Una Barry says -- and I guess this could be considered understatement -- that the birth of her second child last week at Mercy Medical Center was "completely different" from the birth of her first child five years ago. Asked to elaborate, she started with the Jacuzzi.
Una Barry's 8-pound, 9-ounce son was born in a Jacuzzi -- on purpose -- and everyone associated with the event seems to be quite excited about it. You should hear the labor-and-delivery nurse, Ellen Mackay (pronounced "Ma'kie") talk about this. "It makes sense, it just makes so much sense," she says. Adds Dr. Mehtap Aygun (pronounced "I'gen"), the obstetrician who handled the delivery: "It makes sense for the right woman, for someone who is really motivated and has a relaxed temperament and is open to ideas." She suspects most obstetricians are still not open to the idea, though an increasing number of midwives are.
Water birth has been practiced in Europe for years, particularly in France and the United Kingdom, according to Barbara Harper, a registered nurse in Oregon who has been advocating it through an organization called the Global Maternal/Child Health Association (1-800-641-BABY). Harper says use of Jacuzzis to reduce pain in labor is more common than actual births in water. She believes midwives have tried the method in Maryland and the District of Columbia, but the water-birth of Una Barry's baby might have been the first one actually to have taken place in a Maryland hospital.
Una Barry says she was satisfied that her final decision to have her baby under water was an informed one, but at first she knew little about the method. "I had heard about it," she says. "I knew of it as a kind of West Coast hippie thing. So I asked my doctor." And Dr. Aygun started looking into it. Nurse Mackay already had been looking into it. She had heard about it at a seminar, had seen a video and read books on the subject and had been impressed. "I was researching it when I learned Dr. Aygun was interested," Mackay says. "In fact, we were both getting interested at that same time -- what do you call that? Serendipity? -- and so we went to work."
They secured permission for the water birth at Mercy.
Una Barry went into labor the night of Dec. 11 and into 100-degree Farenheit water at Mercy about midnight. The baby was born at 4:05 a.m. Dec. 12. "She was laughing," Mackay, who has been a labor-and-delivery nurse for 10 years, says of Barry. "This woman was having contractions, and she was laughing. When she got out of the tub and had contractions in the air the pain was far greater. When she was in the water, she was fine. See, when you're in the water, all the weight is off you. She was pushing the baby, and it was work, but she was pushing gently."
"There was no comparison [with conventional delivery]," says Dr. Aygun, who has been practicing for 14 years. "The labor was totally peaceful. I acted, mainly, as a support person. I did very little. The [Jacuzzi] jets were working during most of the labor; they were turned off for delivery. There was very little blood loss, probably due to the hydrostatic pressure."
"It was much easier" than the birth of her first child, Una Barry says. "I was dilated to the point of your most severe contractions and, while there was some pain, I was laughing. I was kind of Zenned out, you know? And then someone said, 'Reach and get your baby,' and I did. He was floating, still on the (umbilical) cord, not breathing through his lungs yet. When he came out of the water, he was blinking, very peaceful."
The little blinkie's name is Milan Barry-Pollock. But the name is not complete. The parents would like a middle name that comes from water -- not "Aqua" or "Hydro," either -- and they're open to suggestions.
Charity begins in the kitchen
The folks at Viva House were overwhelmed by cookies last week. After This Just In mentioned the Baltimore Catholic Worker's annual Christmas dinner for the needy -- and the need for about 50 dozen cookies for dessert -- Viva House was on the receiving end of about -- get this -- 1,200 dozen. "I don't exaggerate, that's a pretty accurate number," says Brendan Walsh, who runs the place. "We received about 300 dozen from McDonogh School alone. We got some from Park School, from Institute of Notre Dame, from some Girl Scouts. We had people walk up to the door. Some people sent cookies by bike messenger. We had a man stop by who said his wife had recently died, and she had loved to bake cookies; he didn't know how, so he gave us a hundred bucks. Amazing generosity. I'll tell you, there's a lot of ways to make chocolate-chip cookies that we didn't even know about. Tell everyone thanks." Viva House sent many dozens of cookies -- "All homemade," Walsh says -- to Beans and Bread, another soup kitchen, in Fells Point.
Gone, but not forgotten
Connolly's, gone from Pratt Street but certainly not forgotten, was one of William Donald Schaefer's favorite places. He loved the seafood, the fried tomatoes, the Connolly kin and the conversation. The restaurant was closed in 1991 to make way for Columbus Center, the new marine biotech facility on Piers 5 and 6. Last week, the governor received one of the original signs from the old Connolly's. We hear he was surprised by the gift and actually moved to tears. "Don't get me wrong," he said. "This [Columbus Center] is a great project, but I miss my restaurant." A lot of people do.