Dar la luz

One of my favorite phrases in Spanish is dar la luz. It means to give birth. Directly translated though, it means to give the light. Today I saw three women give the light to three precious baby girls. After three weeks of working in the clinic, I was so excited to hear that a woman was ready to deliver today. Little did I know, I would get to see three! My friend Alex and I were so excited becuase we have been waiting so long. They have about 80 births a month in this clinic, but they always have happened in the middle of the night or after we leave for the day. Here they give birth sitting on something like a stool, so you really do have to catch the baby :) Most of the women give birth without anybody with them because their family has to work to earn money. It´s sad to hear the nurse ask if anyone is with them and they have to say they´re alone. The first birth happened around 10:30. They asked Alex and I to help out, one with the baby and one holding the mother. She sat behind the mom and held onto while she was pushing, while I waited for the baby. It was the first time I had ever seen a vaginal birth and it was truly incredible. There was another intern there just to watch for a second and then go back to work in a different part of the clinic, but he didn´t think it was that incredible. I think he was a little shell shocked. His reaction reminded me of how Keith said that watching once was enough. Right after the baby came out a nurse gave me gloves to help with the baby. We washed, weighed, and measured her. Afterwards the nurse had me dress her and give her to her mom. She was just so precious. I felt like I could do that job for the rest of my life. Alex and I were in sitting in awe of how incredible it was when the nurse came to tell us another woman was ready. Like before, it was amazing. This time though the mother had some difficulties and she ended up tearing. Because it´s basically a free clinic, they only give a little bit of lidocaine if they have to. Therefore the mother had to get stitched up for about twenty minutes on a bit of lidocaine right after she gave birth. It was painful to watch. The poor girl´s legs were shaking. While I was dressing the baby, she opened her eyes for the first time and looked at me. I kind of felt like the welcoming committee. I´m the person that gets to welcome them into the world and introduce them to their mother. I think that is probably the best job in the world. Alex and I couldn´t believe that after so long we got to see two births in one day. After another twenty minutes we heard some labored breathing from the other room and a nurse said there was another one! This time Alex and I switched spots and I sat behind the mom and she took care of the baby. I definitely had not prepared myself on how much she would push back on me. I almost toppled over. I could feel the baby pressuring to get out. It was interesting to be on the other end. The mother was so sweet. She looked at me and asked if it was a boy or a girl. She couldn´t wait to hold her baby. This was the one I was most excited about. I watched the mother´s face as she held her baby for the first time. I watched her touch her child´s cheek and whisper that she loved her. All I could think was that she really did give the light to her child. She didn´t just give her light, she gave her love. Then again, what is the difference between light and love? I think they are one in the same.