ANGELA SAINI
© OLLYY, STOCKSHAKIR, D RAGON IMAGES, MIMAGEPHOTOGRAPHY/REX SHUTTERSTOCK
When I was pregnant some years ago, a friend of mine—a doctor at a busy London hospital— told me that South Asian women tend to give birth earlier than other women. That passing comment was enough for me to begin cheerfully planning around the likelihood that my baby’s arrival was more imminent than I had thought. I prepared the nursery ahead of time. I confidently told my brother-in-law, who was visiting from overseas, that his nephew would be born long before he had to return home. In the event, my son came two weeks late and my brother-in-law missed the birth.