My private-midwife mother had three staff nurses within her zone who’d check regularly on her work. They’d come to my house, hop into my mother’s car, and go with her on her post-natal-care rounds.
One of them was a big British white woman whom we called Aunty Smith.
Aunty Smith always carried a huge black umbrella with her, one of those western ones with a hook/crook handle. The tropical sun is very harsh, especially on white skin. The rain, especially during the monsoon season, can feel like needles from the sky.
I then found out that Aunty Smith carried that huge black umbrella for another reason.
One day she needed to go to the loo but they were in a rubber plantation, so she found a place among the trees, opened her huge brolly and squatted down behind it.
I’ll never forget that story for the useful tip!
My friend Valerio said: That’s funny... [wife] Natalie uses the two car doors in an emergency on the highway... opens both front and back doors so they provide a sort of enclosure for her to squat down by the side of the car
Of course on the opposite side of the traffic ....
(Singapore, 1960s; USA)
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