Angela Wilburn became the first member of her family to graduate from high school. She was 28 years old and pregnant with her 8th and 9th babies at the time. Her nine children were born in eleven years. At more than 41 weeks gestation, her labor was induced with pitocin and artificial rupture of membranes.
With her doula at her side, she labored easily with light contractions for about two hours and dilated quickly in about half an hour. Her son Rodney was soon born, weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces. Before her second son was born, his amniotic sac broke, prolapsing his umbilical cord. The doctor called for a cesarean, and seven minutes later, Randle was born, weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces. Angela, however, bled profusely from the surgery, and a hysterectomy was performed to try to save her life. She refused a blood transfusion (she is a Jehovah’s Witness), and she died. Her estranged husband is in prison.
Angela’s doula reported that Angela had expressed a fear of death during her pregnancy. Angela died August 10, 2005, at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Angela’s grandparents are raising eight of her nine children.
This quilt block was created by Ina May Gaskin.
