My first pregnancy was very text book right up to the end.  During the last week of my pregnancy I woke up in the middle of the night to find that I was spotting.  I woke my husband and we called the hospital to see what they recommend.  They asked us to come and and upon our arrival they ran some tests.  While I was to term and the baby had turned, the test revealed that the baby was under a lot of stress.  Labor had apparently started although I had no knowledge of it.  The doctor let us know that we could go one of two ways.  We could give me something to speed up the delivery but with the amount of stress the baby was already under, it was highly probable that we would end up performing an emergency c-section and one of the two of us may not make it.  Our other option was to prep for surgery and just perform the c-section without waiting to see how the delivery would proceed naturally.  Needless to say it was not a difficult choice to make.  Prepping for surgery and having the epidural placed in my back was both painful and scary.  With my husband having to wait outside during this portion of the delivery, I remember feeling very alone.  Once I was ready and my husband was able to return to my side I was able to find a greater sense of calm.  I remember not feeling any pain just pressure as they worked to get Kapono out.  I also have very vivid memories of the medicine causing uncontrollable shakes and not being able to hold my arms still no matter how hard I tried.  For my husband, begin able to be in the operating room and watching the whole surgery was fascinating him him.  We joke about it now but I seriously think he would have scrubbed in and joined the doctors if they would have invited him to.  Once Kapono was born and they took him away to be cleaned and checked up I remember thinking that it was taking forever for me to be able to see him and hold him.  I had to be in recovery for two hours before I was able to hold him but the nurses took pictures for me and my husband brought them to my bedside with a report that all was well.  We spent the rest of the week in the NICU getting through a few minor problems but knowing that the baby was fine and that family and friends were surrounding me and my husband and providing us support was really helpful.

The thing that I found most interesting in researching child birth in other parts of the world was the differences in standard maternity leave.  Having a c-section I was required to take at least six weeks off but over the years I have worked in the early care and education field I have seen many mothers needing to go back to work within four weeks.  It is amazing to me that other countries have maternity plans that cover not only a percentage of wages but that hold your position for up to a year, and often provide on-site care for your children.