeing God at work.

I am psyched to be back in the saddle again after a long, dry stretch. Even though my heart was pounding minutes before that baby was born, the rush of excitement and sheer pleasure of what I witnessed was worth it! What an amazing job. And to think I get PAID to do this!