Childbirth 1940


My mother wanted to continue working after she was married. My father objected, because his family would have considered him a failure, unable to support his family. Fearing that she would have nothing to do, she said “Then I want a baby.” She got pregnant on their honeymoon. And, I was her project.

The pregnancy didn’t go well. She didn’t just have morning sickness; she couldn’t keep her balance and would be sick if she tried to stand and move. She said the doctors gave her intravenous glucose, but really didn’t know what was wrong. They thought perhaps Meniere's disease. As long as I knew her, she would have balance issues, usually from changes in elevation or stress. She never mentioned it happening before the marriage and pregnancy. She described lying in bed with the windows open and then a sudden storm would come. She was not even able to get up to close the windows. Living in Michigan, thunder storms would have been normal. It was also hot and humid in the summer, so she needed the air.

They had to travel to Detroit for the birth. I know I was born in Women’s Hospital. I had not positioned correctly, probably from her not being able to be upright. To be exact I was transverse. She was in labor for forty-eight hours. She said the contractions threw her from one side of the bed to the other. She had worked for two doctors. By the time I arrived both were in attendance. I have no idea why they didn’t do a C-section. By the time it was over I had been born not breathing, but revived by one of the doctors. She went into surgical shock and was not expected to live. My father wanted to name me after her. She wanted Gretchen Ann as I had a German last name. Since she thought she was dying, she let him name me.

Fortunately, we both survived. Glad I didn’t have the German name. This was 1940. By 1941 we were at war with Germany. It was not popular to be German, but that is a story for another day.

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