After Petra’s birth, I started losing weight.
Then it stopped.
The weight came back.
I was breaking out.
I complained to him.
He joked, “Maybe you’re pregnant.”
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
He bought three tests from different brands.
By the time Michelle confirmed I was pregnant,
Padme was already four and a half months nested.
By the time I was in labour,
after hours of breach and turning,
I was on all fours,
her head between my legs
her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck,
facing the wrong way,
the rest of her body still inside,
shoulder stuck,
her face turning purple.
Hulda, about to give birth herself, rubbed my spine.
Michelle, close to her due date, said,
“You really need to push honey,
just give me one more push.”
Hulda held him too:
“She's got this, don’t worry.”
The hospital walls must have shaken
as I forced Padme from my womb
and Michelle pulled her to safety.
Michelle handed Padme to him
while she had her breath.
He placed her on my chest.
Michelle stitched my tears up for the second time.
“You did well, honey.
I was seconds away from dislocating her shoulder and pulling her out.”
Hulda held my hand.
And my breath.
Today my baby turns 15.
Happy birthday baby!
Clinical Note: The Gaskin Manoeuvre
What it is
The Gaskin Maneuver helps reposition a baby when delivery stalls or the baby’s shoulder or body gets stuck.
The mother shifts from lying on her back to her hands and knees.
This widens the pelvic outlet and frees the sacrum to move, allowing the baby to rotate naturally.
Why it works
It uses gravity and pelvic mobility instead of force.
It works in breech or shoulder dystocia births.
It was reintroduced to Western obstetrics by Ina May Gaskin, who learned it from traditional Guatemalan midwives.
Clinical references
- Gaskin, I. M. (2003). Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. Bantam.
- Bruner, J. P., et al. (1998). “All-fours maneuver for reducing shoulder dystocia during labor.” Obstetrics & Gynecology, 92(5), 872–876.
- Louwen, F., et al. (2017). “Upright positions during the second stage of labor in women with epidural analgesia: a randomized trial.” BMJ, 359:j4471.
In practice
It requires calm, coordination, and trust between mother, OB, and doula.
What feels like instinctive magic is actually advanced obstetric skill applied through body wisdom.
