The birth-story of my second-born: Pain followed by bliss.

December 14, 2025.

It was the end of 39 weeks and 6 days and my body showed no signs of uterine contractions.

Maybe a little abdominal pain here and there - but nothing that indicated cervix dilation.

I was low-key disappointed.

Everyone around me: second-time mothers from my friend circle, my gynaec, the anesthesiologist, random women - told me that the second time delivery is easier than the first. Active labour time is much shorter and the body gives some signal - the water might break, or you might experience some form of false labour pain etc. 

I didn’t get any of it.

This was my second pregnancy and the first one was a normal delivery.

Someone had told me that the uterus has memory from the first delivery and it acts better. But for me, I felt like the uterus had again forgotten that it was supposed to induce labour on its own to get the baby out.

In other nations, they wait till week 42 from the time of conception for the labour to begin naturally.

In India, that cut-off is 40 weeks. Not exactly sure why. My gynaec had quoted some guideline indicating that 40 weeks is the cut-off in India and they don’t wait any further than that.

My EDD (expected date of delivery) was December 15, 2025. We waited till the very end. And the general agreement was that if nothing happens naturally by then, I get admitted in the hospital on the night of December 14, 2025. 

The latest reports showed that the baby had 2 loops of umbilical cord wrapped around its neck as on December 3, 2025. I was full of dread. I feared that this baby too, just like the previous one - will have some difficulty in delivery. Although the radiologist told me to not worry about this as this is very common and women have babies normally all around the world even in this situation, this fact somehow stayed in my mind. 

When my first baby was born, she had to spend 2 days in NICU - as she was a vacuum delivery. Even after she came back home with us, she had to get some dosage of antibiotics via an IV drip for 5 days for her to recover totally. Seeing your newborn baby like that - somehow breaks you.

Keeping this in mind, I felt that if a C-section assuredly delivers the baby safely - it’s a bet I am willing to take. 

While many women in India choose C-section delivery as the form of preferred childbirth, it still is a major abdmibal surgery. Seven layers of skin is cut and your uterus is ripped open to take the baby out. While the surgery may have progressed in its right and the stitches etc are now much better - but it still doesn’t take away the fact that it is still a major surgery.

I did not want to get one. I felt that if I am capable of carrying a baby in a healthy manner and all my vitals are fine, I would always prefer delivering normally. The body forgets labour pain - the neurobiology ensures that happens in most cases. But a surgery - when I am perfectly capable of avoiding it - shouldn’t happen to me. It’s somehow the idea of my body being ripped open that scares me or rather makes me extremely uncomfortable. 

While doing the pre-anaesthesia consultation (PAC) for my second delivery with an anaesthetist, I ended up crying saying, “I do not want a surgery.” 

To which the male anaesthetist said, “Please don’t worry - the doctors will try their best to give you normal delivery and this is multi gravida - meaning a second pregnancy - so your labour duration will be shorter. In the end, no matter the form of birth, you will have bundle of joy with you.”

Bundle of joy right after delivery?

Clearly only a non-mother can say that. The hormonal drop after childbirth is the largest in human biology. The progesterone decreases to such a large extent - that most mothers feel completely shit. And on top of it, add these factors:

1. Bleeding
2. Pain while sitting (episotomy or C-section)
3. Breastfeeding latching
4. Sleepless nights

Nothing is joyful just after delivery. It’s messy, painful and full of stress.

—

Anyway, I arrived on the night of 14 December 2025 - after a silent, tearful goodbye to my firstborn. 

10 PM:Got admitted. Was sent straight to the labour ward. Given a gel for labour induction. Cervix dilation was 1 cm.

2 AM:Nothing had happened. No pains. I was able to sleep for a while. The fetal heart rate was consntantly being monitored along with my BP. The night gynaec checked for dilation again. At best 1.5 cm. Another round of gel.

8 AM:Nothing happened again. By this time, I felt panicky - I told the duty doctor to call my main gynaec. I asked my gynaec - if it is even wise to proceed with induction? Should we just go ahead with a C-section? Somehow the memories of previous childbirth were fogging my brain and I just didn’t want the same situation again.

