Last night, while getting my kids ready for bed, I received a call from my cousin who's long time friend was in the hospital having her first baby. I was on the phone with her for about 10 or 15 minutes giving her suggestions (and the "what to expect") while my kids were brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. When I got off the phone, my girls immediately asked WHO was having a baby. I told them who it was and they were all excited.

Being the inquisitive little brains that they are, they wanted to know how the labor and birth were going. My first answer was, "Well, it's hard to say. She's got a while to go before she has the baby." Knowing that the stages of labor might be more than a 6 and 7 year old can understand, I decided not to go too far into it.

Cameryn's next question was, "Well, is she having a hard time? Isn't she able to push the baby out?" So I answered, "Well yes, she is having a little bit of a hard time right now. She had some medicine, so things have sort of slowed down a little bit."

By this time I was tucking my two minnie doulas into their beds and they were completely interested. "What kind of medicine did she have?" they asked.

Not knowing where this little "epidural talk" was going to lead, I said, "Well, she got some medicine that makes her lower body numb so she doesn't have to feel the pain of the baby coming out." That's when they started to giggle, "She took medicine to numb her Pooter??" they screeched.

Then all of a sudden, a light bulb clicked on for all three of us. Remembering that Cameryn had recently had a baby tooth pulled at the dentist, I said, "You know the kind of medicine that is in the little shot that you get when you go to the dentist? You know how it makes your mouth all numb for a while, even after you leave? Can you imagine trying to eat food or drink water?"

She looked at me and said, "No Mom, my mouth doesn't work right when it's like that! I wouldn't be able to chew!"

So with both my impressionable daughters looking at me from their beds with their intense concerned little faces, I was able to say, "Well, she got some medicine and her body is numb from her belly down to her toes, right where she needs it be able to work the most. So, just like you wouldn't be able to eat very well with a numb mouth, she is not able to have a baby very well."

With the most genuine and sincere but innocent looks, both my little daughters looked at me and asked, "Why would anyone want to do that?"

Holly M. Prater, RN, LCCE, Doula

5432 Southlawn Dr

Sterling Heights, MI 48310