Born During the Second Wave

Most of my pregnancy unfolded during the second wave of the pandemic, a time marked by caution, anxiety and constant vigilance. Every step felt measured and phone calls after 8 pm would be answered with worry. Thankfully the pregnancy itself was uneventful, but in hindsight a deeper understanding of childbirth would have helped.

At the 38th week checkup, the doctor noted that I was already 2 cm dilated and mentioned that labour could begin within days or even hours. The evening that followed was a rush of wrapping up tasks at work, advancing maternity leave, entering a state of mental preparedness and of course indulging in my favourite foods before the traditional dietary restrictions of a postpartum Indian mom began.

Four days passed without any sign of labour and most of that time was spent waiting and wondering until my ob-gyn messaged asking to come in for an NST. The results were normal, so we chose to wait more instead of inducing labour.

Two days later during dinner, I felt some mild cramp-like sensation abdomen. At that stage of pregnancy new sensations had become routine, so it seemed easy to attribute it to being overly full. And then around 1 AM my water broke.

This is where I wish I was better informed because while a water break was expected, I wasn't aware of the lack of control over the process that followed. The water doesn't 'stop' breaking. I waited about 20 minutes to clean up, get a change of clothes before my mother in law really urged us to make haste and head to the hospital as contractions were advancing rapidly. Her sense of urgency truly saved the day, because everything took much more time than it usually did. Walking a few steps, getting into the lift, getting into the car all hurt and took 3x more time, and what is usually a 15 minute drive stretched to nearly 40 minutes with my husband calmly driving like a rockstar on Bangalore's pothole-ridden roads at 2 AM while keeping count of my contractions and soothing me at the same time.

"If you're a first time mom planning a normal vaginal birth in a hospital, I advise you to speak with other moms who have delivered the same way in understanding the finer details of the actual birth - nothing is TMI."

We reached the hospital in the nick of time with the fluid still being discharged. I was directly wheeled into the pre-delivery room at 6 cm dilated and things were progressing rapidly. Now, epidural was part of my birth plan but before it can be administered, there are two bags of IV fluid that need to be given for hydration. By the time those were completed, dilation had reached 8 cm, making the epidural no longer possible. The on-call doctor shared this update only with my husband while continuing to reassure me that everything was going well, which was a sooth gesture from her.

Within minutes my ob-gyn arrived but by then the pain from contractions was blinding and I may have blacked out for a few seconds in between. The clearest memory from that time is holding my husband’s hand throughout.

This whole time I was expecting an epidural injection to surface, but instead came the announcement that it was time to push as the baby’s head was already visible. Before I could register what was happening, my ob-gyn gave me a short pep talk and asked to push when the contraction reached crescendo – I could barely process this new information at that stage of labour and remember thinking how it would’ve been helpful to talk to other moms earlier and understand these details better. Tarush was out in two pushes and immediately placed on me for skin to skin contact - I remember seeing one side of his trembling face, wanting to comfort him but unable to lift my arms, and wondering why he wasn't crying before he was whisked away, held upside down until a faint cry. And just like that, there was this sudden feeling of 'all is well' before anyone could say it - mom instinct kicks in instantly. :)

In retrospect, delivering the placenta felt harder than the labour itself because by that stage the mind is convinced the hardest part is over and it is time to rest.

But all things considered, the short and swift labour was a blessing. It left me with enough energy to recover quickly, return to normal activities and be fully present in those precious first hours of motherhood.