I have been a midwife for many years now, and in that time there have been many different occasions and situations, both pleasant and not so pleasant. The nursing staff rarely interferes with women in labor and their families, but recently I had to do so in order to help a girl student who gave birth to a wonderful daughter, and immediately wrote her denial.
Lisa, that was my “mentee’s” name, was admitted to the hospital with only insurance. She carried the baby for the entire nine months without ever seeing a doctor. She would not answer my questions why this happened, and before I gave birth she had no time to inquire.
Lisa delivered her baby in an exemplary fashion, unlike those who attended courses for young mothers from some unknown “teachers”. The mother-to-be only moaned softly in the delivery room, followed all my instructions, and the labor went on without any problems at all. When the little girl was already in my arms, crying loudly, telling everyone that there was a new human being, Lisa, looking at her, also cried. Tears were rolling from her eyes, and I said that she was good, and we should be happy about such a wonderful girl. But already in the ward, Lisa asked for a rejection form, and quickly filled out the form. Without looking into her eyes, she gave the form to the doctor on duty, and turned her back to the wall.
We tried to talk her into it, to convince her that she was acting rashly, but the young mother refused to put her daughter to her breast and asked to leave her alone. The girl, unlike other children, did not want to eat formula, but with an appetite opened her mouth at the smell of milk, tried to stretch her head in search of the breast, which was not there …
The girl began to lose weight and I, on my next shift, took her again and brought her to her mother, though everyone dissuaded me from doing so. I explained to Lisa that her behavior endangered the child’s health, and I almost demanded that she feed her. When my mother did put the girl to the breast, she voraciously began to suckle milk, I, referring to the urgency, went out of the room, leaving them alone.
When I returned half an hour later, I saw that they are both asleep, and my mother softly cuddling her little daughter. After a while, Lisa came out with the girl into the corridor, sat down near my desk, and began her confession.
The girl’s father turned out to be a well-known businessman in the city. He was married and, of course, was not happy about the pregnancy, offered to have an abortion, it was too late for the terms, so Lisa decided to give birth. Upon learning of her decision, the businessman told everything to his wife, she accepted his repentance, and she herself came down on the unfortunate student, demanding to get rid of the child. Neither money nor threats helped, then the businessman disappeared from the city for an indefinite period of time, and the wife still got her promise to write a renunciation of the child.
At the end of her story Lisa uncomplainingly looked at me and said:
– I would have taken the application, but I do not know how I can cope with a girl in a dormitory and without money …
Hearing her words I praised her and reassured her, and in the morning we went together to the manager and took the application. Our manager had a lot of authority in the city, so it was easy to get in touch with the girl’s father and asked him to meet. Strangely enough, the businessman did not even try to avoid the meeting, came a few hours later, and he and the manager discussed all the questions of the future life of Lisa and the girl. We have to admit that we didn’t expect him to be so decent. After checking out of the hospital, Lisa went not to a hostel, and rented an apartment, paid by the girl’s father for a year in advance. He also gave her a large enough sum to make sure Lisa would not need anything at first, and promised to take care of her daughter in the future.
I guess my father woke up his conscience and realized that he was responsible for his actions. I don’t know how Lisa’s and her daughter’s fate will turn out; I hope she will eventually create a family where she will raise a wonderful little girl.
