TESTIMONIALS:- For years, Anna Roy was a midwife at the Bluets Maternity Hospital in Paris and was often on call on Christmas nights. At the end of December, he told us one of his best memories.
It seems that the atmosphere in maternity hospitals is different during the New Year shift, where everything can change from one second to the next, more than any other day, and in the best situations, they say, turn into a real miracle. This holiday season, we asked midwife Anna Roy to give us a behind-the-scenes look. While she is co-authoring a new guide this winter with valuable advice on perinatal health, Your pregnancy (Ed. Hatier) (with his accomplice from the show Kindergartenspediatrician Arno Pfersdorf), he agrees to tell us the story of his patient, 30-year-old Justin (1).
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From digestive disorders to birth emergencies
On this December 25, 2015, Justin is not feeling well. Severe stomach pains make him suffer excruciatingly. Is it the fault of an overly rich meal the day before, an excess of logs, champagne or a bad oyster? The thirty-year-old is surprised. Feeling the pain intensify and with no response from the SOS doctors, she decided to skip the traditional family lunch on December 25 to go to the emergency room alone. There, he underwent a series of tests, including an ultrasound, to determine the origin of his illness. The medical team discovers a problem and Justin, not knowing why, is taken to the maternity emergency room in Anna Roy’s arms. “There was no longer any doubt, it was a finished pregnancy,” sums up the midwife today. And seeing the intensity of the contractions, labor had already begun and the birth was near.
All that remains is to announce the news, which is quite a delicate matter in this type of situation, admits the healthcare specialist. “It was not time for long explanations of what pregnancy denial is, the clock was ticking. I just described the reality to him as gently as possible, he says. I said that the stomach pains are contractions, she is pregnant and about to give birth.”
Despite all the tact and kindness applied by the midwife, this reality becomes a bombshell for the patient. “Justin was completely stunned,” Anna Roy recalled. She wondered how she, this educated and strict woman, could have missed this important piece of information. The caretaker calms him down. “As is often the case in these stories, her situation was in the spotlight, including the doctors,” he emphasizes. She had consulted several times in the previous months and no one had seen fit to order an ultrasound for the simple reason that she was young, healthy and that she was still menstruating.
As often happens in these stories, her condition was in the center of everyone’s attention, including the doctors.
Anna Roy, midwife
Unimaginable
An hour passes and we have to go to the maternity hospital. Justin warns his caregiver that he does not want to alert those around him, especially not his friend Antoine (1), who is also waiting for him at the family meal. The midwife then respects her choice and asks fellow nurses and midwives to come and emotionally support the woman in labor. A few minutes later, Justin gave birth to a 2.6 kg baby boy.
When she was offered skin-to-skin contact with the newborn, the thirty-year-old girl categorically refused. An attitude that does not surprise the guardians, given the circumstances. “She tried to keep her distance even during childbirth. It was unimaginable for him to care for, let alone keep. His professional life was not stable enough, the apartment was not big enough. She wanted to have children with her partner, but the planets were not yet aligned enough,” explains Anna Roy.
Without trying to convince him to reconsider his decision and ensuring the stability and emotional security of his romantic relationship, the midwife nevertheless suggests warning his partner about his health condition. After the phone call, Antoine showed up in the delivery room “on the verge of fainting, with a gray face like we’ve rarely seen,” Anna Roy recalled. He also felt guilty for going under the radar,” he comments.
Everyone was laughing and crying. Love had truly won
Anna Roy, midwife
One look and everything changes
Although the end of the story seemed clear, there is a change of direction when returning to the room. “It happened when the child was brought back to the couple and given to the father. The little boy was in the midwife’s arms, very cute and awake. There was an exchange of views between him and his parents. And the more they looked at each other and came closer to each other, the more they were mutually excited. Without saying anything to each other, I felt that they were “stumbling” at that moment. now a powerful bond has been established between them. It was wonderful to watch,” says Anna Roy. When the emotion calms down, the father draws a valid conclusion confirmed by his partner. “Do you understand, Anna, how surreal this birth is? And this boy was born on December 25, we should consider this as an additional sign.”
This shift lasted a total of 12 hours, but every minute will be memorable for the midwife. “We, the guardians, always wait for this shift on December 25th with great apprehensions, because we know that unexpected things always happen – it’s either very difficult to live or very happy. And when you yourself are separated from the family, the feeling of each of these events is multiplied tenfold. So when we start with a disastrous situation like Justin’s, and everything ends well, for the mother, the child, and the father, that’s one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever given,” welcomes the Wise Woman.
The icing on the cake will come back to his ears later. “A colleague went to push the bedroom door to check that everything was OK. Justin and Antoine were in the company of their entire family, whom they dedicated to their little one, she reports. It was like being in an American sitcom, but better, he told me. Everyone was laughing and crying. Love really won.” Three years and thousands of births later, the couple’s happiness had not waned, and the couple decided to expand their tribe, still in Anna Roy’s hands.
(1) Names have been changed.
Source: Le Figaro
