5th Jan 2019
1am- Had regular urge to urine which i thought was normal as it was like that especially in my third trimester. Couldn’t sleep well and again, i thought it was normal as i was having pregnancy insomnia due to lower back pain. Never did i thought that labour could probably have started.
6.30am- First noticeable surge came, which was intense enough for me to feel the need to start deep breathing. Performed fajr prayer and texted husband who went for fajr prayer at the mosque. Alhamdulillah just two rakaahs!
7am- Husband reminded me to do zikir pagi, but the surges were coming quite close that I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Going to the hospital was not in the picture yet as i only felt the first surge less than an hour ago. No blood show pun. Decided to take a warm bath and continue zikir. Spent a good 30 minutes in the shower as the warm water felt sooo good when the surges came.
8am- Couldn’t talk to anyone because the surges were very frequent, though the intensity level was bearable. Dear mom-in-law got worried and told me to head to the hospital. I didn’t refuse.
8.30am- Off we went. In the car, was the first time i was able to check the time. Surges were already less than 3 minutes apart.
9.15am- Arrived hospital and went straight to the labour room. Nurse insisted to do vaginal exam to inform doctor as my labour was fast for my firstborn. SubhanAllah, i was already 8cm dilated!!.. wasn’t exactly expecting THIS kind of progress, nevertheless alhamdulillah!
9.45am- Beloved doctor came and checked that everything was ok, told me to continue what i was doing and left for her ward visit. I was still able to walk, talk, finish up my zikir pagi, eat dates, drink zamzam water while slowly going through each surge. With my firstborn, i was already screaming, shivering, vomiting at 8cm.
10.30am- Finally the urge to push came. Doctor arrived too. I found that standing up helped me control the surge better in a way that i could control myself from the urge to push (i did it by “tucking” in the tailbone). The doctor and nurses were supportive of me going on to all-fours but it was uncomfortable for me so i got on my back.
10.45am- As soon as I laid down, the membrane ruptured, and the baby’s head slide out (yes, just like that!!), I could feel every part of her body coming out of me. No screams, no pushes at all. Doctor was totally hands-off until baby was fully birthed. She just observed and uttered “Allahuakhbar”. Yes, thats why we love our obgyn!
After my first delivery, I thought that it was really impossible to not push. This second delivery had not only changed my perspective about birth, but also trusting that our body which Allah the All Mighty had created is much more capable than what we (or medical professionals) think. Of course, unless medically neccessary, then please intervene, otherwise, let nature take its course bah!
However, although this delivery was fast and easy, baby had some difficulty in breathing as she consumed a great amount of amniotic fluid. We were able to be skin to skin for approx 10 mins and initiate breastfeeding but baby was choking half of the time she started to turn blue-ish, so they had to suction to clear her airways. Alhamdulillah baby was brought to me in an hour and she nursed like a champ!
I would like to express a big Thank You to Nadine for all the guidance and advice since my first pregnancy through my second. Hypnobirthing has helped tremendously in understanding and trusting my own body. It feels so surreal that my baby was actually working together with my body for the birth. Whatever that seems impossible became possible, just by gaining the right knowledge.
