When anticipating the coming of a new baby, one thing that most
mothers-to-be don’t consider is that there’s a chance they might die
during childbirth. Well, maybe not most mothers, but this one sure
didn’t. The birth of my first son went as smoothly as it could possibly
go: My water broke at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve,
contractions started half an hour later, and my son was born after 8
hours of labor as the sun rose over Central Park, with no complications
or stress.
I had no reason to believe that the birth of my second son would be any
different. And in fact, it wasn’t at first. I was induced on a Saturday
afternoon a couple of days before my due date. After a few hours of
little progress, my doctor broke my water to get the ball rolling, and
my body soon took over. My son was born a few hours later after no more
than 6 pushes. He was beautiful and healthy, like my first son was. A
few minutes after my new baby boy was measured and cleaned, my doctor
bid me farewell and left the hospital to have dinner with her family.
Everything was fine, and there was no reason for her to think she needed
to stick around.
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| PHOTO : NPR |
My husband and I ordered dinner as well, greeted my sister and
brother-in-law who came to visit us in the hospital, and I Facetimed
with my parents
who were at home with my older son, exchanging smiles as we all admired
the new arrival. At some point during the festivities, nearly two hours
after I had given birth, my husband looked down and noticed that there
was a lot of blood now
