I have a birth story that is pretty unique. I
could tell you about the three birthing experiences I had for my biological
children...all of those experiences completely unique from one another.
The first one I had to have a C-section, and almost died! The second one I
was induced for a week and a half, and still no baby, so I had to have another
C-section (this time, it went well.) The third birth I was induced
differently and it worked! Almost worked too well...I dilated from a 0 to
a 10 in 20 min., so needless to say, it was completely natural! My fourth
child was not born of my body, but certainly by my heart. It was full of
ups and downs, and took a couple of years to complete, and was definitely an
adventure all on its own!
But the birth story that I want to share is of my
newest and youngest child, Abi. She was only born two and a half weeks
ago, in a far-away land that I have never been to. This child too was not
born of my body, but certainly of my heart. The lady that has guided
us through this adoption and who we have gotten to know well, our case-worker,
was fortunate enough to actually arrive in the country the day before my
baby was born. In a newsletter that she sends to those of us adopting from
this place, she wrote about the birth of my daughter...something that the
majority of all adopted parents (at least those adopting internationally) never
get to have. Here is what she wrote:
"The second day I arrived I got a call in the
morning telling me that we had to take a birth mother to the hospital, that "D"
(the lady that runs the home for pregnant girls) thinks she is ready to
have her baby! I have to admit, I was scared and excited at the same
moment, I have never witnessed a birth, much less even seen a woman have a contraction. We got to the hospital and the doctor said that she had a
ways to go but that he definitely felt that the baby would be born that
day! I followed D, along with our home's live-in counselor, the nurse,
and our birth mom up into a room where she would rest until she was ready to
give birth. We were in the room for hours as this mother's pain grew in
intensity. I sat by her, holding her hand and encouraging her in a
language that she did not know. She had no pain medication - (not
available in this city) and she was the bravest woman I have ever seen.
She squeezed my hands and looked into my eyes as the contractions hit and
became more painful. As I looked back at her talking to her in the limited [local language] that I knew, I was struck in that moment to
tears. This young woman was looking in the eyes of a stranger who didn't
even speak her language during this huge moment in her life, her mother wasn't
there (had left her when she was a young child), her father didn't even know
that she was pregnant, and her boyfriend left her. D and the "home"
staff have been her family. At the end of this experience, this
unbelievable experience, it was not even for a baby that would be hers, but one
she loved enough to give to a family far away to hold and keep
safe.
These babies are incredible gifts, the greatest
gifts that can be given. This mother went through 9 months of a pregnancy
and hours of birth, when most other unwed pregnant teens in [this country] are
going through an abortion, she gave life to a child that she will not
keep. I was struck with how profound what we do is, with how significant
our work and ministry in [this country] is, and how very precious each of these
children are."
As you can imagine, the account of my baby's birth
will be cherished forever by us. We have also been incredibly blessed by
the fact that this unselfish birth mother wanted to have her baby's birth videoed for the family that would love her and raise her as their very own.
Speaking to an international adoption doctor a few nights ago, he said that he
has NEVER, EVER heard of that happening. I thank God that we have that
gift of our baby's birth!!
(Certain things were put in quotes and parenthesis to protect to people involved and the location of where this took place.)
