Thursday, December 01, 2005

Intuition

She came into our world on the 30th day of October 2001.A day like any other, and yet not quite. For something warned me, an unfathomable feeling, that things were ‘not all right’.

A day prior to her birth Dr S, my gynecologist of 9 months fell ill and was admitted into intensive care. In just over few hours, my case was transferred to her aunt and I had a brand new gynecologist. At that moment, I had little choice, just a host of unanswered questions. Would Dr M, my doctor of just 24 hours be patient and empathetic? I didn’t have a comfort level with her at all. Overall the prospect was strange and daunting.
She was born via a caesarian section because the scan revealed I was close to an uterine rupture and the foetus was in distress. Things seem to move too fast, too soon for me to assimilate and comprehend. Post surgery, despite the sedating effect of the anesthesia, I gazed at my fragile and beautiful new born and held her in my arms, close to my heart.

And I felt a sense of deep dread.

My first night, post birth, was spent alone. The baby was in the nursery. And I was in a room with many others with no space for an attendant. I had no fear, just the fatigue that ensues after birth. The nurse brought me my baby for her feed. I held her close, inhaling her baby fragrance and smoothed her curly hair while I basked in the feeling of being a mother all over again. And then it hit me, in waves, the unease and fear that seemed to smother and gag me.A strong feeling from deep within, of wanting to reject her, to push her away from me. And a sense of sheer helplessness. Exactly like what my pet cat would do instinctively to the weakest of her litter knowing that it would not survive. I felt it but did not know how to act upon this feeling. My baby returned to the nursery and I drifted into a disturbed sleep.

The next morning I shifted to a separate room with my baby. Hard as I tried to push away the feelings of the previous day, some part of me continued to dwell on it. And yet I dared not mention it to anyone lest they thought I had lost it. Soon after, Dr.B, her pediatrician whom I had known since my first child’s birth came by on his daily rounds.
Before he could ask about the baby or me, I blurted out, “Something is wrong Dr B. I don’t know what it is but...something is...”!!!
He didn’t scoff or look like I had gone crazy but reassured me instead, “She looks fine Mrs. Kumar. There doesn’t seem any cause for worry. I’ll check her up anyway”.
I looked on while he examined her in her cot. After a slow and thorough checkup, he told me the baby was fine and that her Apgar scores at birth had been absolutely normal. I was too tired to persist with the agonizing questions. He said he would drop by later and walked towards the door.

And then, just as he was about to step out, he turned, walked back towards me and looking a trifle unsure, asked, “Would it be all right if I took your baby for a 2-D Echo checkup? I felt a heart murmur just now. Murmurs are very common in new borns and 80% of the time I ignore them. But something here tells me I shouldn’t.”

I nodded my head in agreement. My baby was whisked away for the tests. I was alone in my room with the empty cot beside me. Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door and a pediatric intern walked in. In the most clinical tone that he could muster he informed me, “Your baby has a rare congenital heart defect and we have had to shift her to the neo natal ICU.She is now on a respirator”. My heart stopped and my mind raced with questions, doubts and yet more questions.

Then, Dr B entered looking worried yet confident.
I asked him, “How did you find out?”
He replied, “I just trusted a mother’s intuition”.


I wrote this prose piece for a writing exercise on "Paranormal" for a Writers Network.It is a real life situation.I am glad I could write it as it is cathartic in many ways.

19 comments:

Enemy of the Republic said...

Wow, this is good! I should write about how my son was born; my water literally broke on the street as I was walking home--he was a premie. I like what you said about a mother's intution--ain't it the truth?

Anonymous said...

That was a nice read. You write well and you put thoughts in words perfectly.

Tushar.

Ar Ar Ar Arrrrr said...

I literally closed my eyes when I read about that caesarian section because the scan revealed I was close....

Boy....

“Your baby has a rare congenital heart defect
Hows the baby doing now?

I hope baby's fine...

Kat said...

my god....i had goosebumps on my way towards the end....nice read!

mermaid said...

Jyo, though I do not know of any abnormalities with my little one, I can empathize with the overwhelming mix of emotions after delivery. You strike me as a strong spirit, and I sense from your words that your daughter's is even stronger, just like I can sense the same thing in mine.

Thank you for this. I feel like I'm not alone.

Pincushion said...

You are a strong spirit and a wonderful mother. Your lovely daughter is a testament to that :)
Huggs!

Brood Mode said...

that is superb writing. it brought out the feelings so well!

Jyotsna said...

Thanks eotr,a mothers intuition can never be wrong!
Tushar,thanks for the feedback and for dropping by!
arzoon,yes she is all of 4 now and has changed our lives for the better.
kat-thanks
mermaid..we relate as always,,hugs for you!
Pinc--thanks dearest,your words mean a lot to me
brood mode-thanks a lot..i am glad it brought out the feelings..it was a cathartic experience for me!

Oreen said...

i really don't have anything to say . . . just vividly remembered the day our son was born . . .

Blue Athena said...

Very heart-wrenching Jyo! :)

R said...

how's the baby now?

velvetgunther said...

Ditto is a wonderful kid!

iamnasra said...

How touching to hear your words..My heart seem to stop and race with the story

Thank you for sharing it with us

Emmanuel said...

It's not always easy for me to relate to all experiences I read about in blogs.
In this case, being a man and having no kids, it is more difficult.
But I can see, from the way these events are engraved in your memory, what a profound impact they have had on you.

Deliciously Alive said...

An extremely well written though heart wrenching piece Jyo. I love the way you write!

Narsimha said...

wow.. seriously u made my heartbeat go up..
Hats off 2 u!

Innocent Bullet said...

Diti will be fine and grow into a beautiful young woman, Jyo. Insha Allah. :-)

This was a wonderful piece! :-)

Cheers

Shankari said...

Ah, that fragrance of a new born's head. The most heady scent! :)

Yes, there is something to the sixth sense stuff. Where your story is so different from mine is that you were so much on top of the situation. But each baby and each story are so different, aren't they? And yet all I say is that I'm just a mother.

Anonymous said...

intutions of a mother - i have no doubt - i will ask my mom what she intuted when i was born. But i have asked my grany about how she felt about her third child when she was carrying my dad.