Women recall unforgettable day in labour room

Juliet Ndubueze

Childbirth is one of the most difficult situations faced by women all over the world. It’s believed to be a battle between life and death; right from the day of conception to the day of delivery.

Many women have lost their babies through miscarriages, some experienced complications like bleeding, while others died during childbirth.

These challenges are sometimes attributed to poor medical facilities and antenatal negligence on the side of the expectant mothers. However, from the experiences of different women, it has become clear that labour pangs and experiences differ.

Medical experts have argued that complications faced during labour should not be tied to the altar of only poor medical facilities or antenatal negligence. They argued that some pregnant women, even with sophisticated medical care still experienced difficulty during labour, while others don't.

A mother of three, Mrs. Adediji, while recalling her labour experience, said that she was sick in the first trimester of the pregnancy. She couldn’t keep any food down and remained indoors. As the pregnancy advanced, she got more frustrated.

She said: “At the same time, I was uncomfortable with the sideways sleeping position. This was because I liked sleeping faced down. Not only that, the baby turns several times a day, giving me sleepless nights. Before I got married, I used to hear people saying that childbearing was a battle of life and death; even my friends who have had children told me that. These stories got me scared, but at the same time, I was excited that I would soon become a mother.”

Adediji recalled that during labour, she had severe menstrual-like pains and water gushed out from her like a faulty tap water.

She recollected: “In the labour room, one of the nurses slapped me, asking me if I wanted to kill my baby. I almost lost my sanity. I pushed tirelessly until my baby popped out. Labour indeed is an experience of mixed feelings. Yes, pains and excitement.”

After that experience, she vowed never to conceive again. But three months later, she had forgotten the pains and was filled with the joy of motherhood.

Another mother, who doesn’t wish to mention her name, said: “When it comes to labour experiences, every woman has different experiences to relate. Take me for instance; I didn’t experience the excruciating pains some women talked about. I have five children, and the birth of my daughter was the easiest for me.  When I was in labour for my daughter, I came back from church and wanted to have siesta before I felt sharp pains, like menstrual cramps. I knew it was labour sign, so I told my husband to take me to the hospital.”

She added: “As I walked towards the door, my water broke. I returned to my room and delivered the baby alone. My husband then called a midwife who came and cut the placenta. My next door neighbour didn't know that I delivered in my room because I didn't shout. Since I started giving birth, I had never stayed in a labour room for more than 30 minutes.”

While she was still speaking with the reporter on her experience, her friend, who came to visit her, Chinyere (not real name), said she had also liked to narrate her experience.

Chinyere, a mother of seven; three girls and four boys, insisted that the birth of female children were usually more painful than the birth of male children.

She recounted: “When I was pregnant with my first child, I was very scared. Though I had people who educated me about labour and other things to expect, but on the fateful day, it was a different ball game. It was better experienced than told. On that day, I went to church and while I was still in the church, I suddenly started craving for ogbono soup. After the mass, I went home and prepared the soup. But as soon as I sat down to eat; I saw blood and water coming out as I had been told. I said to myself, that no, I must eat my ogbono soup before going to hospital. It was as if the baby smelled the aroma of the food because as I dipped the bolus of semolina into the soup, the baby started turning in an uncontrollable way that made me to drop the bolus. This happened thrice so I couldn't eat the food.”

Chinyere said that as her cousin was about to take her to the hospital, she felt pressed and wanted to go to the toilet to urinate, but her cousin advised her to do it at the corner of the house.

She said: “It was difficult, but I managed and the pains became so much that I held her and started shouting Jesus! Jesus! My cousin pleaded with me not to shout, or frown so that our neighbours wouldn’t know that I was in labour. I did, but it was indeed difficult to be suffering and smiling at the same time. Finally, we arrived at the hospital. I saw hell in the labour room. I entered there at about 9: pm and pushed till 6: am, still the baby didn’t come out. I was so tired that I couldn't push anymore. I kept shouting, ‘I’m dying! I’m dying! Jesus! Jesus!’  When the medical staff noticed I was losing strength, I was injected and a razor cut made me to shout down the entire hospital until my baby came out. I was in pains and tired, but I was very happy. Everybody has a different story to tell.”

Another mother of three, Mrs. Victoria, opposed the views of women, who linked the most difficult childbirth to the birth of the girl-child.

According to Victoria, during the birth of her first child, her husband stopped her from working, coupled with the fact that she was always eating. This, she opined, made her baby to be “too big.”

She recalled: “My water refused to broke and yet I was experiencing labour pains. After the doctor had examined me, he told my husband that they needed to carry out a Caesarean section. My husband agreed, and the operation was carried out. I didn’t know what happened until I woke up and began to feel pains.  Due to what happened during my first child labour, I became cautious of what I ate during my second pregnancy. But these precautions notwithstanding, the labour of my second child lasted for three days. On the fourth day, I put to bed.”

Victoria said that of all her labour experiences, the birth of her third child was unrivaled. She explained that a few days to the date of delivery, she noticed that the baby was no moving, so she went to the hospital and was instructed to go for a scan.

She noted: “The result showed that the baby was too big, which was the reason for the still movement. The doctor told me not to panic. I cried and prayed like never before, I also did the entire things doctor asked me to do, and then the baby began to move. Two days later, labour began. After spending three days in the labour room even with the ‘hot injection’ given to me, the baby didn’t come. The doctor then recommended Caesarean section as the only option but I said no. My husband pleaded with me, but I refused. With the help of two security guards, they carried me into the theatre and chained my hands and legs. The doctor said he wouldn’t give anesthetic injection because I had stressed the baby. The pain was unbearable as I watched the doctor cut my skin, and the thought of death filled my mind, but with God's intervention I was saved.”

Victoria further narrated: “After the operation, I couldn't take anything asides drip and drugs for five days.  I told them not to give my baby milk that I would breastfeed him, but nobody listened to me. The doctor said I will only eat when I farted because that would signify that my body was all right. He said that if after a week I didn’t fart, he would have to cut me open again, to check what was not in order. This sent cold chill down my spines. My blood pressure went up. But each time I looked at my baby, I forgot the pains and saw reasons to smile.”

Victoria said that on the sixth day, she farted and was soon given a watery pap and glucose. She continued the pap diet for a week before she was allowed to eat solid food. “I prefer delivering like the Hebrew women, than through CS. Indeed, it was an unforgettable, painful experience and I have made up my mind not to conceive again.”

Labour experiences have been linked with various myths, both cultural and individual perceptions, making it difficult for people to reconcile or know what the truth is. But with all these aforementioned experiences of different women during labour, it’s clear that labour differ just the way faces and names differ.  Thus, challenges experienced during labour should not be attributed to spirituality, but to different personalities.