I am having some trouble answering this question because I don’t seem to be a very crazy person and not much happens to me that could be described as crazy. Recently, however, I was relating a “childbirth” story and when the person I was talking to responded with, “That is crazy,” I knew that I would write a story about the “crazy” things that happened when my first son was born.
Fifty years ago, I was pregnant with our first child. Since we did not know the gender before birth in those days, we did not know that I would be having a baby boy. My due date was June 11, 1971. I was a school librarian at a Middle School at that time and June 11th just happened to be the last day of school that year for teachers. My husband was a student at Trinity Divinity School at that time and commuted each day to classes 50 miles from Racine, WI where we lived. We lived very close to Mitchell Jr. High where I worked so I could very easily walk back and forth to my job.
After I learned I was pregnant during the fall semester of 1970, I learned from my Principal that teachers who became pregnant during the school year were required to resign following the end of the semester in which they learned of their pregnancy. This was very difficult news for John and me. I was earning our income while he was a student. If my job ended, our income ended and that would make it difficult for him to complete his Ministerial program to become a Pastor. Fortunately for us, my Principal knew our situation and wanted me to be able to continue in my position until the year ended or the baby arrived so that John could continue his seminary education. My principal took my situation to the Superintendent of Schools and advocated for a change in the policy in my case. That request was granted and I continued my job as the school librarian as I continued to carry our first child.
Since babies can arrive early, I wanted to make sure I saved my “sick” days until the end of the school year in the event our baby would arrive early. I had very good health that year and did not use any sick days during that year.
I was awakened very early on June 11th, the last day of school by something that I determined to be the start of the birth process. I was not having contractions but I had some leakage that most surely meant a baby was on the way. Without any contractions, I went to school as usual, wrapped up my year of work in the library and went to the office to turn in my keys. As I finished that process, the secretary asked how long I thought it would be before the baby was born. I told her I wasn’t sure but I thought quite soon as I was having something happen that wasn’t usual but wasn’t painful either. I told her I needed to grocery shop so my husband would have some food in the house for the week I would be in the hospital. She gasped and wanted me to get going immediately. So I left the school and went home. John and I had lunch, went grocery shopping, called the Dr. and I was told to come check into the hospital. I packed for a trip to the hospital but still had no contractions.
When we got to the hospital which was in the next town twelve miles away, I was evaluated, prepped for delivery and taken to a labor room. In 1971, women did not deliver their babies in the labor room but were taken to a delivery room when birth was imminent. A woman started the birthing process in the labor room where her husband could be with her. There she had a private bathroom and a TV if she had a desire to view something. She remained there with the oversight of nurses until it was time for the birth requiring the Dr. to be in attendance. I still was not having any contractions.
Before I got into the bed in the room, there was a decision that John and I had to make. This was late Friday afternoon on the day that had a special evening banquet scheduled for high school students. The event and its delicious meal was being prepared in a church fellowship hall in a church back in Racine - twelve miles from the hospital where we were. The program for the evening had a special speaker planned and secured for the event. Guess who that special speaker was? Of course, it was John Worden, a young, vibrant seminary student who could relate to youth.
So now what’s the decision that needs to be made? Should John cancel his plan to speak at this event, should he head back to Racine by himself to speak and then return to the hospital or should he return with me so that both could be in on the banquet before they returned to the hospital together for their baby’s birth?
The decision depended on getting permission from the hospital if I were to leave with John so that’s where we started. Since I was not having any contractions, and since we promised I would not eat or drink anything except jello and water, I was given permission to go with John to the banquet that evening! I was overjoyed and promised we’d be back as soon as the event ended.
We got to the site of the banquet shortly before 6:00PM which was the start time for the event. The moms who were there cooking and decorating welcomed us joyfully. As we were chatting with the moms, one of them noticed that I was wearing a hospital wrist band so asked me about it. I nonchalantly replied that we had just come from St. Catherine’s Hospital where I was checked in but had been given permission to leave the hospital in order to attend the banquet because I wasn’t having any contractions. With that information, those moms gasped in disbelief and began to get the evening underway with some reordering of the schedule. They decided that the guest speaker’s message should begin instead of end the evening. That way he could do his part and get me back to the hospital before they were called to assist a birth away from the hospital.
