TALES OF JOY, DRAMA, NICE NURSES AND BAD ONES
Aniekwe
Getting pregnant, going through the pregnancy smoothly and safely delivering one's baby is the open agenda of every woman. For some men, the moment, their wives inform them that they are pregnant, they also psychological become pregnant, and when the time comes for delivery, they equally go into labour with their wives.
Labour experience comes in many different ways for women. Sunday Sun asked a number of women to recall what their first experience was like in the labour room. Excerpts….
The baby's head came before the doctor got to me – Mrs. Uche Obi, MD, Courier Masters Ltd
For the first child, I may tell you, you may not feel it. I didn't feel mine, I didn't even know when I took in, I didn't even know I was pregnant in the first place. I was running around everywhere, I was so strong. I didn't have the early morning fever that I had in the later pregnancy because I didn't feel anything, I feel strong and healthy and even I think the v same thing when I was having the baby.
The pain will come and then go away briefly; it was such that when the pain left me I would laugh and people thought I was not serious; when it came, I would scream, oh my God and the moment it passed I would start laughing again. And before you knew it the baby just came out. However, the birth of my second baby was quite interesting. I almost had it on my bed. When I got to the hospital the nursing staff were furious that I delayed in coming to the hospital. I told them that I had not been feeling any pain, rather I felt like I wanted to go to toilet.
Actually the feeling of going to toilet was quite strong that I went into the toilet, stayed there for a while but nothing came. I went go back to my bed. What saved me was that I entered the toilet with my niece because my husband left me to go and talk with the nurses. Lo and behold I felt the urge to go to toilet again. I told my household to go and call the nurses; when the nurse came, she said 'madam, you are disturbing our gist.' She thought I was joking. I cried to her that I felt like going to the toilet. She said ok open your legs; when I did so, she screamed 'oh my God, look at the head of the baby coming out.' As she was screaming my husband ran to call the doctor. It was late before the doctor came, the baby was already out.
I didn't know when I slapped my husband – Ijeoma Ikechukwu,
The pain became so much I didn't know when I stripped myself naked
My first labour experience was both sweet and bitter. When I had the first contraction I was in the house. I unconsciously grabbed my husband such force I never knew I had in me. In fact, without knowing it, I gave him a dirty slap. Then we rushed off to the hospital. I was told it was not yet time for me to put to bed. So we went home, but I continued to feel pain. On the day I delivered, I was at home. The contraction was getting stronger. I was rushed to the hospital.
As I was being taken to the labor room the pain became so much that I didn't know when I stripped myself naked. I was screaming the nurse told me, madam it's not yet time you're just three centimeter, thirty minutes later they said I was in six centimeter finally I got to a centimeter and they asked me push. After I pushed the first one, the second one the baby came out and the second time I didn't struggle to push out she too o came out like that. That was my experience, it was sweet and it was bitter. The sweet aspect of it I saw my two daughters they were so lovely, they screamed, nothing was wrong with them, they are clean, the nurses didn't spend much olive oil on their body.
I go into labour with my wife – Mr. Shedrach Sanusi, civil servant
My own experience was a peculiar one because of where I was coming from - given that I had been waiting on God for a long time. When the pregnancy happened, both of use carried it together - she physically and me psychologically. So when she went into labour, I can tell you that I was also in labour. We labored together; in fact, there's a proof to it at the hospital. The nurses and matron were surprised to see a man having that kind of a feeling when the wife was in labour.
Each time my wife goes in labor, I'm always in labor with her because I have that compassion for her. I mean, it us 16 years for our child to be born, so it's like what we have been expecting and it was coming to pass. Perhaps you can understand why I say that our first time in labour room was peculiar as she started laboring, I went into labor too. I wanted to enter the labor room with her but the matron stopped me. Immediately the matron called me and said that my wife had delivered a baby boy, I just went on my knees and started crying.
Everybody around was asking why I was crying; they said that I was supposed to be happy. In such situations you would see the husband jumping up and down, jubilating, but I went on my knees and started crying, singing praises to God and they were all wondering. It was then that the senior nurse said she understood my feeling. Seeing that I was rather praising God, the people in the hospital then realized I was only shedding tears of joy. It was a nice experience.
