Amish Birth and the Little Midwife

a pile of hay-that is hand harvested at an old order Amish home

some of the animals that often greet the midwife upon her arrival

The little Midwives phone rings, it is another momma ready to have her baby.  The woman’s husband gives the little midwife the information about when his wife’s labor began, and how she is doing.  The little midwife says she will be right over.

Upon arrival she sees the father helping the 2 and a 4 year old into their coats.  The little midwife smiles at the children as they look at her with big eyes.  They are not interested in what their father is doing as he struggles to put their coats on, but instead they are interested in this woman who just came into their home.  The little midwife leans down and asks them:  “Are you going to grandma’s house?”  She knows that they cannot understand her, since young Amish children do not speak any English, so she knows she is really directing the question to the father.  Amish children in this community do not learn the English language until they begin to attend school.

The father answers saying: “Yes, it is always fun to get to go to grandmas…”

Soon the father is walking out of the house holding a hand of each child as they begin the long walk to grandma’s house.  Although it is just across the road, this family lives down a very long lane, so it will be a long walk for a small child.

The little midwife set her bags down as she looks again at the laboring mother who is sitting in a rocking chair.  She sips on homemade grape juice, and rocks slowly.  She looks up at the little midwife and smiles.  She is happy to be in labor.

The little midwife goes into the bedroom and begins to set up her birthing supplies.  The young Amish couple has removed all of their items from on top of their dresser to give the midwife a place for her supplies.

Once she has set up her supplies, she goes out to the momma in labor and watches her.  The mother is smiling…quietly rocking.  One cannot tell how an Amish woman is doing, or how far along she is by just watching her in labor.  Most Amish women are very calm and often very quiet when in labor.  Amish woman accept labor as a perfectly normal function and they often just greet it happily.

The little midwife asks the woman to come into the room so she can see how she and her baby are doing.  The midwife places her hands onto the mother’s tummy and feels the baby respond with a kick, the baby is moving well.  The midwife then listens to the heart beat of the baby and its heart beat is strong.  She smiles at the woman.  She then tells her she will need to check her to see how she is doing, and she finds that the woman is 7 centimeters.  This means it will not be long now.  The little midwife wonders if the husband will make it back in time.   She tells her she should be back up walking or rocking and the woman moves out to the table.

She sits at the table by the window, watching for her husband to come back home.  Her contractions are now slow, and very short….this means the husband will make it back in time.  A cool summer breeze blows in the window, moving the curtains ever so slightly….the little midwife sits at the table with the laboring woman, waiting for her contractions to become stronger.

The woman waits.  She watches for her husband.

The midwife waits.  She watches the woman in labor.

The little midwife thinks about how simple the life is here in this community.  There is no TV, no electronics as in the 'English community'.  There are no gas powered appliances as many other Amish communities have.  This community does not have indoor plumbing-they may have a hand pump for water in the summer kitchen, but nothing else.  They all have outhouses, and a few have Ice houses for the refrigeration, or they may use coolers.  They garden and they will can the produce they raise.  They raise their own beef, pork, chickens, goats and sheep. They all have chickens for both meat and for the eggs. They often have fruit trees, and a few have ponds stocked with fish. They use a buggy pulled by horses and farm their fields with work horses.  Even the equipment that helps with the haying is pulled by draft horses.  They will walk or use a buggy to go places, but will take a ride in an auto to the main towns.  Their buggies are not allowed to have a cover on them even in the winter, rain, hail or sleet-they are uncovered.  Laundry day is hard work; they do laundry with an old wringer washer and always hang it on the line, even in the winter. There are no phone shacks, as with other Amish communities, so when they need to place a call, such as calling the midwife, they will have to walk or drive the buggy to a neighbor- who is home.  Often they may have to go 1-2 miles or even up to 5 or more to find a neighbor who is home-so they can use a phone.  Bicycles are not allowed in this community.

This young Amish woman sits waiting for the return of her husband so she can birth their baby.  The midwife sits with her, feeling the heat from the kitchens wood stove at her back, it is a stark contrast to the cool breeze from the window.  Many in the community have summer kitchens so the larger wood/kitchen stove does not have to be used during the summer, or they will use camp stoves in the summer months.  But in preparation for the birth and to keep the home warm for the new infant, the kitchen stove is fired up.

 The little midwife notices the woman’s posture change when the woman sees her husband from afar.  He is coming back home.  Within a minute of her noticing her husband walking back, her breathing becomes labored and her contractions become harder and longer.  The little Midwife is always in awe of how the bond between a husband and wife is so important for the labor process.

Upon his return the contractions are very difficult, and much longer, and soon the Amish woman moves into the bedroom and she climbs into bed.  Within minutes she pushes out her baby boy.

The 8# 12 ounce boy cries as he accepts this new world.  The Little midwife hands the baby to the mother and she pulls him close to her own face, so her cheek is up against his soft face.  The father leans over both his new son and his wife as he stares into the eyes of this newest child.  The little midwife remains vigilant at the birth, guarding its normalcy, but not disturbing the interaction she is blessed to witness ---no reason to disturb this moment with pointless words.

Soon the mother is nursing her son.  The little midwife begins to clean up the birth site.  Once done, she takes her supplies and quietly leaves the room. The mother has fed her baby and the baby is now tucked in beside the mother, sleeping.  The mother has had some warm soup, and now, she too will rest.  The little midwife sits her things down by the kitchen table, the same one this woman sat at not too many minutes before as she waited for her husband to come home.  The midwife sits at the same spot looking out the same window, feeling the gentle breeze as she finishes her notes.

The father walks outside to smoke (yes some Amish do smoke) he stands in the yard, and the little midwife hears him talking.  She leans to the window to see who he is speaking with and she sees an old mangy dog sitting on the ground beside the man.  The man continues to talk quietly, and the dog- as if he really is listening and understanding, looks up at his master –fixed onto his face as he continues to talk to the dog. 

The little midwife listens as she hears him call the dog’s name.  “Skid-boy,” He says to the dog

 “we have a boy……”