We cooperated though we thought it was foolish to be so concerned. After all, I was still not having any contractions. So everyone took their seats around the tables and John gave his message. There were plenty of folks eyeing me cautiously but I continued to be relaxed and calm.
The meal was served after the message - Steak, Baked potatoes, green beans, salad, homemade rolls with pie and ice cream for dessert. It seemed unwise for John to leave before eating as he hadn’t had much food during the day and this was certainly a delicious meal. So, because I still wasn’t having any contractions, we stayed while he ate and I watched everyone else while I resisted food as I had promised to do.
Following the meal, we decided to leave the banquet and head back to St. Catherine’s. The elevator door there opened onto the maternity floor at 9:30 PM. The nurse’s saw us and shouted, “Thank goodness you are back! We were afraid you would not return and we would have been in big trouble as we forgot to have you sign a consent form before you left that the hospital would not be responsible if the baby came before your return.” But no baby had come and I was still not having any contractions. So off to my labor room we went to settle in and wait. I slept well because I was still not having any contractions.
At 7:30 AM, Dr. Rafferty gave orders for me to be given a Pitocin pill. This pill is put between the gum and the cheek in the mouth and is supposed to help contractions begin. I took my fifth Pitocin pill at 2:30 PM and still no contractions began. We were walking up and down the halls, watching other moms come and then hear of their baby’s arrival and looking at all the newborns in their baskets in the nursery. Still no contractions for me.
This is now Saturday, June 12, 1971. Besides the hoped for birth of our first child, there was something else that was going to happen that day which would be a “first” for the nation. This event was to be the first “color televised” White House wedding!!! The bride was Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Richard Nixon and his wife Patricia and she was going to marry Edward Cox. It was a really big deal. Television was still in an early stage. In fact we did not have a color television set in our small furnished apartment at that time. I was thrilled to be in a labor room which had a color TV that we could watch. Therefore, I was hoping that since contractions were taking so long to start, I wanted them to wait and allow us to watch the televised wedding before we were interrupted with contractions.
So at 6:00 PM in Kenosha, WI in a labor room at St. Catherine’s Hospital, a young couple was glued to their color TV to watch the whole ceremony and coverage of the beautiful wedding of Richard Nixon’s oldest daughter. And no contractions interrupted the viewing.
As coverage ended a bit after 7:00 PM, it seemed a good time to make sure that I was as ready as possible for giving birth. I got freshened up in the bathroom and John straightened the bedding. I came out of the bathroom at 7:40 PM and climbed into the bed. As I laid back in the bed two things happened at the same time. One was that I heard my Dr’s voice outside of my room and I had a strong jolt of something I figured was a strong contraction. John went out the door quickly to report what happened, nurses rushed in and confirmed what had just finally gotten started. I learned that the Dr. had arrived to start intravenous pitocin but that was not needed.
John and I had taken La Maze birthing classes so we were ready. He did his part of timing contractions and rubbing my back as well as giving encouragement during the next three hours before I was moved to the delivery room. Dr. Rafferty had made sure all was progressing normally but thought that since it took so long for contractions to start, it would be a long time of labor so he decided to go home for rest. No sooner had he left the hospital than I had progressed to the final stage. Nurses called his home and his wife said she would wait on the curb for his return and send him right back to the hospital. He arrived in time for the final pushes that brought John Groves Worden into our family at 11:07pm at 8 lbs 5 oz. I was thrilled and exhausted!!!
Was any of this story something that could be called “a craziest thing that happened to me”? The moms at the Friday night banquet called me “crazy” I’m quite sure as did the school secretary when I turned in my keys at the end of the school year before going grocery shopping and then to the hospital.
Fortunately, this story had a very happy ending and we have been mightily blessed with the son God gave us 50 years ago from the date I am writing this story. That son is married to a godly, wonderful gal and they have blessed us with four dear grandchildren. The photo below is two years in the past but was taken when all six members of John’s family were together for a high school graduation.
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