My gynaec said that this is not even a good attempt for labour induction and we can’t stop right now. Everything was fine and she said that we will try something else.

10 AM:I was given oxytocin for labour induction and I felt light pains. Apparently, they were still not enough for dilation. The duty doctor had changed by now. It was 12 hours by now and this was much longer than the previous delivery in terms of any action to start. Either it was gonna be a painless, smooth normal delivery or a C-section somehow - is what my brain believed. I again asked my OBGYN if it’s a good idea to proceed if the body is not inducing labour. She reassured me that everything is just fine and there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

11:45 AM:Slight contraction pains had started. My water was broken by the duty doctor. And that hurt like a bitch. So much pain in such a short time. I felt the first powerful contraction. It was like a deep electric shock wave rippling from the top of the abdomen to the inner thighs. It lasted almost 20 seconds. Before I could process that the contractions had begun, another sharp pain. I was in enough senses to see that this re-occured every 2 minutes. By the time the anaesthesiologist came and asked me to be calm for the epidural administration, I had felt 10 contractions. With a quivering body, I was asked to be in C-shape with my back. I didn’t even feel the needle insertion because I was in so much pain. Tears flooded my face silently. The anaesthesiologist said, “Please don’t cry, you will be fine. It will take about 10-15 minutes for the medicine to take its course. You will start feeling numbness in your toes now.” To which I sharply responded, “But i feel the exact same. I can feel every pain.” I moved my legs to show her how I hadn’t gotten an inch of relief from the pain - I had complete nervous control over my legs - which meant that I felt every pain. “Just give it 15 minutes, it will act.” and the anaesthesiologist scurried away.

15 minutes became 20 and then 25. I felt the same.

“Please call my main OBGYN. I am in a lot of pain. This epidural has failed. I will die from the pain.”, I pleaded to the duty doctor.

My husband stood by my side, reminding me to exhale and take deep breaths. And when I exhaled loudly, it helped a bit. 

“You have trained for this, it will be over in no time. You have done very well till now.”, my husband kept saying some inspirational things but I just couldn’t bear the pain. It was so fast at this point - I felt like it’s the end of my being.

My main OBGYN came and informed me that maybe the epidural didn’t act because I was already at 8 cm. From 4 cm to 8 cm in almost half an hour is an incredibly fast dilation. The anesthesia couldn’t function at such a high rate of dilation. 

I said, “What now? Does it mean I push out the baby now?”

She said that I need to wait till I’m at 10 cm and the baby is at the station.

A station?

What on earth is a station now? 

I knew that cervix dilation was the most important factor. Turns out the baby’s vertical position is also a factor in being ready to be able to push. 

Damn.

Meanwhile the duty doctor sat there, everyone in the labour room waiting in anticipation for the baby to come out any moment now. 

My duty doctor explained that the position of the baby’s head inside the mother’s body is referred to as station. Important stations are +3 at which crowning happens. Crowning is when you see start seeing the baby’s head and +5 is delivery.

I was informed that I was at -1.

-1 to +5 of whatever this shit is - I felt like I could not survive. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think of anything except for asking for some pain relief.

The labour nurse did give some pain relief medication through the IV drip - but it did not help.

They increased the dosage. It did not help.

The only relief was: after the contraction was gone, I felt a little sleepy?

For a grand total of 1 minute 40 seconds each time. And that duration also reduced with time as the contraction frequency increased. 

There was a general wave of stress and hopelessness in the labour ward now. Or maybe it was just me. Being subjected to this recurrent pain which left my entire lower body completely de-energised and stinging from pain. 

By now, I had done the following things:

1. Asked for general anaethesia - told everyone that if C-section is needed - please do it - because anyway I am gonna die.
2. Told my husband, “I am begging for kindness. Why can’t someone just operate and get this baby out?”
3. Told my OBGYN, “I won’t survive this. What are the cons of a surgery?”

Meanwhile, God bless my OBGYN - throughout my entire pregnancy I had told her how I didn’t ever want a surgery especially when I am trained the pelvic region for this endurance and flexibility - remembered that I was in a weak mental state and continued reminding me that the baby will out any minute now.

