Prachi’s (Renowned Psychologist in Mumbai) birth story: Learn how she managed her baby’s birth smartly

A Story from 2013…
I am sitting down first on left in the picture given.

On 3rd January around 1 pm I had a “bloody show” (slight mucus like bleeding). I had been having castor oil at night since the past two days. From my labour class, my husband (Pawak) and I knew that this was the sign of early labour. Baby could come in a few hours or in a few days.

I started experiencing slight period like pain every 15-20 mins. This was the time I did away with my phone and other chores. The time had come to rest and save energy. Pawak got in touch with Rita and she asked him to keep a watch on the intervals and intensity of the pains and to encourage me to engage in exercises that would enable smooth transition from early labour to active labour.

Over the next 36 hrs the intervals and intensity of the pains remained the same often diminishing. This was frustrating and also let to doubts of it being false labour. Rita was in touch with pawak all through and they both encouraged me to walk and do squats along with getting plenty of rest.

At 2 am on 5th morning, I woke up to slightly sharper pains and the intervals were less than 10 mins apart. It was showtime!
I walked around the house and understood that I could bear the pains better if I were standing. I took a warm shower, got dressed and woke up Pawak and my Mother –in-law. The intensity of my contractions slowly increased.

We made our way to the nursing home. Our hospital bags were already in the car (to avoid last minute rush). Upon reaching the hospital at 5am the head nurse performed an internal check on me and declared that I was 5 cm dilated. Enema and shaving was done. Since I was aware of these procedures, I did not let myself get disturbed or disgusted by it just concentrated on the breathing.

EFM was done for 20 mins. Everything was found alright. Contractions were sharper and 5 mins apart. I had some nashta and concentrated on my breathing while Pawak timed my intervals. The pains were sharper, emanating from the lower back to the pelvic. Rubbing my lower back during contractions helped to ease the pain a little. Pawak played some bhajans that I used to listen to during the nine months. As the pains got sharper, I realized that I was able to take a short nap between the intervals. That helped me relax and gather energy for the next contraction. My Mom in law massaged my back every time I had a contraction.

At around 930 am, my water broke and internal check up revealed that I was fully dilated. Soon the contractions were a couple of mins apart. We informed the nurse and she put an IV on me. I was then taken to a Preparation room while the OT room got ready. I was asked to lie down in the Preparation room, but the Labor class had taught me to use gravity as an aid in the birthing process. So I stood and managed the contractions. Breathing in and breathing out no other thought.

Soon I felt an urge to push while I was still in that room. Because I was aware of what it meant, I immediately informed the head nurse that I was feeling the urge to push. I was quickly rushed to the OT and was on the table in no time. My doctor tried to explain to me what I was supposed to do, but I already knew what I had to do so I asked her to rush. My Mother in law was in the room with me. As soon as my legs were up, I pushed to the best of my ability. Three good pushes was all it took.

Through God’s immense grace, Dear Advvay was born on 5th Jan, 2013 at 10.29am. And there is no memory of that pain… only a sense of gratitude. Placenta was successfully delivered soon after. Birthing procedure cannot be changed but it can definitely be managed. A normal birth and awareness of Postnatal care classes, helped me recover quickly. Most importantly I was cheerful and not in pain when my little one first came to me for his feed the best was yet to be.

Thanks Rita’s pregnancy 101 for helping me choose the right option and making my pregnancy and birthing so much easier and beautiful.