My Birth Story

Since I recently had a birthday, I thought I'd write what I know about my own birth. I was born Sunday, Aug. 2. My mother was 21, my father 23, and I was born one day before their first anniversary.

I was due, however, at the end of June. My mother had one non-functioning ovary her entire life, which she didn't discover until many years later, which caused her to have very irregular cycles. When she got to about 2 weeks past her due date, she went to the hospital to be induced. After many hours of pitocin, which caused contractions but not real labor, she was sent home again to wait. By now she was a nervous wreck, refusing to answer the phone due to the great number of well meaning calls asking, "you haven't had that baby yet?"

Finally she went into labor on her own. I don't know much about it, since my mother doesn't remember it herself and my father wasn't allowed in the room. My mother suffered a serious childhood illness for which she spent 18 months in the hospital as a preteen. This experience left her with a serious fear of hospitals, and when her doctor saw how anxious she was, he gave her "something to calm her down." The medication left her conscious but unable to remember what happened, so much so that when it wore off she asked, "What did I have? A boy or girl?"

I appeared postmature, very alert, and rather wrinkly, so my due date probably should have been mid to late July, and I was still "overdue." However, I have used the fact that I was born 5 weeks late as my excuse for chronic lateness my entire life. I was born so late I'll never catch up!