Page 16 - WTP Vol.X#1

A Birth Primer (continued from preceding page) The Stone Child
In a book about anomalies, I discovered the stone child, who remained curled twenty-eight years un- born within its mother’s belly. How it was lifted into the light when she died because neighbors feared she had been taken by Satan’s lust. How a sixteenth century autopsy found her split uterus unknowable as bacteria, that woman hauling the dead for decades like a small, untranslatable headstone.
What Charmed Us
In Germany, names that are objects (like Apple or Tree) or surnames are never allowed, and the baby’s gender must be revealed by his or her first name.
In Japan, new mothers rest in bed for twenty-one days to recuperate and bond with the baby, while family members of every age do all the household chores.
After We Announced: What my Sister Stopped Saying She Had Witnessed
Down syndrome Cerebral palsy Cleft palate Spina bifada Clubfoot
Defects of the eyes and heart
After We Announced: What My Mother Gave Me
A stack of folded, white-going-to-gray cloth.
What My Mother Said
“Diapers. You’ll be glad I saved them. They’ll come in handy. You don’t want to be buying new over and over, and don’t you worry about them holding up af- ter all these years. They worked just fine on you once upon a time.”
The Dark Car 2
Because the side road we were traveling the night of our near catastrophe led to and from the campus where I was in my second year as an English instruc-
tor, I pulled out onto that freeway nearly every day. Except for the occasional trips for evening events, all of those entrances were made in daylight, but for weeks I looked to my left a second time and some- times a third, imagining I missed the approach of a speeding car.
Every time cars shot by, I regretted not thinking to memorize a license plate or even the make and mod- el of that nearly invisible car. Like a small child, all I could remember was that the car was dark and going fast. When I mentioned this to my wife, she said, “We have better things to do than dwell on that. It’s over. We were lucky. Move on.” By now, my friend’s wife was pregnant again. She told us the news as soon as she knew for sure.
LaMaze
My wife bought a book and began to read. She asked me to read it, too.
Let labor begin on its own
Walk, move around and change positions throughout labor
Bring a loved one, friend or doula for continuous sup- port
Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary
Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your body’s urges to push
What Charmed Us
In the Dominican Republic, a spoon, knife and fork are placed under three different chairs, and the mother-to-be chooses one to sit on. The spoon means girl, the knife boy, the fork undetermined.
In Bali, the baby’s feet can’t touch the ground for 210 days. Because they are divine and sent from heaven, because the days have been measured until they can cross over to this earthly realm.
What Failed to Charm Us
Women feared for the features of their soon-to-be- born because, they’d too often seen sheep or snakes, or worse, carelessly touched them. Change, they believed, could enter children through fingers and eyes. Sometimes, infants slid into breath with the facial hair of wolves or the snouts of pigs, mid-
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