The Journey of Birth: Part 2

This is a continuity to the Part 1 of the blog, where the journey of pregnancy, till a day before the birth is shared. And here in this Part 2, the process of birth itself is detailed.

The Birth: A Beautiful Process of Nature Unfolding

And now, the real part of story begins—the day of the arrival of our baby and a day before. After all the celebrations and preparations, we headed to Morning Star Clinic for our weekly check-up on 15^th October. It was unusual that the whole team was there, including Paula (Senior Midwife), Mageswari (Senior Midwife), Krishna (Senior Midwife and our point of contact for birth), and Camille (Trainee Doula). It was a moment to go over all the scenarios and identify who to contact when. Krishna took the lead in the check-up while Paula conducted a perennial examination to assess the readiness of my pelvis. She was happy with the results. The numbers indicated that my cervix was 25-30% effaced, 2-3 cm dilated, and getting ready for delivery. I also mentioned two instances of the mucous plug coming out in the last few days, which is another sign that labour is approaching, though we were only at 37 Weeks + 3 days, about a fortnight away from the expected date at this point. 

But that's when I voiced out, “I think I’m ready,” and it seemed like my little one, who was already packed and waiting, heard my voice. She was simply waiting for confirmation to start her journey.

That very evening, while it rained outside, I decided to prepare some pakoras (fritters). I didn’t even get to eat the pakoras, and to this day, I still crave them! After the preparation, I planned to do my regular yoga practice before we ate. During the practice, I experienced a spontaneous rupture of membranes (SROM)—in other words, my water broke. This came to us as a big surprise, as we thought we are atleast a week to 10 days away from this moment. But guess you can never guess!!

It was around 7:45 PM on October 15th, and thankfully, Ganesh was right there with me. At first, we thought it was just a urine leak. I rushed to the washroom, and Ganesh messaged our birth team’s WhatsApp group, notifying them of the leak. We got an immediate reply from Paula, who explained that it’s normal to experience some leakage after a perennial check. But then we realized it wasn’t just leaking—it was gushing. We shared a picture on the group, and it was confirmed: my water had broken. At this point after all our classes and readings, we knew that there was no need to panic,. Yet we had to start preparing for the birth, which was likely to happen the next day, October 16th. The guidelines at Morning Star, in coordination with the doctors, are to deliver within 24 hours after the water breaks.

We waited for Krishna to arrive with her kit to check my vitals, the baby’s heartbeat, and to discuss our next steps, as I hadn’t yet experienced any contractions or "waves" (the term we used in our birth plan for labor pains). After the check-up and consultation with the doctor at PIMS over call, the plan was to head to the hospital by 4:00 AM, even if contractions hadn’t started yet.

By this time, some of Ganesh’s family had arrived, and we managed to keep them calm with the help of Krishna’s visit. We were all advised to eat and rest, as we would need all the energy for the marathon ahead. Once we had a plan, we finished packing the hospital bag, and I called my mom, who was originally going to come a week later. Since we hadn’t expected an early term delivery, she quickly began preparing for her long journey to us. She arrived just half an hour after the birth!

We took some rest, and around 12:30 AM, contractions began. After an hour of timing them, we shared the details with the birth team, and it became clear that I was in early labor (though I thought I was nearing active labor due to the waves that I was practically unfamiliar with). The plan to head to the hospital by 4:00 AM remained in place. Rotem, our doula, met us at the hospital when we arrived at around 4:30 AM, bringing a car full of supplies as though we were going camping: a yoga mat, a birth/pilates ball, lights, candles, water, snacks, two backpacks, and a basket to carry what still did not fit our bags.

We entered the emergency department of PIMS for admission. We kept to ourselves about the fact that my water had broken, knowing it might cause unnecessary panic among the medical staff. After the paperwork and formalities, we were taken to a room that had been specially prepared as our doctor had instructed. It also turned out to be serendipitous that Dr. Pavithra was on the hospital campus that night, guiding the room setup and checking on us every 30-60 minutes due to the importance of monitoring the baby’s heartbeat after water breakage.  

None of the two private suite rooms were available that night, but the hospital was kind enough to convert a three-bed ward into a private space for us. This room was large and suitable for what we needed. We were deeply grateful for this arrangement, as it ensured we had privacy and space, which would have been impossible in a general delivery ward. While, we continue to feel blessed by the circumstances, but if given a chance we would have wanted better room’s lighting, temperature, and arrangements to ensure an environment that help stimulate natural release of oxytocin, without needing an artificial dose of it. Energetically, the space felt imbalanced with a lot of empty spaces, and feeling of blocked energies in it. Because of a nurse station inside the room, several staff members were walking in- out, restricting further the intimate environment that we had envisioned for birth. 

Once we settled into the room, we started working through contractions with the support of our doula. The first medical check-up showed a cervix that was 75% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated, with the baby’s heartbeat stable. The baby’s head station was -3 and starting to descend to -2, but the baby’s position was still ROT, the same as during the last check-up in Auroville. Although it wasn’t in my birth plan, I was placed on an IV, and antibiotics were administered as a precautionary measure to prevent any infections after the water broke. After this, I was left to move around the room freely (my preference) while the foetal heart rate was monitored periodically, and I was not stuck to bed with a NST machine.

I spent the time doing movements like squats, cat-cow stretches, side lying release, and other exercises to encourage contractions and help the baby rotate into a better position. Ganesh and Rotem supported me throughout, and I made sure to eat a good breakfast, energy bars and hydrate with ORS drinks, and conserve my energy for the long haul.

