Bearing Children
Today’s post is a little odd, I know, but bear with me (be patient with me). Today we are going to talk about childbearing (giving birth to a baby). I hope my discussion won’t be as difficult as actually giving birth to a new baby, because I’ve heard that can be a a real bear (difficult thing).
A story in the Wall Street Journal reported that mothers apparently have some small control over when they will deliver (have; give birth to) their babies. Researchers examined births in the U.S. from 1996 to 2006 during the two weeks around Halloween (October 31st) and St. Valentine’s Day (February 14th). You would expect that the number of spontaneous or natural births to be about (approximately) the same each day. (They excluded (didn’t include) caesarians (where the doctors surgically remove the baby from the woman) and induced births (where drugs are given to cause the woman to give birth).)
They found that the number of births on St. Valentine’s Day rose (increased) 3.6% over (compared to) the surrounding days, and fell (decreased) 5.3% on Halloween. The researchers concluded that, within a limited time frame (a limited amount of time), women can “expedite or delay” (speed up or slow down) childbirth (giving birth to a baby).
I was born on September 24th, 1963, and I don’t know if my mother cared (thought it important) which day I was born on. But she might have influenced (changed) the time I was born. She told me that when she and my father arrived at the hospital in the afternoon of the 24th, she was examined by her doctor (the same doctor who had delivered (helped in the birth of) my 10 brothers and sisters). The doctor told her that she still had some time before I was ready to come out, so he was going to go watch the Minnesota Twins baseball game on TV. When the game was over, he’d come back and deliver the baby.
Well, the Twins lost that day 5 to 1 to the Cleveland Indians, but the doctor did come back, and I was born at around 6:30 in the evening. The good news is that the Los Angeles Dodgers won that day, and a few weeks later won the World Series against the New York Yankees. Maybe that’s why I moved to Los Angeles instead of staying in Minnesota.
~Jeff
Photo credit: Happiness, Wikipedia CC
January 31st, 2012 at 10:47 am
Tell me about it.
January 31st, 2012 at 1:27 pm
You are not serious about your mom, right ?
January 31st, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Hi Docter Jeff
thank you for your intresting post.
I undrestood that you and me have the same birthday,
we were born on September 24th,but with 24 years variation!!!
good luck
January 31st, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Chief ,
Quite a story you got there
You know what , my guess is after 10 kids your dad had been more excited about the result of the ongoing match that the born of his eleventh child.
I bet , having a newbie had become a quite mundane event in your family way before you were born.
You know what I mean doc,
The first born child gives you an adrenalin rush,all happy and exciting . The second one is abless given by God . The third born child makes you worry inside but you plaster smile any how.The forth born would be welcomed by a forced smile .the fifth born breaks a sweat all over you. the sixth born gets you.From the 7 th born on you are totally numbe already.
but definitely even the news of having your eleventh child scares bejuzes out of you.
Perhaps, your dad watching the math to take his mind off it:))
Joking pall
)
January 31st, 2012 at 5:23 pm
I never heard my mom talking about giving birth to me. However, i kind of know how difficult and physically hurting it is to deliver a baby for women.
If i can have children, i rather want a girl than a boy. I have a niece, and i can’t help being flattered by her cuteness. Everything she dose look so cute to me all the time.
So i thought myself that how happy i can be if i can have my own daughter. hahaha even imagining makes me happy
January 31st, 2012 at 6:56 pm
And that is why you care about LA Dodgers so much Dr.
February 1st, 2012 at 12:33 am
The docotr must be a huge fan of baseball. Is baseball the most popular game in U.S. ? I am a huge fan of NBA. I am literally familiar with every details of NBA. But I know nothing about baseball. Because there are no one play baseball in my country. The basketball is prevailing here.
The theme is very closed to me, cause my wife have a child to birth this April, hoping her docotor do not go to watch TV then.
February 1st, 2012 at 5:31 am
Wow, Jeff,
You can wirte such thing! Ever wonder!
