WEBVTT 00:00:01.038 --> 00:00:06.726 Now say. Georgia Romero. OK. So can you tell me just so briefly, your 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:11.967 history, you grew up here, you know, when were you born? OK, I was born 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:18.695 August 25th, 1950, and it was a home birth because that's when we had the. 00:00:18.728 --> 00:00:23.436 What do you call those ladies? 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:31.469 Midwife. Yeah, so me and my two younger brothers were born here. Um So. 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:41.815 So do you know who the midwives were? Were they part of your family or 00:00:41.848 --> 00:00:47.307 one of the ladies, older ladies that lived, I can't remember her name. Um 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:51.945 , was there much was there knowledge passed down from generation to 00:00:51.978 --> 00:00:59.926 generation about the expectations of birth or practices around birth? 00:00:59.959 --> 00:01:02.695 Not that I can 00:01:02.728 --> 00:01:05.296 I don't remember. 00:01:05.329 --> 00:01:09.926 Um, you know, we just interviewed a woman and she said that the midwife, 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:16.885 um, Is it OK? OK, so that the, um, that the midwife met her at her home 00:01:16.918 --> 00:01:21.316 after she had given birth and um was part of the naming of the child and 00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:24.397 brought the child out to greet the son. Is that anything that has to do 00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:30.525 with your culture? Probably, but I don't remember any of that. And my mom 00:01:30.558 --> 00:01:37.617 never talked about that stuff, so I don't really know. Um, so when you, 00:01:37.650 --> 00:01:41.775 when you got pregnant with your first child, did you have an understanding 00:01:41.808 --> 00:01:47.876 of what to expect, or was it, did no one talk to you about that? I knew, I 00:01:47.909 --> 00:01:52.576 knew um about childbirth and. And my kids were born in the hospital in 00:01:52.609 --> 00:01:59.117 Albuquerque, so. Was that a planned pregnancy? 00:01:59.150 --> 00:02:06.936 Not really, both of my uh. Pregnancies weren't planned. Were you, um, how 00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:11.217 was the pregnancy? Were you, did you enjoy it or was it, um, yeah, it's 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.186 exciting because um. 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:20.975 OK. I was Single mother. 00:02:21.008 --> 00:02:25.436 Yeah, that's I first had my first child, yeah. Did you have family support 00:02:25.469 --> 00:02:33.225 ? Yes, I did. Yeah, my mom and my mom was the person that was supportive. 00:02:33.258 --> 00:02:37.797 Um, so did you have any ultrasounds or contact with doctors while you were 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:45.830 pregnant? The first one, no, um. Um, I didn't really. I was used to miss 00:02:46.229 --> 00:02:54.229 my periods, so I didn't know I was pregnant until probably the last. be 00:02:57.949 --> 00:03:03.596 It's been too far, too long ago, but. 00:03:03.629 --> 00:03:10.517 That was in 72 when I had him, so. I never really went to um. The doctor 00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:18.550 about my uh. My pregnancy until maybe the last uh. Mo 00:03:18.990 --> 00:03:24.835 When I, when my son was due, and that was in Albuquerque when I went, so, 00:03:24.868 --> 00:03:29.835 and I had uh preeclampsia, preeclampsia. 00:03:29.868 --> 00:03:34.505 Oh wow, yeah, so I had to stay in the hospital for a while until I had him 00:03:34.538 --> 00:03:38.406 and he was premature. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:41.467 Wow. Was your mother there with you in the hospital? No, I, I, I was there 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:45.827 by myself because she was, I think she was working at that time, so she 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:50.987 couldn't be, be with me. That's scary. Yeah. Did you have your siblings? 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:57.275 Any other family? No, my brothers were a little bit younger than me. 00:03:57.308 --> 00:04:02.737 Yeah, even my, my younger brother wasn't born there, you know, he was. 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:08.017 Yeah, he was only about 4 years old when I had to. Um, so how long were 00:04:08.050 --> 00:04:12.797 you in the hospital? Were you induced? 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:16.745 Trying to remember 00:04:16.778 --> 00:04:21.955 Because he was one of the doctors uh at the. What was his name? I can't 00:04:21.988 --> 00:04:25.596 remember his name. He was the. 00:04:25.629 --> 00:04:28.796 Hm. 00:04:28.829 --> 00:04:32.776 I know I was still working when I went to see the doctor, and that's when 00:04:32.809 --> 00:04:38.137 he told me I had preeclampsia. So we decided it was best that I go to the 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:46.170 emergency room that uh used to be. ECMC, now it's UNMH. So 00:04:48.619 --> 00:04:54.176 Admitted me and I stayed there. Until I had 00:04:54.209 --> 00:05:01.217 My son Did they give you medication? Yeah, for the preeclampsia. 