Signs and Wonders: Zoe's Birth Story
by Amber
Outside, a shadow was creeping over the face of the moon. Peering out the bathroom window, I hoped to catch a glimpse of it but quickly gave up my search, figuring that the clouds of the Pacific Northwest were once again eclipsing my view of this lunar phenomenon.
Inside, weariness was creeping over the face of this forty-and-a-half-week-pregnant-lady. Trudging back to bed with the false hope of sleeping comfortably before the next inevitable bathroom break, I tried to release everything that was clouding my mind – worries, frustration, fear – eclipsing my view of the never-changing, faithful God of Creation.
Blood moon. The language adopted to describe the orange glow over the moon intrigues me. There is nothing mysterious about it – just the sun, moon, and earth following their natural course – and yet for me it is the language of promise and a sign of remembrance (see Acts 2). A reminder that Jesus is establishing His Kingdom on earth, and that His desire is to pour His Spirit out on us and on our sons and our daughters. A reminder that He is with us and that He is faithful.
It is a reminder that I seem to stay in need of, especially when life with three little girls, homeschool, and a part-time job gets so crowded that it seems difficult to breathe, much less take deep breaths of Life.
Was I ready for a fourth?! No, I decided. No, I was not. Three weeks previous, my midwife told me that all signs pointed to her coming “at any time”. And yet here I was past-due, my body already half-way to the magical 10 centimeters and nary a sign of “real labor”. Body and mind apparently concurred.
This was my “high-risk” pregnancy: advanced maternal age (a whopping 35 with healthily low blood pressure), gestational diabetes (with such a tightly controlled diet that my blood sugars were as low as – if not lower than! – “normal” women If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes – and even if you aren’t – I strongly recommend Trim Healthy Mama, and high levels of group b strep bacteria. Even though the mere diagnosis of gestational diabetes meant that this baby had to born at the hospital instead of the birthing center, we laughed about the first two conditions making me “high-risk”.
I was not, however, at peace regarding the group b strep. It was talked of nonchalantly enough. A “normal” bacteria that occasionally increases in number. Can only be transmitted to baby after water has broken. Higher risk the longer water has been broken. Risk reduced to practically nothing with penicillin IV 4 hours before birth.
Except I have really short labors. No four hour warnings here! And even the use of penicillin comes with its own risks. I fleetingly prayed that the Lord would show me what to do, and oh, could You just make it so that my water doesn’t break until after she is born? That would be really cool. Thanks!
Read the rest of Zoe's incredible birth story at Amber's blog here
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Did you have your baby with the Peace Health midwives?
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