And you’ve come up with your exact “date of birth.”
Hmm,
Don’t you think that this is the firm reason why you
became insterested in “baseball,” instead of other sports such as soccer or football?
Thanks indeed, as always.
February 1st, 2012 at 6:01 am
very interesting!!
maybe you were made to enjoy baseball in the first place. haha
February 1st, 2012 at 9:07 am
Betty,
Your pitch about learning Guid totally intrigued me.
I know I m missing out a lot in all the must-know adds-on in leaning guid.
I m thinking of turning to my father to help me get back in the game.
My father is filthy rich ,but he never budge a dollar.
He is a cheapskate,I m telling you.
He is from old money, and I live in poverty
However,I guess it is worth it
I feel like I m missing a lot
I used to be a member ,I know very well ,what Jeff and Lucy got going on in there
I should have turned to them way earlier.
You know what, the beauty of Learning guid Is:it is never late ,whenever ,you join learning guid you get access to the whole episod from A to Z.
And you can copy them unlimitedly ,there is no limit to it.
Learning guid is a land with no limit.
U subscribe and the you get unlimited access to the most common phrases and you get familiar to social manners in the variety of Social Englisg setting.
Compare to what Lucy and Jeff offer on learning guid , the fee is laughable.
Take it from me, you must spend a fortune to get access to a linguistic guide as focuse as learning guid
Indeed learning guide is the most to-the-point linguistic book I have ever laid my eyes on.
I m not exaggerating.
As a matter of fact,I m putting it slightly
I m on it
Betty ,your pitch did it for me
February 1st, 2012 at 9:39 am
Man ,I really enjoy listening to you,Jeff. In particular , on English cafe’s episods.
When I start listening to you,I can’t put it down.
I have a big test this coming Friday.
I was planing to listen to one Episode and then start studying for the test.
To that end,I woke up at 7 Am to listen to Just the latest episod. It is 1230 local time ,I m still listening to u and devout your every word.
I read off Lucy’s script as well.
Seriously, I wanna get off the blog and stop you:))
I have a test for God’s sake.
I love listening to you man,I wish I could speak like you,at lease half as good.But, some dreams just have to die:))
A pipe dream,I know
I m not jealous ,but I definitly envy you.
By now
February 1st, 2012 at 5:30 pm
All my experience about the matter is remebering the way my wife Cuca gave birth to my three children, so making memory it is possible
that she could control some way the moment of going to go to the hospital with the second baby.
Eva, my first girl was in Cuca´s sister house, so we had the opportunity of being alone for some days at home and also going some place while
awaiting the new baby.
Cuca knew that once the new child were at home all our liberty was off, so may be she try to await till the moment we had the date at the
hospital and Fatima came to this world.
Cuca was relaxed as Eva was in good hands so the night before we went to the cinema to see a movie, incredible but true.
After coming home we went to the bed without any problem and just at the following morning she begun to feel that the baby was coming.
She told me: It is time to go to the hospital the baby is coming and after two or three hours Fátima was crying in our arms.
Laura, more or less the same but Cuca started to had some symthoms before the hour I have to go to the bank I worked.
She said to me: Be calm, go to the work and after one hour phone to me sure it would be the right time to go…….
My work was five minutes from home so I did what she said, and after that I phoned her and immediately we went to the
hospital….Cuca crying already in the car and me being absolutely crazy.
It was like in a movie but she was calm and very patience with me all the trip till the clinic where in a short time the
new girl was in the world for her first time.
I was with my wife the three times and they are moments I have always in my mind.
Yes, it cost a lot to give birth to a baby I knew it by the efforts she had to do while I was at her side close to the bed.
Your mam Jeff had a big heart to go through that moments so many times, I think you have to be absolutely happy
of being the last child and the firm resolution of your mam and dady to go ahead with such a large family.
By my part, thanks Jeff´s dady and mam….he is with us as the result of your great will.
emiliano
February 1st, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Seems like ,every body got distracted with the baseball match going on at the delivery time.
