The Angel of Bang Kwang Prison by Susan Aldous, Nicola Pierce Page A

off alone into the jungle or bush, dig a hole and just hang on to a stick or pole for support. My face was bruised from three hours of almighty pushing on my part but I can tell you truthfully that it was the best experience I have ever had on this planet. I bawled when she came out and immediately wanted another. It was utterly exhilarating. The pain, the tearing and the blood—I instantly wiped it clean from my mind at the sight of her.
    Niall had spent the labour just outside the door, praying in the corridor. I knew he wouldn’t have the stomach to watch the delivery and didn’t want to be worrying about him as well as myself and the baby. During one of my speed-walking jaunts I ordered a breathless Renee to go and tell him to comb his hair because it was driving me absolutely nuts. It was comforting to find that my obsessive compulsive behaviour wasn’t intimidated by my being in labour! At one stage he fell asleep and I sent Renee out there to wake him up and inform him that he had better stay awake and keep praying. If I could have gone out myself I would have, if only to put the fear of God into him. Honestly, it was bad enough that he couldn’t physically share in the agony but I sure wasn’t going to have him blissfully asleep either.
    He finally got to do his bit when they had to knock me out to retrieve that last piece of missing placenta. Renee remained with me while Niall took my newborn daughter Talya in his arms and sang to her.

    A couple of days later, I was able to bring her home. It wasn’t easy for those first couple of months. I was working again—mad, I know—and the rest of the time I was either expressing milk or breast-feeding. Naturally, I managed to wear myself out and ended up having to use the bottle for Talya after I came down with several fevers and breast infections. I was anxious to get on with my life and be a mom and I think this happens to a lot of first-time mothers. The shock of labour is huge and can take a while to come to terms with; I don’t think I was fully right until a year after the birth. But there is another shock in store that isn’t as widely promoted as the pain of childbirth and that is the simple fact that having a baby is utterly life-changing. Some women, and I was one of them, believe that they can continue on with their previous life and goals, and that the baby won’t change them at all. I’m here to tell you that you may be able to control your man, your mother and even your best friend, but you cannot control a newborn baby.
    All of my friends rallied around us when we got home. There was cake, ‘Welcome Home’ banners and lots of touching cards. Talya’s Thai godparents gave her a beautiful set of gold anklets that had bells on them so you could hear your baby kick when it was awake and later when it was older and discovering the joys of being mobile you could locate it by the tinkle of the little bells. Gold is a typical Asian gift; it’s perceived to be a practical and meaningful gift. The gold anklets proved to be extremely practical when, as a pre-teen, Talya cashed them in and was able to get herself lots of goodies like clothes and cds.
    I was more tired than I ever remember. I was getting up at 4.30am to wash nappies between the early and late morning feeds. Then when she slept I would feverishly work until she woke. It never occurred to me to take it easy. I wish now that I hadn’t worked so much up to the birth. It would have been an act of supreme kindness if I had allowed myself to rest up for a couple of weeks before the birth; it would also have been completely out of character! Besides when I watched her learn to recognise my voice and then my face, and then learn to smile, I felt utterly rewarded.
    When she was nine months old and the most bonny baby you could ever meet, my delighted parents came out to see her. It was the start of a beautiful relationship between them. It was thanks to my mother’s present of a baby name’s book