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Five weeks until my due date, and so far everything had been going as it had with my previous four pregnancies. Then one morning it suddenly started. My husband was already at work and the children were on their autumn break.
I immediately knelt and prayed for protection for the coming hours, as well as for the health of our child. I knew perfectly well that only God knew the exact time of the birth and that I could trust Him, even though I myself was very surprised and frightened.
Dachtler family
The Holy Spirit guides and organizes
I called my husband to inform him of the current situation, as I needed to get to the hospital quickly in my condition. Even during the phone call, we recognized God's guidance. My husband said, "We can be glad you reached me. Today I'm at the nuclear power plant, where cell phones are strictly prohibited. My phone was in the car. I had to go back to the car to get something. If I hadn't come back, you wouldn't have been able to reach me for a long time." Glory to the Lord that He hears even the small, silent prayers.
Once we had settled our four children in, we drove to the hospital. Upon arrival, the examinations began. I was informed that if labor didn't start naturally by the next day, it would be induced with medication. I'd always been a little afraid of that. We were also told that pediatricians would examine the newborn after birth, and then the baby would go to the neonatal unit for a few days.
“God is our refuge and strength, a helper in trouble.” (Psalm 46:2)
The Lord grants rest
During this time, I was accompanied by an inner peace, as I was certain that God held everything in His hands. I was assigned a room near the maternity ward, and my husband and I were able to take the opportunity to pray in peace for everything.
Due to the worsening COVID situation, he was only allowed to stay with me for a short time. Then my husband had to leave the hospital and could only return when labor began. From that point on, a time of constant prayer and intimate communion with God began for me.
I sought every opportunity to pray. Most often I found it in the bathroom of my hospital room, where I could be undisturbed with God. I tried almost every sensible suggestion, even late into the night, to induce labor on my own. But I soon understood that God's way was different.
The birth the next day
Around 7 a.m., I had to take the first medication, which triggered the first contractions about an hour later. Throughout this time, I remained in constant prayer, and I could clearly feel God's presence. I didn't feel much different from natural contractions, and for that I was very grateful to God. God showed me then, too, that He was with me the whole time and heard the prayers of His children. I was allowed to call my husband earlier than planned so that he could be with me. Thank God for that. Taking the medication then also initiated the birth.
The birth went very well and without complications. I gave birth to a girl, whom we named Rahel. After we were allowed to spend some time with our baby girl, the doctors, as planned, took her to the neonatal ward for a more thorough examination. A short time later, after I had recovered somewhat, I went to the neonatal ward to see our daughter. The doctors were very pleased with her, and she seemed quite stable. Filled with gratitude, I returned to my room to rest a bit.
In the intensive care unit
A few hours later, I received a call that Rahel had started having trouble breathing and had been transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. She was given a breathing aid because she couldn't breathe on her own. I rushed to her, praying, and found her completely wired up and connected to all sorts of machines. The doctors explained that they wanted to check the next day whether she could breathe without the aid. She did indeed improve the next day, and three days later she was moved back to the pediatric ward. I was allowed to move into the room next to her and sleep on a small crib.
Towards evening, I noticed she was becoming increasingly drowsy and barely responsive. Her breathing also began to wheeze. This struck me as odd, so I alerted the nurses who were checking on her. They repeatedly adjusted her head and massaged her palms, but since the monitors showed no significant abnormalities, no further action was taken.
“Come to me, all of you, and I will give you rest.”
I became restless and sensed that something was wrong. But I was grateful that I could lay all my worries down with our Heavenly Father. During this time, the verse from Matthew 11:28 became very vivid for me: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
As the morning wore on, my daughter's breathing became increasingly rattling; she slept constantly, and the oxygen saturation on the monitors showed regular drops. I was surprised that none of the nurses came to check on her. Finally, I was so worried that I called them myself. The early morning nurse came and adjusted her head again.
When I asked why her breathing sounded so labored, she simply said that she might have a stomach ache. She gave Rahel some medication to ease the pain. At that moment, I felt incredibly helpless, as my concerns about my child's condition were completely ignored. I stayed by the baby's bed the whole time, praying to God that everything would be alright.
Rahel barely reacted, and the monitors continued to show a sharp drop in her oxygen saturation. Even after repeated inquiries, this was ignored. Then I saw her skin color change and her body turn blue. I called for help and heard many people running down the corridor and into my room, as her condition was finally being noticed on the monitors. They brought her back to consciousness and immediately took her to the intensive care unit, where they put her breathing mask back on.
During this time, our families and the community were already praying for her health. Rahel was given strong medication, as the doctors now suspected meningitis. Once she was somewhat more stable, a cerebrospinal fluid sample was taken, and thankfully, meningitis was ruled out. However, the blood test clearly showed sepsis, and therefore the strong medication could be changed to address the underlying cause.
God once again granted me deep peace in this situation. I was grateful to God that I could always bring everything before His throne. Only when the senior physician told me that our Rachel was in extremely critical condition did I truly grasp the situation our daughter was in.
The Lord provides for His children
We spent a total of two weeks in the hospital, and there were constant complications and new findings. I was often downcast, but our God is a great and merciful God. Despite her suffering, God repeatedly gave our Rachel a smile or even a hearty laugh. Through that laughter, God gave me comfort and additional strength.
Another miracle was that I was allowed to share a hospital room with a sister from our parish for ten days. Her daughter was also in the children's ward. We were able to uplift each other, we could pray freely, and we strengthened each other through hymns.
After two weeks, I left the hospital with a perfectly healthy daughter. All thanks go to God. During this time, God clearly showed me that He hears every prayer and never ignores it. My faith and the certainty that I am never alone were strengthened by this experience.
A few weeks earlier, God had told me through a prophecy that He would perform miracles in my life to strengthen my faith. I experienced exactly that through the birth of my daughter. To the Lord alone be all the glory for performing this miracle in our daughter's life. What I especially learned was that God is in control of everything and never leaves us alone with our worries. "For the eyes of the Lord roam the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him " (2 Chronicles 16:9).
Beate Dachtler
Municipality of Speyer