I guess , the climax of the story is not the baseball gage,buy the magnitude of being the youngest among many.
Poor Jeff,
Next time please tell us the story of how many times did you get bullied by your siblings.
I feel you man,
But,in a sense,the hardship has worked to your benefit. You turned out to be an exceptionally ,exception man;))
I hear you my man. And,I hear you loud and clear.
The punch line is not the baseball game ,but being the Elevent kid.
Man ,Jeff you and your sibling were a baseball team yourselves:)
By now
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:09 am
Thank you very much indeed, Jeff, for this “odd” topic.
Yes, it is odd, and you admitted it right at the beginning of this article.
BTW, it is very clever of you to use the word “bear” three times in the first paragraph – every one of them has a different meaning. That’s why sometimes English can be difficult to understand.
Jeff your story about your own birth reminded me of a story told to me by a little English girl.
The little girl told me that her older brother was “on his bike” just before he was born. Her mother was very worried whether her father would arrive home in time.
I tried to correct her by asking her was it that her mother that was on her bike; how could his brother be on a bike even before he was born? “He had not learned how to ride a bike yet”, I said.
“No”, she said, “my brother was on his bike”.
It was only some years later that I understood it was a British slang meaning her brother was ready to go (ready to come out).
Jeff you were on your bike on that afternoon. Was it scary to be on the bike while the doctor went to watch Minnesota Twins baseball game on TV?
I think it is impossible for a Hong Kong doctor to go and watch a game on TV while on duty. Normally doctors in Hong Kong have to run around seeing many patients in a short time.
Good story. Thanks again.
Betty
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:10 am
Peter , my friend , never give up , never lose faith, life without hope is meaningless , Life is not always easy, and we have to struggle and fight to accomplish our goals and make our dreams become real !!!
learning a foreign language is not easy, its a BIG CHALLENGE especially if we r not in that language speaking country , i really got too emotional when i read ur post, I hope ur dream comes true and all of us speak English just like a native speaker !!
trust me, it will come someday, if not today, then tomorrow !!!
never give up, never give up, never give up !!
please watch this video i just came across !! I WAS CRYING WHEN I SAW what happened at the end
[Link removed (please see our no links policy). Search YouTube for "Never Give up: Inspirational video"]
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:21 am
I swear to god i haven’t cried since i was a child, this video made me cry so hard, this black man had so much pain in his muscles and his medical condition was so severe, but he didnt give up, all the audience stood for him, even the gold metal -winning champion didnt get a standing ovation like this, please watch :
[Link removed (please see our no links policy). Search YouTube for "Powerful Inspirational true story...Don't give up!"]
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:55 am
Hi Jeff
Well, it didn`t feel like I had any kind of control at all when giving birth to my two sons..and I can`t imagine other having it either
By the way, I saw you and LUCY, well, her hand..on YouTube while watching these annivesary videos..
hahaha..awesome..
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:14 pm
We say here that if men have to give birth to the children, humaniy would be off
a long time ago.
Animals are not concious of the efforts and pain a female has to do and suffers
when she is trying to push out the new creature out from inside her body.
First time I could see my wife passing through this situtation I thought sure she
will not agree in having more children, but she did.
Thank you Cuca.
February 3rd, 2012 at 5:40 am
Very hilarious! Betty
your own story about the expression “on one’s bike.”
You said you didn’t know the meaning of that slang at that time.
If so, I’m wondering now
How did the chat between you and that little English girl end up?
Did you keep on arguing about that?
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:05 am
You can say that again.
My deliver was a little bit more dramatic My mother had been in labor for over six hours when the woman who was in charge of the deliver looked at my dad and said:”Sargent, there’s nothing else I can do. We’re gonna lose both.” My dad, then, remembered that Reginaldo, a guy who was doing residency in the capital and happened to be in the city visiting to his parents, was in town.
