The Delivery Partner

Yesterday was the most terrifying day of my life. I couldn’t believe the fact that I had to accompany my niece for delivery. I wasn’t sure of what to do even though I am a mother of five. As an experienced mother, one would imagine that since I’ve gone down that road a couple of times, I should be excited about assisting a woman in delivery.

I picked up my phone and saw that I had missed three of her calls. I immediately thought that she must be in labor because she had told me earlier on she wanted me to be her delivery partner. I called her and she frantically asked where I was because she had tried to reach me several times, luckily for me, her neighbors had taken her to the clinic. I asked what she needed and hurriedly dashed home to get the items. 

I got to the hospital around 1:30 pm and found her in mild pain. The first thing I remember to do for someone in labor is to get them really comfortable. I made her a cup of black tea as the doctor said she was 4cm dilated. I got her changed into comfortable clothes and asked her to relax. With time, we were asked to move into the delivery room. 

The doctor went in and ruptured her membrane; that was when the show began. I have always pitied women in labor, but yesterday’s was extraordinary as I witnessed everything firsthand. A few minutes after the rupture, she began having contractions more frequently. I held her hand and we kept on praying silently for everything to be over. I kept on reassuring her of how beautiful it will be to have her baby next to her in a couple of minutes, she just needed to relax. 

The midwife came in, examined her, and said she was 8cm dilated. That was when I had the confidence that we were really close to having a baby. The midwife later asked for the baby’s clothes and she arranged them neatly next to the baby’s crib in the delivery room. She called the nurse and asked her to fix a drip that aids labor. That was when my niece turned almost crazy.

The pain that comes with the fluid is out of this world, but I heard it quickens the delivery process. She held on to my hand tightly with one hand, and she used her other hand to hold the rail of the bed. She clutched my fists tightly; she was in so much pain I wished I could help reduce the pain. She kept on screaming, calling on God, her mum, dad, and me.  I didn’t know when tears trickled down my cheeks.  

It was then time to push as she had started feeling the urge and was fully dilated at 10cm. The contractions had become unstoppable. She was asked to take a deep breath in and out, which was really difficult to get at that moment. She was asked to hold her ankles while lying on her back, with her knee up and her feet close to her buttocks. The next thing she was required to do was to raise her head a bit and look at her abdomen as she pushed so as to avoid having a tear in her perineum. 

Alas! As she pushed with all the remaining strength she had left, the head appeared…whoa! I have never seen anything so amazing in my life; with an extra push, the baby glidingly fell out into the world at exactly 4:00 pm. It was a boy! His cry filled the labor room, and he was placed on his mother’s chest for mother-to-child contact. She hugged her baby with joy and welcomed him into the world. The midwife hurriedly separated the umbilical cord and placed the baby in the crib. She gently got the placenta out thereafter.

The mother filled with enthusiasm looked at her baby with all admiration. I was still shaken from the birthing experience. I have been in the labor room four times with five kids, as I have a set of twins but I have never seen this whole wonderful experience. It’s actually amazing how women go through all these in the delivery room and yet will still be interested in giving birth again.