Too Close For Comfort

by Stacy
(San Antonio)

I went into labor while sitting at my desk, and my friend came and picked me up.

When we arrived at the hospital, the attendants were having a hard time measuring my contractions. That's because I have all my labor pains and contractions in my back.

When the doctor came in, which was at 5:00, he decided that he was going to send me home because he couldn't tell how far along in my labor I was.

I told him forget it - I'm having this baby tonight. Rather than argue, he told me I could walk around for a while and see if I dilated any more. I didn't even walk for 15 minutes - I went to the bathroom and knew it was time. I hurried back to the delivery room, and the staff agreed it was time.

My son was born at 5:59 that night, less than an hour after the doctor had wanted to send me home.

During delivery, they found the umbilical cord around the baby's neck, which means he probably would have died if I had left the hospital and gone into actual delivery on the highway during rush hour traffic.