My OBGYN told me, from what I faintly recall, “You are at almost 10 cm, the baby is almost there. Your BP is normal, your baby’s heart rate is completely fine. There is no sign of fetal distress. The conditions are perfect. In just 2 pushes, you can get the baby out. If I give you a section now, you will regret it - because you have never wanted it. Now is not the time for it.” 

There was a movement of labour nurses from one ward to another, the background music was that of other women in labour shrieking their lungs out, a unison of the phrase, “push, push,push” from other labour wards. 

Scary noises followed by little humans crying.

I just felt that everyone who had arrived after me for induction had also gone to the lower floor after delivery and with their babies.

At this point, I felt like Racheal from friends.

There was a doom beginning to crowd my brain -  I felt like this will last forever. My duty doctor had told me that the baby will be out in 30 minutes and it was already 120 minutes from when she had told me this. Don’t get me wrong, if I had the slightest amount of pain relief - I would have been fine. But I just felt like - I got nothing. A birth as natural as it can get - and it is so painful. 

The process of water breaking was about at 11:45 AM.

It was already 3 PM now. I didn’t understand which goddamn station my baby was at. I had learnt the word “station” a few hours ago only and now my baby was at some imaginable place - though at 10 cm dilation. I was like - is this even real? 

I felt like anything that could relieve me of pain was being denied:

1. Don’t sit on the birthing ball because it will drain the amniotic fluid and the baby may have a problem in descent. I have a problem just being alive right now, does anyone seem to mind it?
2. Don’t walk because the baby might drop any minute. If that’s the case, why has it been 3 hours already?
3. Don’t lie on one side of the bed as all the wires - the IV cannula & the fetal heart rate monitor might be affected. Just what the hell do I even do?
   

It was 3 PM now.

And somehow I heard something which I had been dreaming for ages.

“I can see the baby’s head now!”, exclaimed the duty doctor.

“Doctor, the baby is at station. Come to the ward now.”, she informed my main OBGYN on phone.

And I swear to God, within 15 seconds the following actions had taken place:

• My main doctor was present in scrubs

• I was placed in the position ready to push

• All the equipment required after delivery were at the table 

• And suddenly I heard my OBGYN say the dream words, “Push now, Dania”

I looked at my husband slightly dismayed and said, “I have no energy left now. How the fuck do I push?”

“This is your last time pushing, the baby will be out any second. You can do this, You’ve been so strong till now. Let’s do this.”, or something along the lines was said by my husband.

After gathering all the energy from the universe, I clenched my teeth and made a push of my life.

“The baby’s head is out now, Dania! Just one more push.”, my main OBGYN said.

Suddenly, the world stopped moving. The pains were gone. There was an immediate relief. The universe stopped existing. It was just 3 ladies helping me push, my husband on the side and me.

“I can’t feel any pain now, doctor? With which rhythm do I push?”, I asked.

“Wait, I feel a slight contraction. Let me push with its help.”, I said.

I pushed with all my might and believe you me  - in under 2 seconds, there was a baby covered in slime and blood on top of my stomach. 

How did this miracle even happen?

“Look Dania, it’s your son and he is peeing on you. Hold your baby. It’s a baby boy.”, my OBGYN informed me.

I was too tired to register that it’s my baby.

But how can this even be? Is the dreadful session over? Is my baby really out in the world?

I did it.

He was out here, with us, just existing. Unbelievable. 

My husband had tears of happiness. To be in a situation where you are absolutely helpless and the stress keeps building every second - it is also not easy being a loving husband in the labour ward.

I thanked every single soul in the labour ward.

My sincerest gratitude to the team for having me experience the most beautiful moment of my life.

The birth of my child.

And this is why, I question my mental faculties sometimes - so much agony, so much pain and I call it beautiful?

Yes, maybe that’s becoming a mother.

Absolutely mental but absolutely magical.

So glad to be done with child-birth FINALLY!

Both my children are here and I couldn’t be happier.

I could keep writing forever, but I’ll end on this note:

Labour is the worst pain I ever experienced. But I have never felt immense happiness on this scale. The birth of my lovely, wonderful, beautiful children - all powered by laborious uterine contractions.

It has been an honour and a privilege to experience it. 

I just wish I had some respite from it.