Jayne Whyte's Portfolio

Earlier today, I was watching this Nigerian Home video -not because I was enjoying it but because I heard some ladies at the Spa-you know ladies, when two or three are gathered, gossip is surely in their midst-arguing about a scene in the home video and crazy me, bought the DVD and decided to watch it. And there is this scene where the lady was in serious labour pains and was screaming like someone that just lost her mind, and I was wondering where she would be taken to; the psychiatric hospital or the labour room?. I guess she was over reacting.

Labour pains sometimes can never be over emphasized. watching the movie reminded me of my “labour pains”. To be exact I didn’t have labour pains and I wasn’t screaming like I saw the ghost of ‘Willie Willie’ or that of “Medusa”. My water broke and I went to the hospital (with my husband). At the hospital, there was a woman who was in labour, she would scream and I was thinking “why is screaming”? and the doctor would check her cervix, tell her she is dilating and the baby would soon be out but she didn’t seem to care she kept on screaming.

The doctor wasn’t giving me the attention I needed and I thought maybe because I wasn’t screaming and so I started screaming “aaaahhh dokita oooh the baby is coming oooo, hmmm I can see the head oooo, whoever did this to me eeeehhh eeeeehhh” and the nurse stupidly said “complete your statement na” and before I knew it two doctors came to my aid they checked my cervix and said “madam it is just 2cm. I just smiled at them at least I got the attention I needed.

The other woman in labour was rushed to the labour room and I could hear nurses whispering, and I asked what the issue was and they said the woman just gave birth to a baby girl. And then that stupid thought came to me again and I said started shouting “ aaaaah eeeeeeh i feel like pushing ooooh, dokito come ooo i can see the baby ooooo, the baby looks like the person responsible for the pregnancy oooo, dokito”.The doctor came tried to control his laughter, checked me and left. for hours I wasn’t dilating and the doctors decided to to take me to the theatre for a caesarean section.

I was very much awake through the C.S., discussing with the doctors about Gray’s Anatomy and how I never thought I would ever go through an operation and after about 15 mins, the sweetest little angel, a baby girl was delivered, she weighed 4.5kg. At that point I felt blessed.

Labour for every woman is indeed unique and special, I may not have given birth to my baby like the Hebrew women-even though it was a lie that was told. What matters most is health of the mother and child after child birth.