Lombe's Birth

The Birth of my son-Lombe
The only birth I have ever witnessed is my son’s birth. Lombe was born on the 29th of October in 1989. October is the hottest month in Zambia I could not wait. I had started bleeding in the morning and my sister whom I had been living with and happens to be a midwife said I was still a long way. She told me to keep myself busy and take note of the intervals between the contractions. She reassured me that everything would be alright. I worked and stayed on my feet the whole day and in the night around 22.00hrs she gave me a bath and her and her husband took me to the hospital. When we arrived the nurse said I was 10cm wide and asked me to wait for the Doctor. I was not feeling much pain and kept waiting for more pain. I lay on the bed the whole night and Lombe was taking his time, finally the Doctor decided to use forceps and my sister grabbed them from out of the blues and said, you better stop relaxing and push, I don’t want to tell you what is going to happen to you if he uses these. The nurses asked her to leave and she told them she wouldn’t and that she was a qualified midwife. My sister took over and made me push and when Lombe finally decided to come out my sister took him with no gloves and washed him and brought him to me. Lombe is not allowed to call her aunt its Mummy K because she says its her son. The Nurses forgave her and then she went home to rest. I didn’t have a painful birth I kept expecting more pain during birth, it was only after the stitches that I felt a bit of pain. Lombe weighed 3.8kg. It felt good to be a mother, I have always enjoyed my sleep and mom always laughed at the way I changed to attend to the baby. He is 22 now.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE BELIEFS ABOUT CHILDBIRTH

During pregnancy
In the early months of pregnancy, women should not do any heavy work or have sexual intercourse to avoid a miscarriage..
If a pregnant woman criticizes someone, the baby will look and act like the person criticized.
Since pregnancy is considered a “hot” condition, a pregnant woman should eat “cold” food to keep yin and yang balanced.
Eating shellfish could give the baby rashes while pineapple could cause miscarriages.
The shape and size of the belly could tell you if the baby is a boy or a girl. If the belly is “pointed,” it will be a boy; if “rounded,” a girl.
During labor and delivery
The pregnant woman's mother is present at the first delivery but not for subsequent ones.
The woman should try to be quiet during labor, as crying out will attract evil spirits to the new child.
The ideal position for labor is squatting. The baby will not have enough energy to come out if the mother is lying on her back.
In the Zambian villages the women squat as well I believe its easier for the baby to come out and less painful for the mother, the father is not allowed to be present.