When birth is as natural and empowering as the experiences at Birth Village, a third pregnancy is an adventure to look forward to. Unlike the other two previous pregnancies, this time ours was a roller coaster ride right from the beginning and we made it this far with a lot of support from family and friends. The light at the end of the tunnel being the experience of labor and childbirth itself. Being second-timers at Birth Village, the familiarity was certainly an advantage even though we never felt prepared enough as every pregnancy is different. Believing in my body’s ability to birth and taking care of myself and our pregnancy was the best practices imparted by our midwives.
As with the previous pregnancies, I knew that my body needed more than 40 weeks to get my baby ready for the world. And just the same our baby was born over a week after the due date. Had I been in a hospital I would have had a c- section or an extremely painfully induced birth as with my first one.
The bags were packed and everyone was ready. Mild contractions commenced one Tuesday morning and Ouseph and our two children drove down to Cochin as we wanted the whole family to be there when the new member arrives. Little did we know that the whole family would be active participants in labor on Thursday when the baby finally arrived!!! Frequent back rubs with little hands, tiny kisses on my arms and forehead while in the birthing pool, reassuring words from the midwives with dad mindfully overlooking every move – the reason why this labor seemed so much shorter, less painful, and most blessed. Little Nina gently arrived into this world on the 18th of August witnessing a calm, loving, warm environment amidst voices she was most familiar with while in the womb.
BV post notes. It is always a lovely and sacred experience to work with a mom for another birth. Communication and trust are already established and we just know how this mama births- what she likes and how she will respond. The nice surprise is having siblings there and watching them react. This is one strong and beautiful woman who births like a goddess!!