KAREN: At what point would she have called the doctor? When you were in bed, or during the walking, walking bit?

MRS M.: Well, I guess she could tell when the baby was just about, you know, how low the baby was, and then she’d call the doctor.

KAREN: Was there ever a time when she had to deliver the baby?

MRS M.: No. No, I said, that nurse in the hospital was the only one that made me hold the baby back until the doctor got there.

KAREN: Which baby was that?

MRS M.: I think that was my last one.

KAREN: Did you have the same doctor and the midwife through all of the babies? All of the ones at home?

MRS M.: Just the ones at home, I had the same midwife.

KAREN: And the same doctor for all of them? Or a different doctor attended?

MRS M.: The same doctor.

KAREN: Do you remember what the relationship between the doctor and the midwife was like? Were they friendly? Or were they a little bit antagonistic? Did they get along?

There will be a link to a relevant article on the above topic sometime soon.

MRS M.: The doctor was very nice, he was always very nice to the midwife.

KAREN: Yes, he was respectful?

MRS M.: Yes.

KAREN: So you hadn’t been to see the doctor on a regular basis, during your pregnancy, like we nowadays go once a month?

MRS M.: Not very often, no.

KAREN: I’m kind of getting to the end here. You had seven children. The first was born in 19…?

MRS M.: 33.

KAREN: He was born in 1933. And your daughter is the oldest, now; she was born in 1934?

MRS M.: Uh hm.

KAREN: And the youngest was born when?

MRS M.: In 1947.

KAREN: Did you find there were many differences between your birth experience in 1934 or even in 1933, and 1947? Were there any differences in how the birth was managed, considering the time, you know, that was more than ten years?

MRS M.: When the last one was born, I was helping with the dishes. My daughter was drying the dishes when the water broke. And I said, “Oh, I have to go to the hospital.” And of course I had to drive myself.

KAREN: Oh, really? So you had a car? And you drove yourself?

MRS M.: My young son stayed with me and ya, I drove myself to the hospital.

KAREN: Wow, how far was that?

MRS M.: Oh, maybe about seven or eight blocks.

KAREN: And how did you handle it?

MRS M.: My water broke but I wasn’t in labor. I just checked myself in at the hospital and said, “My water has broken,” and they admitted me right away, and it wasn’t too long before the baby came.

KAREN: So who took care of your children?

MRS M.: My daughter was old enough then to look after them. But this was ’47, she was born in 34, so she was about 13 or so. When I came home she had even baked bread.

KAREN: Oh, good for her! Well. That’s very resourceful: “Oh, my water has broken, I’m going to get in the car and…” I’m impressed! Did you have any other experiences like that?

MRS M.: No. Except when H____ was born, she was the second last one. Then too, there was just a nurse’s aide on duty, and I told her, I said, “You better call the doctor, the baby’s just about here.” And she said, “Don’t worry, don’t worry.” And you know, I finally persuaded her to take me to the… what do you call the receiving room?

KAREN: The delivery room?

MRS M.: I think H. was born on the way. And the doctor really bawled her out.

KAREN: Oh, did he? For not calling him in time.

MRS M.: For not calling him sooner.

The conversation ends abruptly as the tape recorder snapped off but, especially for the longer interviews with the older ladies, I usually took this as my cue to wrap up anyway.

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