Pre-natal Development
Sometimes I rather affectionately refer to my wife as “Nurse Ann” (especially when she gives me unsolicited medical advice). Ann graduated from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) and a BA in psychology. The following two paragraphs are from a psychology class project authored by Ann several years ago.
“My father worked in a rock quarry at the Universal Atlas Cement Company for fifty cents a day, and the salary didn’t go very far to buy groceries, pay rent for the small apartment they lived in, and furnish the bare necessities for my parents and two small daughters aged 4 and 5. Another baby wasn’t exactly what they needed. My mother was on a poor diet during my prenatal development, which occurred near the end of the depression. Poor diet and getting down on her knees to wash clothes in the bathtub caused a difficult pregnancy. She carried me high and had some breathing difficulties.
“At the time of delivery, which took place at home, the birth was breech front, but small in size which made the delivery a little easier. The family doctor was there assisted by my grandmother and two great aunts. I weighed in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces on August 31, 1935 at 12 noon. My mother used to tease me by saying I was born at dinner time, and had been hungry ever since. My parents, especially my father, wanted a son and they didn’t have a girl’s name chosen. Dr. Harrington suggested Ann – his wife’s name. My mother’s name is Sarah Ann, and when my father told the doctor, he said that sounded good, so I became Sarah Ann, Jr.”
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