Both Deliveries Were Smooth, and That Was Everything

Both my deliveries were smooth and uncomplicated.

My first delivery was overdue by exactly a week. The due date given was the 21st, but I delivered only on the 28th. The doctor told me not to panic and said I could safely wait for a week.

On the afternoon of the 27th, I started having slow contractions every hour, though I wasn’t aware they were contractions initially. Once I noticed the intervals becoming more regular, I called the hospital. Since I was overdue, they asked me to come in once the contractions were around 30 minutes apart.

So around 8 pm, I went to the hospital and got admitted for delivery.

The whole night, I lay in the labour ward by myself. No one was around, except for the nurse who came every hour to check the foetal heartbeat. Those days, labour wards were very different. Families were not allowed around mothers the way they are today.

Early in the morning, the labour intensified, and around 8 or 9 am, I delivered Aniketh normally. He weighed around 3.75 kg.

My second delivery was very rapid.

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Around 4 am, I started bleeding and went to the same hospital where I had delivered Aniketh. I reached around 5 am and got prepared for delivery.

Again, I was lying in the labour ward all by myself.

When the labour intensified, the doctor came in, and I delivered Anirudh normally. He weighed 4 kg. Everything happened so fast that I barely felt like I had to push much at all. Before I knew it, I had my heavy-weight champ near me.

I always felt both deliveries went smoothly only by God’s grace.

What amazes me now is seeing how mothers today recover after birth. I still remember watching my daughter-in-law moving around so normally after delivering her second son. Every time I see those videos, tears swell up in my eyes.

In our days, episiotomies were routine. Since Aniketh’s head was big, I could actually see the water bag burst after the tear. After delivery, if we needed to use the toilet, we were given bedpans.

Birth in India looked very different in the late 80s & early 90s.