Veronika from Dawson - Birth Stories

Thank you to Veronika, from Dawson, Yukon, for sharing the birth stories of her two daughters with us!

In Prague, Czech Republic, I spent most of my working life in marketing business. The closest I ever got to the “birthing” was while working for Procter & Gamble, Pampers being my main brand. I visited lots of hospitals and even picked one for my own delivery. It amazed me with all its services – there was big hot tub, jumbo bouncing balls, single rooms with beds not only for mum and the baby, but for dad too.

Then I came to Yukon, met Tom, got pregnant and started to ask about Whitehorse Hospital. All the information I had got was pretty much positive – except for the rate of c-sections. That figure shocked me – for European it was unheard of. In spite of being pregnant for the first time I knew that I was built to bring my baby to this world in a natural way… and then I heard of midwives – midwives that were in Czech banished when communists took over and never established their practice again. That settled it.

I met Christina Kaiser in seventh month of my pregnancy. We spent whole day, we talked, she loaded me with advice and delicious brownies, checked on the baby, helped with leg-cramps by applying acupuncture. All felt very natural.

The day we arrived to Whitehorse next time, my labour started. It was at 9 am, August 18^th 2005, and I honestly did not realize what had been happening until about 3 pm. We called Christina and headed for Mendenhall, where she lived. When we arrived, “our” little cabin was ready, kids swimming pool was ready, and so was my midwife. I plopped myself into a soothing warm bath that took most of the initial pain away and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere ( so peaceful that my husband actually fell asleep :o). When the bad pain came, Tom held my hand when I needed and Christina was massaging my lower back making the pain go away, talking me into breathing and, above all, telling me over and over again that I was doing a great job. At 1:51 am, August 19^th, Sofia was born. Pink, beautiful, those big dark eyes starring at me, perfect. Tom cut the cord.

Most of the necessary checking then went without us noticing – uninterrupted in our joy we spent hours with our new baby before we all hit the bed. It took us almost a month to leave Christina’s little cabin – month full of advice and practical help. Thanks to Christina I turned from literally all-that-everyday-baby-stuff illiterate into quite a confident mum.

… and so when Eva let us know she was there, we did not hesitate about where this one was to be born. But how different two pregnancies can be! While I hardly noticed with Sofia, Eva was giving me a really hard time. Problems culminated in the eight month with hemorrhoids so bad that after unsuccessful treatment with the only two ointments available and heavy painkillers, I ended up with a letter from one of the Dawson Medical Clinic’s doctors pleading Whitehorse Hospital staff to do a surgery on me. I called Christina instead. She gave me a shopping list and since very little could be purchased in Dawson, she went shopping in Whitehorse and found a way how to deliver that big box full of goodies (herbs, ointments, barks and lots more) to me. In two days I was able to operate again! (All the shopping, driving and phoning was part of the $2500 fee!)

Just like with Sofia, Eva decided that the dreadful trip from Dawson to Whitehorse was enough. The labour started at about 1 pm, December 8^th 2007.We went to Christina’s and again – my little pool was ready :o) Kids and daddies got together and ladies started to work. Eva was born at 8:17 pm, December 9^th.

It was a long and painful journey completed fully naturally only thanks to Christina. To each of mine “I can’t anymore!” she replied “Yes, you can.” and she would never let go of my hand or stop saying something about a great job :o) After teas, acupuncture and a brisk walk outside, we used an up-and-down the stairs method to enhance the contractions that subsided every time I went for the soothing bath. Eventually, we walked our way back to the pool and after quite a bit of pushing, Eva finally decided to come out. Tom ran in to see her coming, Sofia joined us right after.

Unfortunately, as exhausted as I was, I could not take care of Eva right away but there was somebody who did it for me: my midwife. Thank you, Christina, from all my heart!