“Who are you going to trust, the matter physician or the Great Physician?”

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was fortunate to have a doctor that had many CS patients and preferred home births to hospital births. He also worked with a CS nurse so was familiar with CS.

Because my husband was not comfortable with a home birth, we decided to have the baby at the hospital. At one point during labor the doctor came in and heard the nurse, my husband, and me saying “The Scientific Statement of Being.” He said, “You don’t need to bring out the big guns – she’s just having a baby!”

After our baby was born, she was considered jaundiced, so they placed her under lights as this was supposed to help the condition. There was a quarantine at the hospital at the time, and no visitors were allowed but it permitted me to stay with her. I don’t remember being fearful, but I simply wanted to go home with my new baby. I was in constant contact with my practitioner by phone.

After three days I woke to a glorious rose-colored sunrise. This broke the mesmerism of being under the hospital rules. I asked to leave. I think because I trusted our doctor and admired his care that I had been waiting to be discharged, instead of insisting. But that morning, almost as a voice, the thought came, “Who are you going to trust, the matter physician or the Great Physician?” It is hard to describe the freedom of thought I felt when I made that decision.

When the doctor came to approve the discharge he said with a twinkle in his eye, “It is about time you decided to leave.”

The time in the hospital allowed me to pray and work with the practitioner. By the time I left I had no fear of the jaundice diagnosis or any ill effects. I saw the baby as a complete, perfect idea of God. Our daughter had no need to return for doctor visits; we relied on the Great Physician to meet any needs that came up and consequently experienced many healings.

I am so grateful for Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, and the many dedicated practitioners, teachers, and Sunday School teachers.