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:07.495 And my son was born um. Uh, February 18th and he only weighed 4 pounds 3 00:05:07.528 --> 00:05:12.546 ounces, so he had to be in the hospital for about a month until he weighed 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:17.507 uh 5 pounds. Were you, did you, um, you didn't stay in the hospital for a 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:24.656 month, I stayed next door at, um. Public health hospital. In Albuquerque. 00:05:24.689 --> 00:05:28.296 I I think I stayed for a week and then they let me go, but then my son 00:05:28.329 --> 00:05:33.947 stayed. Intensive care until he weighed 5 pounds, that's when I could 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:39.507 bring him home. So, um, what was that experience when you, did you have a 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:47.540 vaginal delivery? No. C-section. Wow, that's really intense for your first 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:53.656 birth, all by yourself. 00:05:53.689 --> 00:05:57.325 So did they, did the doctors tell you this is the process, this is what 00:05:57.358 --> 00:06:00.205 you can expect? 00:06:00.238 --> 00:06:04.127 So we've interviewed a few women who've had C-sections and they'll talk 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.067 about a sheet or something dividing 00:06:08.100 --> 00:06:10.805 a sheet over. 00:06:10.838 --> 00:06:15.776 They're doing something down there and I could feel them. 00:06:15.809 --> 00:06:19.796 Pushing, pulling him out. 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:22.866 Did you have any um reaction to the medications and people talk about 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:28.317 shivering? No, but they gave me one of those final things and and they 00:06:28.350 --> 00:06:36.350 told me that down the road it would. Um, 00:06:47.649 --> 00:06:52.575 One of the complications would be your back hurting, lower back hurting, 00:06:52.608 --> 00:06:59.515 and. Did you experience that? Yeah, I I I've experienced it sometimes when 00:06:59.548 --> 00:07:05.046 I'm uh. Lifted something and my back starts to hurt and I think that's one 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:10.205 of the reasons. Is that a spinal It must have been hard for you 00:07:10.238 --> 00:07:16.455 emotionally to leave your newborn. Yeah, I, I know it was hard. And I 00:07:16.488 --> 00:07:21.495 visited him every day till he. Weigh 5 pounds. Were you nursing him at 00:07:21.528 --> 00:07:26.437 that point? No, I couldn't nurse him because I wasn't producing any milk. 00:07:26.470 --> 00:07:32.156 Well, especially if he was pre-term, you know, your body isn't prepared. 00:07:32.189 --> 00:07:38.757 Um, so did you find that the hospital staff and everything was, you know, 00:07:38.790 --> 00:07:45.596 um, they made you as comfortable as possible? Yeah. Um, so when, when I'm 00:07:45.629 --> 00:07:49.467 assuming they, during the C-section at some point they pull out the baby 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:55.507 and they said it's a boy, or did you know? Uh, no, I didn't know. So how 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:59.346 did you feel about that? Were you happy. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:05.176 Did you have already an idea for names for boys or girls? No, I'm not at 00:08:05.209 --> 00:08:08.176 that time, I didn't. 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:11.817 So what happened? How did you come up with one? Well, his dad, his dad's 00:08:11.850 --> 00:08:18.250 name was uh I gave him his dad's first name and then I added a middle name. 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:21.019 So did he grew up healthy and fine? Yeah. Yeah, he's healthy. He's married 00:08:27.488 --> 00:08:34.236 now. And that's family. So what about the second pregnancy pregnancy was 00:08:34.269 --> 00:08:38.236 um. Um, 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:44.717 The same. I came down with preeclampsia and had to have a C-section, and 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:48.076 this time she waited 4411 00:08:48.109 --> 00:08:53.706 I got a chance to bring her home. You though she wasn't 5 pounds. Wow, 00:08:53.739 --> 00:08:57.907 that's incredible that that that was the same for both pregnancies, and 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:00.787 there was a 3rd, just, 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:03.775 just the 2. 00:09:03.808 --> 00:09:09.525 Um, so were you prepared more for that second one? Yeah, if you saw my 00:09:09.558 --> 00:09:14.255 daughter today, you know she was a preemie. 00:09:14.288 --> 00:09:21.537 I Are we OK? OK, is your um. Did you have either of your children have 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:24.946 given birth? Obviously you have grandchildren and my daughter. So were you 00:09:24.979 --> 00:09:29.505 there for the birth? Yeah, I was for all three of them. Yeah. What was 00:09:29.538 --> 00:09:34.826 that experience like for you? was it exciting. 00:09:34.859 --> 00:09:42.690 Did you um? Did you feel that you were uh helpful to them in the process. 