My Birth Story and the Healthy Mother Wellness Clinic

I was really fortunate enough to have birthed with Dr Vijaya and her team. It was a different experience altogether. Way back before I was pregnant, normal birth was something that I dreamt about and also thought it is impossible these days.  My mother had two C-sections. Hence I envied two of my aunts who had normal births. It was next to impossible.

But then , once I was pregnant , one of my friends suggested me this “Healthy Mother Wellness Clinic” and I read through its website (http://healthy-mother.com/ ).  I kind of wondered whether it is really possible and I was all praises for Dr Vijaya. I e-mailed her right way about my status and when I would return to India and if taking classes at her center was possible. At that point of time , attending her classes was the only thing that I was looking at. I thought I would be really fortunate enough if I would make it to the classes. Never ever thought of birthing with them. Because , this was not my decision alone , I had to convince my parents and in-laws also for it. So I didn’t want to revolt and make a scene.

I was back in India in August 2011 and  contacted her in the last week of August. My parents and I went to meet her at her clinic to know about the classes. I must say that I was pretty impressed with her. My father always believed the midwifery model of birthing and was quite interested about it too. But my mom wasn’t. Dr Vijaya was a midwife and not a certified OB. And my mom didn’t want to take a chance. So we started the classes. Every Sunday I and my mom would attend the classes. As each class passed by , my confidence in her just kept on increasing and I felt that this is the right place for me. Lots of myths burst out in those classes. We got to know about so many things. My mom was also surprised and quite impressed. I voiced my opinion very strongly that I want to birth in her center. And finally she said she was fine if my husband and in-laws didn’t have a problem. My husband was always with me and wanted my comfort in this. After every class , I would explain everything to him in chat. So he was also very well informed about everything. So he convinced my in-laws.

After my delivery , I can only say that my mom and husband are proud of me and the decision I took to birth with Dr Vijaya. Many hospitals don’t allow our dear ones to be with us during this huge process of delivering a baby. But HM gave me the advantage of having my husband and my mom with me till my baby came out. They were the first ones to see her and my husband cut her umbilical cord. Was it a dream come true?  J  How can I thank Dr Vijaya for this………… seriously.

The classes proved so useful. I used to do all the instructed exercises at home regularly. And I used to walk for atleast half an hour everyday without fail. And there you go…………. Had a natural birth without a single medicine or a single prick on my body………. Completely normal without any type of stitch.

October 24^th 2011:

Around 5 PM in the evening , I went along with my husband for a usual walk for the day. I could sense some type of pain, may be two times in that half an hour but didn’t actually consider it. I thought its fine. And then , as I was getting super bored at home , we thought that we would go to a movie at 7PM in the night. I was just getting dressed for it and suddenly came a huge contraction. I sat on my bed. Now the game starts. I felt that this is something to definitely consider J. From then on , I guess it was one contraction in half an hour or so with very minimal intensity. Called up Dr Vijaya at 8PM and told her about this. She asked me not to worry too much and keep eating and drinking frequently.  I guess I was in my early stage of labour. And this stage depending on our body and the baby can take an hour or an entire week to transition to the next stage. So we just had to calm down and wait.

October 25^th 2011 :

 Till midnight , there was no problem and it continued to be one contraction in half an hour or so. After midnight , the contractions started coming more frequently. Once in 15 mins. But the intensity was not that high. Called up Vijaya and told her the same. No need to worry. Then at around 2 AM in the morning , they started coming once in 10 mins or 7 mins sometimes. Again a call to Vijaya and she suggested my mom to bathe me and pour lukewarm water on my tummy for 20 mins.  It seems that sometimes a hot bath can make us feel really better and at the same time progress the labour. Water works wonders in delivery J. And yes it did for me.  After giving me bath , my mom and husband went to sleep for almost an hour as they were awake and busy noting contractions till then. They were tired. My mom had already packed a bag just incase we need to go to the hospital. After the bath , my contractions became more frequent , once in 3 mins . And the pain had increased a lot. But then , I wanted my mom and hubby to take some rest so didn’t wake them up. Had these 3 mins contractions till 4:30 in the morning. After that , I couldn’t bear the pain and the contractions started coming without and any gap. I just didn’t have time to take a breath. One after the other , one after the other. Then we called Vijaya and she felt that there is lot of time. She heard me through my contraction and said its okay. But then , for my sake , she asked us to come by 7 AM in the morning to the clinic. At 6 AM , we wanted to start and then we realised that there was a power cut from 6 to 7 in the morning.  And I had to climb down 5 floors through the stairs. It was super tough , but then…….. now I feel that that decent made my baby push deep down in the Pelvis. God knows how I sat in the car. The pain was just un-bearable , but then good news was that it gave me a break of some seconds between the contractions and allowed me to breath.

When we arrived at the center , Crystal was there and she checked me and said that I was 100% dilated and my baby was going to come soon. Everybody got a shock. Crystal called up Vijaya and she too was surprised. Later on , she told me how silent I was in my contractions that she couldn’t even guess that the labour has progressed so much.  100% dilated. That means , I had the major part of my labour at home and now it is just the pushing that’s remaining. The baby was already in my birth canal. Initially I dint feel the urge to push but then now I don’t even remember when I started pushing. By now , Dr Vijaya had also arrived and assisting. Within very less time , my baby came out in the position that Dr Vijaya had asked me to use. I was actually not fully aware of what was happening….. I was in some kind of a trance. But my mom remembers every bit of it and says that it was simply amazing  J.

She was immediately placed on my chest and the first thing I noticed were her powerful eyes J. Then  Ravi cut the chord and the umbilical chord and placenta were removed.

What an experience ! Thanks Vijaya and Crystal!! This was something that was just out of the world for me J