If Maternity Ward Walls Could Speak!

By

Dr Mahrukh Zaidi, MBBS, doing MD in Gyaenocolgy from Lady Hardinge Medical college New Delhi. Her parents are Tashi and Asad Zaidi.

If maternity ward walls could talk

Where would they begin their story?

Would they talk about the naivety of final year medical students

strutting around in their pristine white coats

Or would they talk about the insecurity of newly joined residents

exploring their new surroundings cautiously

Would they talk about the cynicism of overburdened residents

Sleepwalking from one duty to another one

Or would they talk about the apprehension of stressed-out juniors

Learning they might be in for a scolding

Would they talk about the sheer delight of first-time parents

Leaving the ward with their squealing newborn

Or would they talk about the gossip shared amongst nursing staff

Drinking a steaming cup of chai during a break

Would they talk about the tragic heartbreak of anxious relatives

learning of the untimely death of their loved one

Or would they talk about the blinding rage of these grieving relatives

Blaming and threatening hospital staff with violence

Would they talk about the endless questions of first-time mothers

Worrying about the experience of labour

Or would they talk about the later unbearable state of these mothers

Experiencing the worst throes of pain

Would they talk about the wistful yearnings of barren women

Praying to hold a child in their arms one day

Or would they talk about the utter terror of unmarried women

Miscarrying a child due to fear of disapprove

Would they talk about the faded scars on arms of young women

Carving down feelings instead of sharing them

Or would they talk about the irreparable broken trust of rape victims

Realizing they cannot even control their own bodies

A better question is:

Rather, if maternity ward walls could talk

Where would they finish their story?