The path the new life is not always an easy one

This piece first appeared in the December issue of The Flourish.

The path to new life is not always an easy one. My baby boy is the light of my life and all I’ve ever wanted. Seeing him start to understand the world around him has made me slow down and appreciate the beauty of life around me too.

Yesterday, he noticed the moon for the first time, so together, we stood and smiled and pointed in awe under the glow of the sky. My journey to get here was not easy, and I know this is the case for so many women, and often not spoken of.

I had a few years of heartbreak before finally seeing my baby’s tiny, beautiful heartbeat. I was incredibly grateful to have an easy pregnancy with no complications. But still, I felt the weight of extreme worry throughout my pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a blessing, but pregnancy can also be a time of worry – even when you’re in Scotland with free and accessible healthcare and the hospital a 10-minute drive away.

In the throes of labour, I don’t remember very much, but I do remember thinking about my wee gran who had ten children in the 60s; of how brave she was, and of how brave each and every woman who has had to endure pregnancy and labour is.

Last Advent, as my baby sat in his bouncer while I put my Christmas decorations up, I thought of Mary giving birth in a manger, and also, of women around the world who do not have access to a safe space to have their baby.

It’s a devastating reality that many women around the world still don’t have access to a nearby hospital or clinic for check-ups and birth. Not having a safe sanctuary to bring your baby into the world with healthcare professionals nearby is almost impossible to imagine.

This year, SCIAF’s Advent appeal centres around women who gave birth in Zambia. Sharon had an extremely traumatic experience; she and her baby nearly didn’t make it. Sharon gave birth on a mattress on the floor of a dilapidated clinic. The room was in darkness. Sharon had no pain relief, clean water or privacy. Thankfully, Sharon and her newborn son Joshua survived, but there were many other women and babies who tragically did not.

Thanks to donations to SCIAF, our partners were able to support a clinic that is now stocked with safe medical equipment, beds for pregnant women, with nurses and healthcare assistants on hand. This makes me so proud of our partners in Zambia and of the people across Scotland for their generous donations that make this lifesaving work possible.

As I hold my baby close, I think of what Sharon and what many women in Zambia had to go through, and of those women and their babies who didn’t make it.

It breaks my heart that there are still women and babies who do not survive childbirth or who have to endure traumatic births.

It gives me hope that SCIAF is taking positive steps to improve this in Zambia.