Behind the Lines: by David Heiller

David Heiller 1:12 a.m. Tuesday, June 18: The light is on over the bed. Cindy is sitting bent over slightly at the edge. Her face is tight. She’s looking at her watch. “Five minutes apart, 45 seconds long,” she says in a breathless way. “The contractions.” “Huh?” I mumble, feeling very cozy under the blankets of this cool dark morning. “Let’s go, Dave,” she says. “I think this is it.” Suddenly, very suddenly, I’m awake. 4:20 a.m. Tuesday, June 18: We’ve just dropped Noah off with a friend in Rutledge. So far, so good, with our Plan. Suitcase is packed, dog and cat fed. We even had time for a quick sauna before leaving. We are on our way to the hospital in Duluth. Cindy spies the gas gauge. Less than a quarter of a tank. “Do I have to take care of everything?” she asks. “This is the first time in two weeks I didn’t get gas,” I say in a weak voice. So much for that part of the Plan. “Why, just today, I pulled into the Deep Rock, but I didn’t have any checks with me. ...

David Heiller “I don’t put myself off as someone special.” But in-the world of having babies at least, Coral Popowitz defies her own words. Coral, who lives west of Rutledge, has six children. The last three were born at home, and they were all in the “breech” position, that is, with the head up instead of down. Coral, her husband, Steve, their children, and assorted grandchildren. In fact, Coral has had babies born in all of the four breech positions—kneeling, feet-first, frank (butt-first), and posterior. All were born naturally, without a Caesarean section. What makes this special, for you dense male readers like myself, is that the vast majority of breech babies are delivered by Cesearean section. To have a breech baby naturally is rare. To have a breech baby at home is even rarer. And here’s a staggering statistic: nearly half of all births in the United States today are done by Caesarean section. Coral Popowitz’s achievement has made her a hero to groups lik...