#vrikshambirthstory,

Hi Anu Akka, I’m Sofia from the UK and I’m your labor management student. I was a girl who had so much fear of labor pain and vaginal birth due to all the myths. But now I’m proud to say that I calmly managed 20 hours of labor and smilingly delivered my Little Prince vaginally. I really thank you for all the knowledge that you shared in your labor management class. I was able to envision and follow them during pregnancy and in each and every phase of labor. I want to thank My husband Gowtham. He was my greatest pillar of support from the day we tested positive for pregnancy till birth and in postpartum days.

“He held my hands and walked together with me” cheering and motivating me that I can do it. He never missed any hospital appointments even if I forget any. He made sure he is with me in all the checkups, scans, and my evening walks and I never miss the family back home. Living far away from family, we both alone happily managed the entire pregnancy alongside working until 9 months. My due date was on May 14th but I didn’t get any signs of labor on that day. Our Midwife checked for the dilation and said the cervix is closed so we thought of waiting for a week until our next appointment to check for any progress.

On May 20th night 9:00 pm BST we were watching a movie and I started getting mild contractions pains, so I started to time them in the app when I realized they were true labor contractions I informed my family and they started to get ready but I calmly sat upright on the birth ball and timed contractions alongside doing the breathing exercises which worked like a magic during the initial phase.

Then we called the birth center and they asked us to be at a home in my comfort zone during the initial stages until the labor progresses. By May 21st 2:00 the contractions were severe and I had a bloody show so we decided to go to the hospital right away. At that time the contractions were intense and I started managing them with the vocalization technique.

From that time until the last contractions I was following the vocalization technique and I’m much thankful for learning about it in your class Akka. It was a game changer, they made me calmly manage the pain without shouting or shedding a drop of tears. we reached the hospital and they made us wait for some time. My husband played good music which was calming the environment, the midwives loved that too.

They checked for dilation by 6:00 AM and said I was 5cm dilated I’m doing well & I’m smiling even at this time. By that time the contractions were very much intense and so they offered me Gas & air for pain relief which made the pain somewhat bearable. I was managing the contractions with gas & air, vocalization technique, and breathing exercises.

Again by 9:00 Am, I was 10cm dilated and they allowed 2 birth partners which are my husband and my mom in the labor room. They both were my cheerleaders from that moment. I have mentioned in a birth plan to deliver in the birth pool, so the midwife arranged for it and at 10:00 Am I started my pushing phase in the pool.

After minutes in the pool, my contractions reduced and my body relaxed completely. So the midwifes decided to bring me out of the pool and induce contractions and broke my water too. After the induction the labor pain was unbearable but still, I managed it with vocalization technique and gas & air.

I pushed for 4-5 hours and sadly baby didn’t come out. Then they checked me again and said the baby’s head is not in the right position, so stop pushing, we will arrange for an epidural & rotate the baby’s head and then you can push. But I wasn’t able to stop pushing, my body was automatically doing it. Then by 5:00 pm they took me to the operation theatre and administered the epidural.

All the pain vanished suddenly after that. They performed an episiotomy and rotated the baby’s head in the right position and asked me to push when I had a contraction. Our Little baby’s head was out in one push and then the baby’s body was out on the second push. Finally, I proudly delivered my little prince on May 21st at 5:48 Pm BST managing 20 hours of labor.

We did skin-to-skin and delayed cord clamping. Then by 11:00 Pm I was up again and pushed my baby to the recovery ward all by myself. Thanks for all the motivation in your class and Instagram stories Akka. Much grateful💗

We (myself and my husband) are so much thankful for my mom and my brother who came all the way from India to support us in the last few days of pregnancy and postpartum. My mom was my greatest motivator in the labor room.

And lastly, I want to thank me for believing in me and yes “I DID IT” ☺️