not just hands

A midwife's hands do so much more than hold and support. Indeed, it is not cheesy when people talk about their power. Much of what they do is to feel the invisible - and 'see' what is under the skin, just out of reach, and up and back behind what we can image. A good (and practiced) midwife can tell the estimated weight of a fetus in utero, it's position, if it's head is flexed or extended, if it is facing a bit to the left or right inside the mother's uterus, if the head is down or up or (lord forbid) sideways.

Hands become measuring tools as well - how much is she dilated? how big is her pelvis? how far down has the baby dropped? there is no scientific measurement - just very educated guesses - placing one or two fingers in the cervix and thinking - if two tips of my fingers are 3cm - she must be just under three cm dilated. Yes, sobering how un-exact it is - but excited how precise it can become. We have all measured every length and width of our hands, fingers, and fingertips. I have really never paid so much attention to any part of my body. The length from my pointer finger to the base of the thumb is 13cm.

To practice estimating dilation - we have been instructed to measure every round thing with our fingers - then check the diameter with a tape to get a sense of truth. For example, the middle and pointer fingers of my left hand stretched to their maximum is about 10cm from edge to edge. And so, voila - if I can fully stretch them - she's ready to have that baby.

So, there goes distancing my self from just about anything - a water glass, a water bottle (mine is about 3cm in diameter at the opening, a door knob, a shampoo bottle.

It's all a cervix. And my hands are my tape measure.

Hmmm.... I think I deserve a manicure.