I am reading this AMAZING book called Coyote Medicine (thank you mom). I highly recommend you go and buy a copy today.
However I was laying bed between my two smallest babies, waiting for my daughter to fall asleep and reading rapidly through this astoundingly disturbing yet uplifting book, when I came to a part where the intern is concerned that a doctor wants to induce because the mom is "big".
The intern conveys to the doctor that he in fact thought he felt TWO heads when palpating the mama's belly.
The doctor flatly tells him to stop being stupid.
The doctor also says she won't have the baby till noon, and leaves.
The intern hangs, mom starts pushing, sooner then later, and what do they see? FEET.
So the young doc knows the older doctor is not making it for this one most likely, and just frantically hangs onto the info he has learned about breech birth. Mainly is to NOT DO ANYTHING. So he just keeps calming himself and assists the little guy into the world, giving him time, to work his way out. Does not pull, does not yank, does not panic.
Baby does come, breaths fine and what do they see?? Two more feet!
So it was twins, and by this time the old doctor has arrived and is swearing, and freaking out all over the place.
What does he do? YANKS and PULLS and SWEARS, the intern recounts how the babies neck stretched, and how the cervix clamped down like it should and held the babies head there and how the baby turned purple and blue and was not able to work himself the way he needed to.
They knock mama out, ram forceps up her, clamp baby's head, yank him out and resuscitate him.
However, first one born is perfectly healthy, second one has mental issues as well as permanent immature lungs because of the doctor inducing the mom TOO EARLY because to him, she looked "BIG". No complications. Just "BIG".
The other doctors under their breath said why do we "save" them so they can suffer the rest of their life.
The Intern is disgusted.
Upon reading this part of the book I promptly burst into loud insane tears.
I feel for the mom, those babies, the surrounding people who had to witness this act.
The emotion following the tears? ANGER. Intense anger in how we fuck things up, and basically make things worse.
This book on how this man becomes a different kind of healer is pointing me down the path I want to take, I can see it more clearly now. Even through the tears.