God breathed

Wow, I imagine that most people did not have a morning like mine this morning This morning, 30 minutes before heading to the Northside for church, a young man came and said that they wanted me to check on a woman that was having belly pains. I had seen her on Friday in the clinic, she was about 2 weeks from her due date, but knowing that this may be a reason for her pain, I did bring an OB kit with me. I went into the tiny 2 room apartment built below a house. A lay midwife was already there, saying that she was getting near time to push! So I checked her, it seemed a little soon, but I wasn't going to argue with her assessment at this point.

Every baby birth is unique, and I am constantly surprised that there are rarely any problems of any significance in the complicated process that comes from conception to that first blessed breath in this outside world. After 20 minutes of pushing, I broke her water, which helped. But as sometimes happens, especially with very big babies as this was, despite mom's strong efforts, it wasn't coming down much. In the end, it took all three of us to get the baby born, and it was complicated by the fact that the cord was wrapped twice around its neck! I was able to fix this problem, but still had to reach and grab a shoulder and pull, as Trudy pushed on the mother's belly. After being stuck at just the head out through several sets of contractions, we finally managed to pull/push him out! But he wasn't taking that all important first breath, even as we rubbed and rubbed, cut the cord and picked him up to "rough him up" to get him breathing. The midwife announced "he's dead" – but I said "No!! We're not giving up on him!" Then, as clearly as I've heard anyone speak to me, the Lord said, "breathe life into him". After a ½ second hesitation with an "eww" in my mind, I gave the little one two puffs of air – and that was all that was needed to get that first cry going! What a blessed sound that is, made even more so with the precarious start he had! Praise God, He once again took my inadequate hands and mouth and brought good from a potentially bad situation.