PRINTA labor of love
Thoughts from the birth mother and an update about the baby
April 26, 2007 | 12:00 a.m. CST
On April 20, a week from Danielle’s 34th birthday, she pushed for 12 minutes of active labor to deliver a 6-pound, 2-ounce, 18-inch-long healthy baby girl. The adoptive parents cheered her along, and the adoptive father severed the umbilical cord.
“She looks just like my dad,” Danielle says a few hours after giving birth. “It hasn’t hit me yet.” A nearby vacant birthing room served as the adoptive parents’ bonding area because legally their visiting hours were limited from 1 to 4 p.m., a rule that bothered Danielle. She snuck them in her room the following morning so they could spend more time with the newborn; the was visit shortened by a nurse who instructed the couple to return at 1 p.m. for set hours.
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Legs straight in front of her and belly now deflated, Danielle reclines in the hospital bed and awaits visitors from her previous job. She says she is liberated by her decision and discusses possibly applying for a job at MU or the hospital. She contrasts the shouts and chaos from her first child’s birth to the peaceful, supportive environs of her friends, the adoptive parents and her doctor the day before.
“It was very Zen,” she says.
Back to Danielle's story of letting go.
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