This is very special birth post about a woman’s journey before she had her babies and about a woman on her midwifery journey
I bumped into Dhanya in 2009 in the corridors of a hospital when I was working as childbirth educator and as a labor support professional . At that point of time she worked as an executive with a stem cell company .We shared many conversations about births , the choices that women made and lots more .
A year later she married a very special man in her life and she told me how happy she was about the new changes in her life .
She conceived within two years after marriage and came to the birthvillage to learn about all her options about birth.
This is where her real journey begins when she opened up to how she had many fears about birth despite having been in an industry where you met so many pregnant women and was attending births pretty much on a daily basis owing to nature of her job .She was very honest about how she just could not think about the baby coming out of her body at all.
Many conversations and prenatal visits led us to discover together that she was very traumatised by numerous births that she had to be part of ( as she was involved in collecting cord blood)
She opened up about how she felt it was disturbing and violent on many levels where women were not informed about anything at all.
It made me realise how various professions can create untold trauma and how we women struggle through them all burying it under many layers and just carry on with our daily lives .
And it’s a no brainier as to why baby remained breech at 36 weeks .It is well known fact in midwifery circles that often fear and stress and cause babies to align themselves closer to their mothers hearts and that’s exactly what this baby did.A trip to the ultrasound confirmed what we felt during palpation during the prenatal appointment , Wherin the radiologist mentioned that she must get ready for the surgery as there was no way baby would turn at this point .
Lots of counsel and talking and finally we decided on a very mindful external cephalic verision
Very gently we turned baby which then stayed head down
And we had the most amazing birth Ever which was the first baby I caught in my midwifery career .
Dhanya was truly amazing as she walked in quietly in the birth room only to close her eyes during a contraction
She was so quiet to the point that it was hard to even decipher whether she was even in labor .
And surprise surprise on checking she was a good 9 cm.
And soon enough she began pushing a chunky 3.7 baby girl along with her husband in the pool with such ease and grace that we were truly mesmerised .
Fast forward to 2017.
Dhanya comes in again carrying her second child and once again the magical labor that ensues I’d far more beautiful than the first
She walks around ,chats during contractions as she bounces on the ball and this time the difference being she has her older girl diva who soon joins her in the pool.
Holding on to her husbands arms for strength she births a beautiful doll again in the caul .
Dhanya to me represents the millions of simple middle class women who lead from their heart
They don’t need big books or research they simply are tuned to what their body tells them to do and go with it with their Heart and soul.
She has taught me the impact of fears that we as women can carry right from childhood , student or even professional lives and how it affects us as we beat life within our wombs.
She has shown me what healing can do and how it can take one from from a storm to an oasis .
She has taught me how graceful one can be in the most difficult of times .
She asks for so little yet gains so much.
She is one in a million.
She and so many other women are what made me what I am today .
And I realise this more than ever today as I blew out my birthday candles at birthvillage .
Thank you all so much
Lots of love
Priyanka.