Jan 2017, when I confirmed that Was pregnant.. the first thing I did was search for places where they allow ur partner to be with you nd water birth… that’s when I came across natural birthing centers, benefits etc. When I looked out for centers in cochin, I found BIRTH VILLAGE, interestingly one of its kind in our country which was so close to the place where I stay… I along with my husband visited the place and enquired about everything… they said to come back after I crossed the first trimester .We discussed about it and loads of browsing and starred out on our research anyway we decided to start off with the lamaze and workout classes… in the month of March our first review was done with our primary midwife I was so happy the way I was treated and everything small thing was explained in detail.
My husband had tons nd tons of doubts but she cleared all the queries in detail.I was consulting at another institution as well simultaneously . Before my second visit,however I became quite sick very often due to low bp and low blood sugar.I was hospitalized at least twice in a month.my husband was not ok with going forward at this point with a birth of my choice as my health was complete disaster.
But I attended the lamaze classes.. each time I attended the class I felt very positive and confident and the instinct me told me this where I wAs destined to be .
I again had a discussion with my husband.He said let ur health get better then we think about it… we had an appointment with Our other midwives .She said to concentrate on my nutrition and gave targets to work on ,my husband supported me a lot he ensured that I took in the calories and with a lot of effort prenatally my health improved.. I started with my workout classes from 28th week… that was real fun.. I just loved it.. the energy, and bonding u share between the moms is priceless.I miss them a lot now… thanks to Donna nd Amy… it was an wonderful experience.Apart from Lamaze, I attended healing meditation, Mehandi and birth art workshop. Birth village made me celebrate my pregnancy which turned from just a patient to a woman who was nurturing life within
There was huge difference in my physical And mental well being after every appointment or classes from birth village… They were more like a close buddies to me.. they always made me feel special.
After my birth art class When I sat down with my thoughts it became even more apparent to me that this was my home my place What more can I gift my baby than a natural birth with women who were professionals yet warm that I trusted .
D DAY
28th august my mucus plug came out,confirmed it with my midwife .. I was in cloud nine.The next day I had an appointment.They told me what all I should be doing.I religiously followed .I got my first contraction on august 30th.It started getting more intense on the first of September .I was trying all the positions and started to time my contractions as taught to me in my class.I felt it was still a long way off and we went for shopping, beauty parlour, got our maternity shoot done. My husband was so supportive and he was doing small small things to get me distracted from the pain when we came back home to the extent he was reading political update and I was like
The whole night was super tough.. my contraction got really regular And it came down to every min.My midwives kept on check with my progress the whole night,early morning when my surges became unbearable. She asked me to come to the center..When I saw My midwives I was so relieved but not for long They checked for me and I was just 2cm.To our great disappointment we came back home .They adviced to come back when the water breaks or if I had any more discharge .The pattern of contraction changed.It got more intense with a different pattern altogether However there wasn’t any discharge or bleeding… Contraction was so frequent but my husband motivated me And kept me feeding all the time. He ensured my energy doesn’t drop down
By 3 am on sept 3rd, I couldn’t bear the pain any longer.. we checked with my midwives and went to the center when they checked me I was still 2 cm. Even though it was a good 24 hours later we were given an option either to stay back for an hour or I can go back to home as technically I still hadn’t entered active labor by dilation metrics .As my pain was so intense. I choose to stay back. It was around 4 am.My midwife sat next to me And helped me with each And every contraction. Not once did she move .She also made me sleep in between every contraction as I hadn’t slept in last 4 days. She made me walk, eat, spoke to me. Made me feel so positive and motivated. She told my husband to take rest for a while.He had a good sleep for 4 hrs.Which helped him to be more supportive in later stage of labor.
At 8am she checked for my dilation it was 6 cm.I was flying.she said we are having this baby today.She filled me with so much confidence.I just followed whatever she said to me.Again we started with all hands Nd knees, squating, walking etc. Then I went into the pool. It was so relaxing and slept there in between my contraction. It was so relaxing. My husband was there next to me helping with every contraction. All of my midwives, were there next to me sitting so cool and real ex and never gave a feeling that Im trying to birth a baby.we chatted throughout the labor, loads of discussion Nd giggles around.
We even talked about how we were married , funny anecdotes all amidst my constructions and that’s beauty when you are surrounded by women that know and love you.
At 12 noon my water broke.I came out of the pool, then it was a serious job.Pushing hard with every contraction. All three of them supported me so well… My husband was working harder to keep me up.He was with me motivating all the time with every contraction at 3:41 PM our bundle of joy came into this world.Was so happy to listen to her making her presence felt in the world .It was all mixed emotions.My husband announced me it was a baby girl just what we wanted.
She latched so well within minutes after birth . She was never separated from me not for a minute .Our postpartum care was so well dealt with A big big thanks to bincy. Without her we couldn’t have bonded with our baby so well on day 1.
A big thanks to Fatima for her massages.to Amy ur smile, it heals the pain, juicy wiggles and support throughout labor..
I’m so grateful to my birth goddess PRIYANKA without her i.couldnt have done this.. she was like my mom to me.
So when we break it up I stayed at solid 2 cm for a good 24 hours and if I were to count the contractions prior to that my early phase was a good 37 hours and 45 minutes despite having back to back contractions and then took another to dilate 4 hours to dilate upto 10 and another 3 hours and 49 minutes to push.
If not for birth village, I’m 100% sure it would have been a C-section. I needed a lot of changes in position , motivation and great team effort .This journey has changed lot of things in me and my husband. It has taken our relationship to the next level They made me a proud mom, I cherish all the struggle I went through from choosing birth village to delivering my baby.
With them.
Thanks a ton team birth village,
Love
Preetha and Hari
Bv notes
This mamma has blown us away with her perseverance . It’s not easy to listen that you are pretty much the same even after a good 24 hours of work but not once did she flinch ,there was simply No I can’t! . She just trusted and moved on and so did her man . We love this submariners strength and mettle despite having many situations where many would crumble he stood ground .
You have taught us much and we are humbled by your grace and strength .
Congratulations once again and to a lovely princess as well