After The Discharge

The ward called the birth normal. At home the nights were not. She could not feel the baby as hers. Her mother said tiredness. On day twelve she told the visiting nurse she had thought of walking out of the house. The nu…

The ward called the birth normal. At home the nights were not. She could not feel the baby as hers. Her mother said tiredness. On day twelve she told the visiting nurse she had thought of walking out of the house. The nurse did not argue about gratitude. She sat, asked about sleep and thoughts of harm, and took them to the clinic that afternoon. Medicine and a short admission were not a verdict on motherhood. They were simply how the illness was treated.