Sleeping Pregnant

The Beauty of Childbirth

The scent of disinfectant assailed my nose, before I heard digital beeps and the movement of a frenzy of people around me. I had only began to open my eyes when the glare of white luminescence forced them back closed.

"She's waking up." A male voice rumbled.

"Thank God, hopefully now we won't have to perform a cesarean section" A high-pitched lady's voice answered.

A cesarean what?! I forced my eyes open and rapidly blinked to adjust. The small, white hospital room was crammed with medical personnel.

"What's happening?" I croaked, trying to look past the curtain that covered my lower half.

A handsome dark skinned doctor walked around the curtain, toward me and spoke in a baritone, " Ms. Fields, you were in a coma for the last five years, your water broke a few hours ago and we'll need you to push shortly." Before making his way back behind the curtain

I looked down and pinched my arm careful to avoid the IV drip, then looked back up...nothing.

I began to repeat the process when I felt a pain that bulldozed through my stomach and seemed hellbent on destroying me from the inside out.

This, definitely, was not a dream.

"AHHHHH!!!! WHAT TH- AAAH!!!" I screamed and pulled at my curly black hair. "AHHH!!"

"Mrs. Fields, you need to take deep breaths and push when Dr. Alexander says to." A frazzled young woman with red hair and freckles said while putting a pale hand on my shoulder.

"In." She inhaled, "Out." Exhale. "In." Inhale. "Ou-".

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ANNIE?" I exclaimed looking around. "I know how to breathe, I've been doing it pretty well for the past 16 years! What you need to do is get me some epidural before I teach you how to NOT breathe!! AHHHHH!!"

She quickly extracted her hand, and looked around the room searching for someone to berate me, before adjusting her blue scrubs and storming out, hopefully to get me the anesthetics.

"Okay, we need you to push now Ms. Fields" Dr. Alexander said from behind his mask. "One...two...push!"

"AHHH!" I shouted through clenched teeth.

"That was great Ms. Fields," he looked at me reassuringly, "one more time, ready?"

I shook my head vigoursly.

"One...two...three, push!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I gripped the bed's metal frame and pushed until I heard an infant's cry.

"It's a boy." Dr. Alexander said and handed the baby unto a male nurse to be cleaned.

After I had begun to catch my breath the nurse handed me the small crying, brown skinned baby wrapped in a blue blanket.

I looked back and forth between the baby, the remaining nurses and doctor.

I had never felt more confused in my entire life.