To Everyone,

I am glad that my message has sparked such an important discussion on women's
rights in childbirth here in Turkey. I wanted to let you all know that on June
27th, I gave birth to my little boy here in Mugla State Hospital. My husband was
able to argue for his sister to enter as a birth companion for me (because of
the language gap plus she was trained as a nurse) but we were unable to avoid
the episiotomy. I also think my membranes were ruptured. My sister-in-law
relayed as much info as she could and asked questions but there wasn't a whole
lot of communication between patient and doctor. Overall, the episiotomy
stitching and the subsequent pain that is only now starting to subside were the
most traumatic (the stir-ups were awkward). I continue to be in physical pain
and though the intense bonding I wanted with my son was slightly altered because
of my pain and exhaustion, we are doing amazingly well. He is healthy and
beautiful and I was able to make it through labor and birth without drugs which
is what I had been hoping for. Other than jaundice that put us in the hospital
for a couple of days this week, the baby is wonderful and warming our lives
immensely. I will continue to look to this list for ways I can help other women
(my husband and I have learned sooooo much over the past week)and for any
advocacy I can be of assistance in.

Thank you so much again, everyone. I had much more confidence entering into my
birth experience

--Rasheedah