ISSUE ONE:
FIRST THINGS FIRST
We are so excited to introduce you to the 11 Seconds Magazine's DEBUT Issue, First Things First. In this issue, we dive deep into PCOS, periods, visits to the gynecologist, childbirth, love, sex, and even what it’s like to question the healthcare system head on. What does it mean to all of us that our firsts are remembered, recorded, and perhaps even revered?
You can now read it as a digital flipbook or as a series of articles below!
A New Life Emerges From The Chaos
When I was in labor, I think a part of me was afraid to let my baby get delivered by someone I didn’t fully trust. Maybe I was also afraid to have my baby leave my warm safe womb for the scary and chaotic world around us. My subconscious was probably influencing my physiology more than I knew at the time. My mind was perceiving danger and my body didn’t know how to deal with this added stress.
Birth From Not So Rose-Colored Glasses
The glint of the shiny surgical tools on the table set up next to the mom’s bed catches my eye as the light reflects off of them. The tools look sharp and conniving to me, lined up neatly and perfectly on a bright blue surgical drape. I realize I am struck by how medicalized the whole birth process is. It feels foolish to even think that, as a supposed aspiring physician myself. But there’s something unsettling about the way the mom in front of me feels reduced to a singular organ that needs surgery performed on it.
I Wanted To Feel It
I had read about groaning cake and decided to make groaning cookies. I mixed the batter and put it in the refrigerator, intending to cut and bake them after it chilled. But around 5 PM, I noticed a shift. I couldn’t pay attention to Sandra Oh when the contractions came. I wasn’t laughing at my husband’s jokes. The pain was getting more intense. I helped deliver forty babies during my family medicine training, so I did what any normal person would do at that point. I checked my cervix. It was open, though I couldn’t tell how far. I might not bake those cookies after all.