This story is part of the India Birth Project. Read more here.
The nine months of my pregnancy felt like a breeze (of course, barring the first trimester when your body is adjusting to a tiny human growing inside you. Read morning sickness, heart burn, severe anxiety, intense hormonal changes). I was extremely pleased with the fact that I could work till the very end of my term, I was physically fit (thank you yoga) and I could live my life as usual. In short, apart from a growing belly and severe tiredness towards the end, I didn’t face too many health problems.
It’s been 5 months since I delivered my beautiful child and I am yet to fully recover from what can only be termed as a traumatic postnatal experience.
I clearly remember the night of 15th December 2016, the day before my daughter was born. My husband and I had finished dinner and were catching up on the day that went by. The first set of intense kicks started around 9.30pm. I dismissed them as normal since our visit to the doctor that morning confirmed that the baby is in no hurry to come yet. She was due in 10 days.

As the night progressed, the kicks started getting intense. Since I had trouble falling asleep, we continued chatting into the night. By 2.30am our eyes were shutting and we were failing to comprehend what the other was saying.
That night I had a dream that my water broke in an elevator. I woke up in shock and realised that what I’d dreamt had turned into my reality. At 3.45am, there I was, in a pool of clear amniotic fluid and my bed linen was soaking wet. I slowly got up and went to the washroom to check. As I sat on the pot, I felt an intense gush coming from me, with streaks of blood and mucous. I didn’t panic. I knew it was time to head to the hospital. I knew she was coming.
Once at the hospital, while I was being prepped for labour, I started practicing the breathing techniques I’d learnt at my prenatal yoga class. As the contractions grew intense, I spread out my yoga mat and practiced the cat-camel pose. See, I desperately wanted a normal delivery. Throughout my pregnancy, I’d read horror stories of women who had trouble recovering from a C-section. I’d read about how hospitals in India force mothers to go through C-section to make money. I felt that a normal delivery was my only chance of having a happy postnatal experience. Little did I know that there is nothing ‘normal’ about a vaginal delivery in India.
Top Comments
I agree with the others that it probably should have been made clear this is not an Australian story.
However, my story - two kids, first induced due to waters breaking and my strong willed (now 22 year old) not doing anything else! (three weeks early) No other medication or intervention.
Second booked for induction (over due) not needed as came on the day of induction on his own. No one telling him what to do. Due to me convincing myself it was braxton hicks, I was 9cm by the time I got to hospital. Nothing else needed.
Was I lucky? Bloody oath! I consider myself extremely lucky. Did it hurt like hell? Yep! It sure did. Was it 'normal'? Yes. There is such a wide range of normal that all we should focus on, really, is getting that baby out so he/she is healthy and to the least stress of both mum and baby.
Isn't that all that matters?
So this is in India......right.