Another birth in the family

I have been a delinquent poster not just because of my own family circus, but because of an extended family drama. We were delighted on Thursday to welcome another baby into the family: My cousin had a baby girl, Elyse. Anyone who has read my book knows that one of the things that inspired me to write about the history of childbirth was trying to understand three generations of births (my grandmother, my mother and aunt, my own) all of which were quite different, and also quite bad. As I was concluding the book, my sister-in-law's twin had a baby, which became fodder, and I ended the book questioning whether my sister-in-law, when she had a baby, would schedule a c-section, as she hoped to do. Well, I've already blogged about my sister-in-law here, who had her baby about 7 months ago. Today, I am focused on my cousin, who had a relatively easy vaginal birth in the hospital with her first son. This being her second child, labor progressed just fine and despite being 7 cm and feeling no pain, she got an epidural. A couple hours later, she had a girl and a few stitches. The next day, she said she felt an unusual amount of stomach pain. And the next day they sent her home. Last night, she raced back to the hospital with a raging infection. Her baby stayed home with her dad. The last three women I have personally known to give birth in a hospital have had to return to treat an infection. And given the post below, this is very frightening in an age when infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics. More women should know that this happens.