Healing the Sick

My wife is going to have a baby any minute now. She has faith in being healed and asks for priesthood blessings when she is sick or is otherwise in need of blessings or strength beyond her own. Our concern lately is about the delivery of our baby going well and that complications in past deliveries will be handled better. In particular, that her placenta will detach and deliver on its own.

She got an ultrasound at the 36-week mark a little while ago to monitor baby growth and other routine checks. Since the placenta has been a challenge to her and her health in both of her previous deliveries, the doctor ordered a special look at the placenta in the ultrasound to see if that would reveal anything that would help after she gives birth. The technician thought it looked fine and is not growing into the uterus (we were very glad about that!), but something else came up in the ultrasound that was of more immediate concern. The boy was breach.

For you guys out there that are as unlearned in these matters as I was, that means the baby is in the wrong position. "The wrong position?" you ask? Yes, the wrong position. The breach position means the feet are facing down instead of the head. Doctors don't deliver babies like this very often and they tend to perform C-sections. That's not on our "bucket list" and we tried to figure out what to do. We've been praying all along for a healthy mom and baby. Now it was time for us to take action on our own.

Thus enters the talk from apostle Elder Dallin H. Oaks (pictured here) entitled Healing the Sick. He gave such a memorable talk about priesthood blessings - both about the faith of the men giving the blessing and of those receiving it. The words that came to mind in this situation are these of the prophet Brigham Young, "Have you used any remedies?" (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1954), 163).

Very applicable. Here's how we took that lesson and added works to our faith.

We learned that babies can sometimes be coaxed into flipping into the head down position if the mom gets on her elbows and knees. Don't ask me why that works. Another thing we learned a long time ago from my wonderful father-in-law is the pressure point on each pinky toe will (sometimes dramatically) get a baby to turn. And yet another thing we learned along the lines of elbows and knees is to have the mom lay on an incline with her head down, making the baby want to turn over. So what did my wife try?

All of the above.

At the same time.

Well, not the elbows/knees and laying on an incline. That would take some talent...and reaching through another dimension of space. But she put some clothes pins on her pinky toes and got on all fours. Don't tell her, but it makes me think of a stink bug. So what happened? The baby went acrobatic. All at once. Blam! Did he flip over? We didn't think so at first because we knew from the ultrasound where his head was. It still felt like it was in the same place afterwards. The return ultrasound appointment the next week revealed that he was now head down. Awesome! Our wrong interpretation was because his bum was in about the spot where his head had been. We were elated!

We believe in the power of prayer and that our loving Heavenly Father answers them in His own way and timing. We are grateful for the knowledge we have gained in unconventional "remedies" and are so glad that we could act now and not be acted upon later. We have definitely felt and recognized the tender mercies of the Lord. Once again.