My dad picked him up and to make a long story short, he brought me to this wonderful world where we happen to meet people like Dr. Jeff who has inspired us all with his podcasts, blog and a delicious talk on English Café, as far as I am concerned.
Thank you, Dr. Jeff. Thank you very much.
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Hi! Babies are so small, so innocent, defenceless… They must be protected. Such an emotional and nice photo like yours makes me cry.
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Hi! Can you imagine? I had to go again to the public library to borrow a book by Toni Morrison, the author mentioned by you in the English Cafe 330.
I have found only a book, “Song of Solomon”, chosen for Oprah Winfrey’s popular book club and which won the 1993 Nobel Prize in literature.
“O Solomon don’t leave me here
Cotton balls to choke me
O Solomon don’t leave me here
Buckra’s arms to yoke me
Solomon done fly,
Solomon done gone
Solomon cut across the sky,
Solomon gone home.”
February 4th, 2012 at 1:01 am
Lovely post, Jeff! Thanks! A lot of people believe in horoscope which means actually to believe that a certain distribution of stars in the Universe at the moment (day) when someone is born influence the character and therefore all that happens with the person afterwards during life. Instead you jokingly believe your life is influenced by couple of baseball matches on the day of your birth:)) This is nice! May be it makes sense and we all, readers of your blog, need to find out who won who when each of us was born:)
February 4th, 2012 at 11:07 am
Hi! I have just finished to read “Song of Solomon”. I can’t help shearing my impressions with you.
As I have no African – American culture I had to read the critics to understand better.
One of the major themes is the flight presented as one of the only ways to achieve freedom.
Solomon escaped slavery by flying back to Africa ,leaving behind twenty-one children and his wife Ryna.
“The idea of human flight to freedom is rooted in both African – American and European literary traditions.” I think about Icarus talking about freedom by flight and about the idea that don’t fly too high.
Your wings could melt. Don’t desire too much.
But in Morrison’s novel, Solomon’s song expands upon two major ideas in the novel , flight and abandonment.
The song suggests that his flight is still a magnificent achievement , the ultimate triumph of liberation.
February 4th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Hi!
“If you surrendered to the air,, you could ride it.”
February 4th, 2012 at 11:15 am
Hi! “Morrison’s novel suggests, flying is the ability of a human being to overcome the obstacles in his or her path, to live a free life in a world that may be unfree.
Even in death, flight remains the symbol of life.”
February 4th, 2012 at 11:20 am
Hi!
Another theme is singing as the songs were sung from the beginning to the end of the novel.
A character is named SING or Singing Bird.
And Pilate says: Sing! Sing!
It is good for our soul if we can sing when we are happy or sad.
February 4th, 2012 at 11:27 am
Hi! By the way of your explanation, not only…but also. I have found an example:
Not only are women oppressed by racism, but they must also pay the price for men’s freedom.
February 5th, 2012 at 2:19 am
Hi! A short story from “Song of Solomon” which I like it very much. I try to translate it in brief. But, please, don’t laugh at me.
A man saw a little snake lying hurt and sick in dust. Merciful to snake, the man takes it at home. And he fed it, took care of it till the little snake became a big and strong snake.
The man fed it from his own food. But one day the big snake bit him right of his heart with its venomous tongue.
Dying, the man asks the snake:
- Why did you do that? I take care of you, I saved you from death.
- Yes, you are right, the snake says.
- So, why did you do that? Why did you kill me?
And the snake answers: But you knew all the time that I was a snake, didn’t you?
Valid in many situations from our life. Unfortunately. But you knew all the time that I was a snake, didn’t you?
February 13th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
I like the episode of the apartment super a lot, because I have encountered a similar case recently. By resolving it in a similar way, though not with a baseball bat, I recalled the conscience of the stupid guy and had him do his job finally. So it seems that that is the human nature wherever you are, either in east or west. I like reasoning with people but there are bound to be some people who donot accept that dish. Shame on them!
And thank you, wonderful host and scriptwriter.