By 11:00 AM, 14 hours after my water had broken, contractions hadn’t intensified, but the baby’s head had started to move from the ROT position to ROP (posterior position). It became apparent that the head was deflexed, meaning it wasn’t pressing as firmly on the cervix, which was slowing dilation and descent. We realized that stronger contractions would be needed to move things forward, so we decided to increase the oxytocin.

We requested an hour of privacy to see if love and relaxation might help release more oxytocin naturally, but after an hour of trying, it was clear that we needed the oxytocin drip. At 12:30pm, I was put on a slow oxytocin drip which increased the waves/ contractions making me repeatedly say "I can’t do it”. Ganesh and Rotem reminded me of the journey before this, and the birth affirmations that ‘It is time to surrender’, ‘I have to believe in the strength of my body’ and ‘yes! I can do it, after this pain is when I get to hold my baby in my hand!’ Through these moments, continuing the practise of traatakam with focus on the image and counting of breath, helped me to surrender.

When I sometimes reflect deeper on the birth experience, I feel a sense of longing for an intimate birth experience. The circumstances—both the setup and the running on the clock, caused by my water breaking—left us on a tight schedule. Additionally, we hadn't planned on keeping the family updated throughout the process, and I later realized that Ganesh had to manage both the updates and support me in the delivery room. This undoubtedly placed a significant burden on him, leaving little room for the intimate experience we had hoped for.

At around 01:00 PM, I vomited—a sign of progress in the birth process. After a hot shower, by 2:00 PM, things started to change. My cervix was now 100% effaced, 5-6 cm dilated, and the baby’s head had shifted to an anterior position (ROA) which felt magical. After all she decided to come back and take the shorter route and meet us sooner than later. At this point, both Mageswari arrived at the birthing room, and Krishna was on her way. With Mageswari’s arrival who has been my comfor factor throughout pregnancy, I felt a natural release of oxytocin, which helped progress the labor even further. The waves were getting intense, and I requested an epidural for pain relief. The doctor suggested trying laughing gas (nitrous oxide) first, as it would provide some relief without numbing my body entirely and reminded that epidural was not part of my birth plan. Though the gas made me feel dizzy, it helped me manage the pain.

By 2:30 PM, the baby’s head station was +2, and I was ready to push, and Krishna arrived just in time for the delivery. We tried various birth positions—lying on my side, being on all fours, and finally resting my head on the birth ball, which ended up being the position in which I gave birth.

At 3:51 PM, with love, care, and perennial support from Krishna, our beautiful baby was born. My first question was, “Is it a boy or a girl?” and I was met with a chorus of voices saying, “Wait!” Soon after, she was placed in my arms, and I saw for myself—our little angel girl, Aira, was here. As requested, the umbilical cord wasn’t immediately clamped, and we waited for it to turn white, signifying that the blood had been fully transferred to the baby. Ganesh cut the cord, and the placenta was delivered shortly thereafter at 3:59 PM.

We had asked to take the placenta home to offer it to the earth and plant a tree, as a symbol of nurturing life. We later planted two avocado tree saplings with the placenta guarding them in the North-Earth (Direction of nurturance) around our house.

After the birth, I began breastfeeding her with support from the family. The paediatric team respected our request for non-separation, except for a brief check due to some bluish marks on her skin. We delayed the usual new-born assessments until after the golden hour. She was smaller than expected, weighing 2.38 kg, and there was a second-degree tear for me that needed stitching. Despite significant blood loss, I remained stable. The next important step was to ensure feeding every two hours. At 3:00 AM, she had her first poop—meconium—a milestone that made our hearts swell with joy.

We had initially planned for a discharge within 8-10 hours but due to her size and some concerns about my iron levels, the doctors recommended we stay for 24 hours. She passed her first pee just before leaving the hospital at 3:35 PM, which was celebrated as it’s another key milestone in new-born health. We finally arrived home at 4:45 PM on October 17th, holding our beautiful daughter, a whole new life breathing in our arms.

This process of delivery was messy, bloody, sloppy, cluttered, chaotic but you don't seem to remember this of the process and take only the beauty back with you! That's what happened with us...

The second degree natural tear took about 10-14 days for recovery but development of Haemorrhoids, due to pressure on the anus was troublesome for several weeks after delivery, and I took ayurvedic treatment for it’s healing.

We were now under the care of Morning Star midwives, who continued to visit us regularly, checking on breastfeeding, if there were any signs of baby blues, and Aira’s growth. We continue exclusive breastfeeding, which wasn’t always easy, but is a beautiful bonding experience. Aira loves to stay on the breast for over an hour, which I cherish as it’s a moment for her to feel close, secure, and loved.

As with most new-borns, she developed mild jaundice, but with plenty of skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, and sunlight exposure, she overcame it in about a week to ten days. She had needed some support for delivery and we also observed that she had a preference for one breast. This led us to consult with Swati, a paediatric physiotherapist in Auroville. With her guidance, we continue to tune in to Aira’s movements to ensure her well-being as she grows.

To sum up this incredible journey, we are in awe of the beautiful process that is birth—created with such care, warmth, and intricacy. The only advice we can offer is: "Let it be! Let it take its course, just be aware, and support the process naturally. Don’t interrupt, and just surrender to the experience."

Conclusion

Aira’s birth was a smooth and loving experience, the culmination of our efforts, preparation, and the support of those around us. Trusting our bodies, instincts, and the system we built made all the difference. Her journey into this world was not just about her birth but also about how we, as parents, grew together, learned, and embraced this new chapter with awareness and empowerment. Our story is a testament to the power of choice, trust, and education, as we prepared through every scan, test, class, and moment, not only for her arrival but for the beautiful, chaotic, and wonderful journey of parenthood.

We thank and appreciate all those who helped us in our journey, and especially a warm gratitude to our family and friends who stood by our plan/ decisions, and supported us with it!