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My Daughter’s Birth Uncovered Secondary Trauma From Representing Women Seeking Asylum
And Why Voting Against Trump is An Act of Sisterhood
The Birth
It took four days and four hours of pushing for her to come out.
I went to the hospital on a Monday afternoon to get induced. On Thursday at 3:02 am, my strong, healthy daughter was born. Right before she came out, my mind had to sail away into unknown territories for me to endure the exhaustion and pain.
I pushed so hard — and potentially the wrong way — that several blood vessels in my eyes exploded, making my husband wary when they were exposed when I looked right.
I was beyond exhausted.
I would have cried with happiness when I held her if I had the energy. Instead, whatever was left of it was used to keep my eyes from shutting.
Eventually, the excitement of finally birthing the daughter I had been waiting for for 5 years (infertility is a bitch!) was not enough for me to keep my eyes open as my body begged me with all its might to let it rest.
Nurses walked about the room with a tiny being that had come into the world to turn our lives into a rollercoaster of joy, anxiety, happiness, fear, learning, learning, and more…