Ahmed

Labinia Aurora Gonzalez, one of my best friends, just had a baby girl named Aliyah Sky Gonzalez; she weighed seven pounds and eight ounces. The baby was delivered via cesarean section at a county hospital in Coney Island on May 27, 2006. The baby was a beautiful sight and was a miracle in Labinia’s life.
Labinia told me that she felt that she had some control over what happened in the hospital room because of everything going on. She couldn’t believe all of the commotion surrounding her while she was sweating profusely. Labinia knew going into the hospital that she would have a cesarean section because her mother had one as well. The doctor told Labinia that she would deliver her baby by c-section because it was hereditary.
Labinia was way past due and had finally made an appointment to induce the labor. She picked a date and was on her way to the hospital, the baby was a week overdue. Her boyfriend, Eddie, called me to let me know what was going on every once in a while. Eddie was just as nervous and worried for Labinia and Aliyah. He would tell me that he felt helpless and didn’t know how to react. “Even though we had the appointment, I felt that I still wasn’t ready.”
The doctor rushed into the delivery room to check on Labinia time after time because they had many patients that day and he was in a hurry. She felt that she was being taken care of, but wished that she was the doctor’s only priority. After everything was said and done Labinia was sent into the surgery room to deliver Aliyah. She was nervous and scared about the whole thing, but “it was in God’s hands after that.” After a couple of hours Aliyah had entered the world, cute as a button. Labinia had spent almost a week in the hospital after her c-section.
Labinia told me that it was hard and very painful even with all of the medication given to her. Her family was so proud of her and prayed for her every step of the way. Labinia had known what was coming and had done her research on the problems associated with c-sections. She had talked to many doctors and her mother about it. Labinia made the decision herself to do what she thought was best. She heard all of those gruesome stories about how women die on the surgical table after a c-section because of blood loss and so on. Eddie didn’t know what was going on and just did as he was told. He had no say in the delivery room or before that, he said, “I know nothing about this whole thing! I’d rather leave all the decision making to the doctor and Labinia because she is going through the delivery and whatever is best for her is best for me.” Eddie took his stand and it was very commendable because he allowed Labinia to make the decision since it was her body. He make any judgments or say anything negative about her choice, he just gave her support. Even though she had been through a crazy and hard experience she said, “I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!”