Then
and now
After all these years, I am finally
beginning to understand why it is that, despite absolutely loving midwifery,
the year studying it was one of my worst ever. It was because everything that I
was taught back then (it was the mid-‘70’s) made no sense to me. One
example. Back then, as soon as the baby was born, it was wrapped in a blanket,
quickly shown to mom (no dads allowed in the delivery room), shoved into an
incubator and whipped off to the nursery. Here the baby joined rows of other
newborn’s squawking their little lungs out, lying naked and abandoned in glass
boxes, on a hard surface covered only with a white cloth. Back in the ward, mom
lay alone, her empty belly still for the first time after nine months,
wondering where her baby was, if s/he was OK, what did her baby look like, feel
like, smell like? If she was lucky and her baby was born within the four-hour
feeding schedule, her baby would be brought to her, swaddled into a tight
cocoon, to be attached to her nipple to suction her – and dare she unwrap him
there would be tut-tutting from the nurse with, ‘who does she think she is’?
(which was the question I got when I unwrapped my first baby a few years later).
The baby lay ‘incubating’ until
his/her body temperature was 36°C, and then was (believe it or not)
given sterile water to drink! After this, if the baby had missed the
four-hourly feeding schedule, s/he was given sterilised formula! My heart
thumps furiously just remembering.
It made no sense to me. Mother and
baby separated, crying for each other, longing to reach out. That vital first
‘magic hour’ together, lost – forever.
Luckily, things have changed today.
Skin-to-skin immediately after the birth – even when the baby is born by
c-section, and premature babies once they are coping. It makes perfect sense when
it comes to bonding, baby-warming and the first attempt at suckling – but it has
taken nearly half a century to introduce the skin-to-skin practice in hospitals. Happily,
with persistence from determined midwives, we can promote skin-to-skin and the
first ‘magic hour’ after birth to all women today. Moms-in-waiting, learn
everything you can about skin-to-skin, the first magic hour and kangaroo
mother-care. Insist on it when you go into labour. It’s the best thing you can
do for yourself and your baby.
