Water Birth

In 2006, when I was a few months pregnant with Aparna, we visited the Birthing Centre in Santa Rosa. It was a cozy little place run by some midwives. There was one doctor on call to perform emergency Ceasareans. Having had a not-so-good experience at the hospital during my first delivery, Dev wanted me to consider this option seriously. I was hesitant because of the expenses involved. Our health insurance was not going to pay for this. After a few weeks of careful contemplation, I decided to deliver at the birthing centre. 

On March 13^th, late in the afternoon, my amniotic fluid started leaking. I called Dev at work to update him and started making notes about the happenings. Dev got home in a short while and wanted to make the best use of his time by giving Abhi a haircut! Watching this process turned out to be a good way to labor at home. In about an hour, we were ready to leave. We dropped Abhi off at a friend’s place and headed for the birthing centre.

We reached the centre around 7:30 p.m. I was asked to sit on a rocking chair as one midwife brought a cup of Chamomille tea. It was a cold evening. While I was sipping the hot tea, another midwife brought a pair of warm, rice-stuffed socks to put on my feet. The place was dimly lit and it had a nice calming effect on me. Dev was filling the bath tub with warm water. As soon as it was ready, I got in.  It was as if the warm water took away all my pain. I remember taking some music CD with me and playing it there at the centre. 

As this was a small place, I could easily hear screaming and moaning from the next room.  Two midwives were attending to the lady next door. Around 9 p.m. I remember going on hands-and-knees in the water and feeling the need to push. In just a few pushes, I could feel the baby’s head with my fingers. I urged Dev to get help.  Jennifer came just in time to hold the head that was coming out. It was relatively effortless. Little Aparna was all covered in the amniotic fluid when they wrapped her gently in a towel and handed her to Dev. There was no bath and no soap. 

I got out of the water, dried myself and got dressed. The baby and I were still connected. I got into the bed with the baby next to me. I was still getting feeble contractions. Jennifer reminded me about the last strong contraction that will send the placenta out. No one yanked the placenta; it made its way out naturally. The chord’s pulse was slowly dying down. There was no rush to severe the connection. It probably took an hour for the chord to stop pulsating. That was when it was cut.

At one point, Jennifer noticed that the baby’s temperature had dropped. There was no panic though. Jennifer calmly brought out a warm blanket and asked Dev to take off his shirt. She put the baby to his bare chest and wrapped both of them with the blanket. In about 15 minutes, the baby’s temperature got normalized. She was brought to my breast right away. She was a pro at latching and suckling. 

Abhi came with our friends in the night. He slept there with us and we left the centre as a family of four early next morning. This way of natural birth paved way for a very quick recovery.  As there was no one to help us, I had to start work at home – cooking, cleaning, baby care etc. – from the very first day on wards. The baby’s skin slowly absorbed all the creamy, residual amniotic matter (called “Vernix”) sticking on it. We gave her the first bath after two or three days. During the initial days, when she developed mild redness in eye I was asked to use the breast milk as eye drops. When she had nasal congestion, breast milk worked as nasal drops too! She was a content baby who slept for 22 hours every day for the first six weeks. 

Even now, twelve years later, every time I think of this birthing experience I feel happy and revitalized. Childbirth is a natural process and keeping it that way works wonders both for the mom and the baby. My friends and relatives, who had a spinal anesthesia, either because they couldn't bear the pain or because they had a surgery, still experience side effects of it. It breaks my heart to hear about little babies tucked away in nurseries and ICU’s for very little medical reason.

Here is another water birth experience, from my friend Venetia:

https://svargaonearth.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/birth/