When she did, she quickly pulled our baby out and gently placed her on my stomach. Our baby was moving slightly. She did not cry. Seconds later a specialist took her and as they placed her on the bench I saw that her body was lifeless. I still have that image with me today. She was not moving. Her legs and arms were still. Not one single twitch. The doctors revived her and I saw her little arms and legs move (relief set in) before the doctors gathered around and I couldn’t see anymore. After some time, our daughter was given to us to hold, and then quickly whisked away again to intensive care. She was in the Newborn Care Centre for two days. Silvia and the obstetrician who delivered our daughter came to visit separately over that time. I found out later that both had left crying. I thought it was a pretty traumatic birth. To hear that both had cried made me realise just how bad it was. This story has a happy ending (my daughter is now a happy and healthy three year old... with a one year old sister). We were lucky. Very lucky. We were lucky she was alive, and we were lucky she was not born with any kind of brain damage (a very real possibility at the time). Faced with this experience, I could not help but feel grateful for the second chance we had been given. I felt so grateful for the expertise and care we had received (i.e., the obstetrician who was so experienced and focused; the specialists who revived our baby; the Newborn Care Centre staff who cared for our baby as if she were their own; and Silvia who was so wonderful during the birth). I wanted to thank them in a special
way, to shout it out into the world. I decided the best place to do this was the internet. But when I searched online, there was no special place where I could do this. Rather than giving up, I went about making such a site myself. Even though I had never touched internet programming before, I started building a website that I called Thanknest. Giving birth was one of the most traumatic experiences I have had in my life. It became a turning point for me to create something positive, meaningful, and beautiful out of this. I was so grateful for all of the care we had been given, and this was my way of giving something back. Written by Dr Linda Hamilton, creator and owner of Thanknest.com (see more about this fantastic website in our Make a Change section on the next page).
15