00:09:43.599 --> 00:09:45.599 I'm sure it was comforting just having you there, yeah. Were their births 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:55.736 different than yours, um. Trying to think. 00:09:55.769 --> 00:10:03.769 If they were all vaginal or C-section. 00:10:04.149 --> 00:10:10.167 Can't remember. I think the. First one was C-section. 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:14.866 Because he had his umbilical cord tied around his neck, so I think they 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:18.217 had to do an emergency C-section. 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:24.135 And I think these were, I can't remember the, the 2nd or 3rd, I don't know 00:10:24.168 --> 00:10:30.456 if they're. Vaginal or C-section. I can't remember. So you grew up in this 00:10:30.489 --> 00:10:35.736 area. Where was your mother's home? Was it nearby? Uh, this is our family 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:40.696 home and we all lived here and then right now she lives in the village. Oh 00:10:40.729 --> 00:10:47.307 , so she's still alive. Oh, that's excellent. Did she give birth at home? 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:52.275 All of our births were at home. Do you think I could talk to her? Um, 00:10:52.308 --> 00:10:56.895 probably not. She's hard of hearing. She has hearing loss, so she won't. 00:10:56.928 --> 00:11:02.606 Even hear you. It's he has dementia too, so yeah, it can be challenging. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:06.336 Those stories are so incredible, you know, it's good to be able to 00:11:06.369 --> 00:11:11.866 capture them, um. So when do you think that it changed from home births to 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:18.116 the hospital births? Um, when the midwives were no longer here, because I 00:11:18.149 --> 00:11:23.525 don't think there's any midwives now. Why do you think that is? I guess 00:11:23.558 --> 00:11:28.436 nobody's interested. I don't know. 00:11:28.469 --> 00:11:32.255 It'd be interesting if there could be more of like a hybrid of, you know, 00:11:32.288 --> 00:11:36.616 those ways of and then like modern technology with, you know, because 00:11:36.649 --> 00:11:43.369 midwives seem like a wonderful addition to the practice of birth, you know. 00:11:43.558 --> 00:11:45.558 Do you have any questions, Ashley? Um, I, you may have already mentioned 00:11:48.288 --> 00:11:52.496 this, but did your mom ever talk to you guys about the experience of home 00:11:52.529 --> 00:11:55.407 birth? I mean, you knew that you were born at home. Did she talk about 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:59.547 that at all? 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:05.986 No, not really. We never talked about that kind of stuff. So this is your 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:13.537 family home. Mhm. fix that. So there were babies born in this house. No, 00:12:13.570 --> 00:12:17.736 my grandmother. Yeah, my brother was born here. Both of my brothers, 00:12:17.769 --> 00:12:24.496 younger brothers. And I was born at my grandparents. House that seems 00:12:24.529 --> 00:12:28.217 really special to me, you know, not having to go like, oh, I was born at 00:12:28.250 --> 00:12:34.956 that hospital, but to know you were born in these walls and yeah. 00:12:34.989 --> 00:12:39.047 Um, all right, is there anything else you want to contribute or you can 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.976 think of? 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:49.037 I can't think of anything right now. Well thank you so much. I really 00:12:49.070 --> 00:12:54.797 appreciate this. Anything else before we go? I don't wanna. Be kicking 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:57.717 myself cause I didn't ask you something, so when I think about it for a 00:12:57.750 --> 00:12:59.885 second. 00:12:59.918 --> 00:13:03.157 Oh, I was wondering because you said for a very long time you didn't 00:13:03.190 --> 00:13:08.885 realize you were pregnant. How did you know? How did you first? 00:13:08.918 --> 00:13:14.746 I can't remember. It's been so long. Mm. 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:19.275 Cuz I worked at the time and. 00:13:19.308 --> 00:13:24.936 I think I felt probably felt something moving there, down there in my 00:13:24.969 --> 00:13:30.427 stomach, so that's when I realized that something was going on. 00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:38.037 Did you have morning sickness? I don't remember. I don't think so. 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:42.616 And I didn't have any cravings, so. 00:13:42.649 --> 00:13:47.696 Interesting. OK, I think we're good. All right, so let me just ask you one 00:13:47.729 --> 00:13:51.657 more question, and sometimes we'll ask this question because we're 00:13:51.690 --> 00:13:57.456 separating the stories and thematically. Is there any word or phrasing of 00:13:57.489 --> 00:14:05.489 words that summarizes your experience of birth? 00:14:09.408 --> 00:14:15.275 Well, it was exciting and scary at the same time. 00:14:15.308 --> 00:14:20.956 Because uh with the C-section, you never know what's gonna happen. 00:14:20.989 --> 00:14:27.379 Yeah, it's a lot of different emotions. Yeah, OK, great, so I'm gonna hit.