I argued with the doctor over the EDD, and the baby came three weeks early – Mrs. Lizzy Edward, businesswoman
I had my first labour experince about 20 years ago. It was quite an experience. Actually, the labour started late in the night. Incidentally, my husband wasn't around. I kind of preferred it that way because he is a very fearful person. He would probably have just told the doctor to go in and get the baby out. Luckily, he was out of town. I spoke to him just about an hour before labour started at 10 pm. I had read a lot of books, and I knew when it was time for me to go to the hospital. I learnt that one should go to the hospital when the contractions had become regular at 10-minute intervals. So at about 5 am I left for the hospital.
I remained in the hospital till the baby came at about 12.30 pm.
It was a bit dramatic and one thing I told myself was that I was never going to cry during labour. I never did, even all through my three pregnancies. The very first one was really, really interesting because even the doctor was so shocked to see me in the hospital because I'd gone for my antenatal the previous day. When he saw me in the labour ward the following morning, he asked, 'what are you doing here?
You are not yet due.' Actually, we had been arguing about the EDD (expected day of delivery). He had said the baby would come around the 27th of the month. I disagreed with him and said that the baby would come first week of the month. It actually happened that way so he was so shocked to see me in the labour room. The summary of the story was that the baby came about 12.35 in the afternoon and it turned out to be my first boy.
I didn't cry, and the nurses were nice - Mrs Vicky Coker, businesswoman
It was interesting. Prior to that time my mother had tutored me on what to expect. She said that it was going to be painful, that I should not cry because when I cry in my first labour it would be like that all through my pregnancies, so I held on to what she told me. Moreso, I'm the kind of person that can hold on to pain, I bear pain a lot. So, when it started, I just told myself, if I cry I 'll feel pain, if I don't cry I will not feel pain, so it's better for me to just hold it and everything just went well to the glory of God. The baby came out. I gave birth at Ikeja hospital and the nurses were nice.
I had prolonged labour, and delivered through CS - Mrs. Chinenye Aniekwe, businesswoman
It wasn't easy at all. It was a very bitter experience but I was not surprised at all because I used to hear about the labour issue. I expected everything that happened to me in the labor room, but my own was a difficult one because it lasted from Monday to Wednesday. At a time I was telling the doctor do CS. I ultimately, I delivered through CS in 2004.
When the nurse said push, I vomitted the bread and beans I ate that morning - Mrs. Esther Onyegbuna - journalist
That day was my antenatal day. I didn't know I was going to give birth that day. Actaully, I registered in two hospitals, General Hospital and Life Hospital, Badagry. When I went to the hospital I was close to 24 weeks and it was my first child. I had swollen legs. Even at 6 months people thought I would deliver in the next few months. That day, I went to the hospital and complained to the gynecologist. He said I should take a drug and castor oil. My water broke after taking the medicine and castor oil. It was like they inserted the medicine inside my vagina.
My labour started but my husband didn't want me to leave the house with my baby things because it was raining badly. The pains didn't allow me. If I sat on the bed, it would look so high; and if I sat on the chair it seemed too low. At the hospital, about 7 women were in labour, I was praying and singing praises to God. Later, I was taken into the labour room. When they said push and the bread and beans I ate that morning came out. I didn't have control over myself; the whole place was messed up. The pain was much and finally they gave me episiotomy and the baby came out. I was in labour from 7.pm till when I delivered. I will never forget the matron on duty that day.
The doctor told the nurses to leave me, saying that he would repair himself later in the day. At the end of the day, it was the matron who stitched it. Moreover, patients are not discharged immediately; they have to monitor both mother and child. My baby didn't suck immediately and was looking so dehydrated. The nurses on duty didn't take note. When the same matron was going round the ward, she asked why my baby was so pale. I explained that the baby was not sucking, she told me how to place the baby while sucking. I took the advice and the baby came alive again before we were discharged.