As a FTM, I delivered my baby girl vaginally with no epidural, on the 30th of September. I was 40w3d when I woke up at 8:30 am only to find that my water broke while being at a weekend getaway in Dubai, started having contractions 1 hour later in the car while we drove back to my hometown which is an hour away. Once I arrived back home I took a hot shower, it was very relaxing and afterwards I headed to the hospital. I went into the triage room and once it was confirmed that my water broke I was admitted and the nurse checked me, I was 3-4 cm dilated. The contractions were bearable and I could breathe through them, my mother and aunt where supporting me. Then I moved to another room where I asked for a birthing ball, I bounced on it and took the hot shower to ease the pain. I took a walk around the ward and I was feeling sick to the stomach, I vomited the cheese sandwich I had for breakfast and afterwards I felt so good and ready for birth! In 5 hours I dilated to 7 cm. I was finally transferred to the labor ward around and at 7:30 pm I was fully dilated to 10 cm, I was using the laughing gas and a drug administered through IV to ease my pain and they worked well. My contractions where strong and frequent, I would take a break from pushing between contractions. Suddenly, my contractions started slowing down and I was given Pitocin to speed things up. Every time my midwife checked me, she would say that my birth canal was "too tight". At 11:30 pm I was given the one last chance to either try to push my baby out or else I would have to go in for a c-section. So I looked into my midwife and told her I can do this! I shouted "I can do this" and my baby's was crowning, I pushed but she was stuck in my birth canal so plan B was an episiotomy and a vacuum to help her out. With one final push, my baby girl was out. They immediately cut the cord because she passed meconium on her way out and went to check her vital signs. She didn't cry for the first 5 minutes and I was worried, I still didn't see her face yet. She finally cried and I was relieved, they put her on my chest and we immediately started skin-to-skin.

She was due on 27/09/2017 but was born on 30/09/2017 at 11:53 pm, 6.7 lbs and 20 inches long. She's a September baby just like her mommy!

My Wadima 💗