Who, Exactly, Deserves a Push Present?

Haven’t heard of push presents? A push present is a reward, usually given by the new father to the new mother, for enduring the physical and emotional throes of labor and delivery. Apparently, the new baby isn’t gift enough. The push present may be anything -expensive jewelry, a pair of plane tickets to a tropical isle for a let’s-get-our-groove-back getaway sometime in the future or, perhaps, a gift certificate to a favorite store. I’m here to counterclaim for the baby.

Let’s talk a bit about what the baby puts up with. For the sake of grammatical convenience, our hypothetical baby is a girl. She’s been lying comfortably in mom’s warm womb for several months now, simply growing, taking in nourishment and taking it easy. That’s all she knows.

The Party’s Over

Labor day arrives. Mom’s water breaks. Maybe the doctor has to induce labor. While mom is feeling no pain from an epidural (or a spinal block for a C-section,) her baby is awakened from a peaceful sleep. The water breaking and labor itself might cause the baby discomfort by forcing the baby’s skull against the mother’s pelvis, squeezing the baby with contractions. In rare cases (a C-section or an episiotomy, when they cut the vagina to assist in the birth,) the baby gets nicked with a scalpel. And do you really think there’s no pain when forceps pull baby out of the birth canal by her head? Think about it.

The Welcome Wagon

Bright lights. A quick peep show for Mom and Dad. Then, suddenly, you’re whisked away by total strangers who poke and prod, shove things in your nose and mouth and, if you’re a boy, you just may get your equipment shortened without the benefit of a pain killer. Eventually, you arrive in your mother’s arms, but it’s been a hellacious few hours. At least Mom had Dad to comfort and support her. That sweet baby had to go through one of the most traumatic experiences in life on her own.

The Defense Rests

Time to deliberate. Would you not agree that baby deserves something grand for bearing the birth process like a champion? There’s a huge selection of baby jewelry out there, and I submit to you that a bauble or two for baby is certainly warranted. So let’s give baby a push present, too - or should we call it a "shove" present, or a "pull" present or…?

Baby Jewelry
Unique jewelry for babies including bracelets, necklaces and bangles.