Induction and Pick Salami!
I got hired by an amazing couple for the birth of their first baby. We connected on many levels: the use of aromatherapy, the relevance of one’s horoscope, yoga, reiki, and, most importantly: food. Coming from a European-Asian background, the mom (M.) is a conosseur, loves to cook, loves to experiment with new and interesting spices and foods. When I visited my home town, Budapest, I returned with a pack of Pick Salami, a special type of Hungarian salami. She said she’d keep it for after the birth.
This is a story of their daughter’s birth. M. went to the hospital for an induction in the evening. (Just a side note: most of my birthing moms hire me because they want a natural, low-intervention birth, and no Epidural. However, with a medically induced birth, it’s almost impossible: all hospitals use synthetic Oxytocin to induce labor, which produces regular, and often more painful contractions, than a naturally starting labor. This, in most cases, leads to and Epidural.)
M., however, was dealing with her contractions beautifully, and, by the time they called me (about 16 hours after the induction started), she was progressing very well. I used my essential oils to freshen up the room and give her energy, massaged her, did everything I could to help her cope with the sensations, and she did, beautifully. After a couple of hours, her doctor came in, and asked her how she was coping, did she want an Epidural yet. She opened her eyes, looked at him and said: “Well, I’m not sure…” The doctor seemed genuinely surprised, and said: “If you have to think about it, you don’t need it!”. This was a very important moment in her journey, giving her an extra boost of confidence and energy. However, a couple of hours later she looked at her husband and told him she might be ready for one after all. When a birth has gotten this far, and the mom asks for pain medication, it often means she is in transition, which is the very last phase of labor, before pushing starts. He started talking to her very softly, and all I could hear was “big a.s needle”. She decided she’d continue without the pain medication. I couldn’t help but smile, and, soon enough, she started pushing her beautiful baby out. Right after she fed the baby, she looked at me and said: Now, give me that salami!
I was in total awe of her. She was so strong, so wonderful. Also, I heard, the baby smelled of Pick salami for days.
bori laki 