Rabia’s Birth Story: Squats To The Rescue During Labor

Two weeks short of my due date, my little one decided to come into this world without any warning. My scan that was taken 2 day back showed no signs of the baby being ready to descend. Just like that, one fine night I went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night with mild contractions that I thought were Braxton Hicks.

This would have been the first time I would’ve experienced false contraction. But after two hours of steady progress in the pain, I had to call my doctor. I thought I needed something to ease the pain so i can go back to sleep.

Upon doing an internal exam (also my first one), it turned out I was already 3cms dilated. From here on, it all happened so quickly that my birth plan went in the bin. I had no time for an epidural. Within the next hour I was taken to the labor room. When the second internal exam was done, the water bag ruptured. I was by now 8 cms dilated. At his point my doctor said, “Show me what squats they taught you in class”. A couple of spasms in the squatting position and there it was – the miracle of life.

After 3 hours of active labor and 5 hours of total labor, my son was on my belly. I had no time to wrap my head around what just happened and how quickly everything changed. Throughout my classes with Neeru Ma’am i would only hear other people’s stories of easy births and pray i was one of them. And my wish caught me by surprise. Thank you Neeru Ma’am.

This is a real life event as described by an urban Indian pregnant woman of her labor and birth experience. The details and descriptions of the experience have been kept as it is, so that other pregnant women can learn and be better prepared for their own labour. An initiative by the Child Birth Educators at Rita’s Pregnancy 101.