‘My mother has been to all my three deliveries’
Sanne is known for her sketch videos on her Instagram channel @laviesanne. She is mother to James (7), Isé (4) and baby Amélie.
“You held me so tight, Sanne! I really thought I would choke when you put that arm around my neck and hung and pull on me,” says my mother as we sip a glass of wine and review my last birth.
I have to chuckle, because I remember how I held her in a huff while puffing. Especially when I flew from six to ten centimeters dilated in twenty minutes and I no longer knew from the front that I still existed from behind, I almost crushed her.
Puffing with an experience expert
My mother has been to all my three deliveries. People are sometimes surprised about that, while I can’t imagine how it would have gone without her. It was a pleasure to have her by my side as an experience expert. She was also the one who puffed away the contractions with me. She was the best at that.
“My mother was the one who puffed away the contractions with me”
My friend was there too, but he made himself useful by, among other things, giving me sips of water through a straw while I was writhing to brave the contractions.
Also read – Sanne Akkerman about violent birth: ‘Unprecedented what our body can handle’
Between hope and fear
Suddenly my mother’s gaze becomes a lot more serious. “I’m laughing about it now, but I had to process that last birth for a while,” she sighs. I know that all too well.
There was panic because my daughter’s heart rate dropped too far and did not recover. When her shoulder was still stuck, she eventually came out limp as a doll and not breathing or crying, we didn’t know if it would end well. The minutes we lived between hope and fear, before the ambulances arrived, seemed like an eternity. With some help my daughter came around, but we were well frightened.
“I was able to quickly give birth to my birth, but it is still etched on my mother’s retina”
Fortunately, I was able to quickly give birth to my birth, but with my mother, who has experienced everything very consciously, it is still etched on her retina.
Rosy
To boost the mood a bit, I’m taking a different approach. “But Mom, one reassurance: we don’t intend to go for a fourth…” Although I realize that this quasi-joyful one-liner may still be missing its rosy effect on my mother for a while.
This column is in Kek Mama 08-2022.
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