Bangalore Birth Network

Image Source We were expecting our first child in 2013. My pregnancy was a time of beauty and wonder – I was working and was active till the last day. I felt certain that my baby would be born completely naturally. The miracle of a life growing inside me was so thrilling that the nausea was a trivial discomfort. The monthly and weekly (9 th month) visits were happy occasions to hear the baby’s heartbeat and all was well. I had a good rapport with my doctor, shared with her my desire for a natural birth and chose to have my baby at the best maternity hospital in Kolkata. However, when we met the doctor about three days before my EDD, I was told that I will not be allowed to wait beyond 40 weeks and would have to be medically induced for the labour to start. I had no other option but to get myself admitted to the hospital.  Soon, I was given enema, shaved and strapped to a fetal monitor, while my family, including my husband, had to wait outside the labour room. A few hours l

Image   Source Ten years ago, just around this time, I was nearly full term pregnant with my first born. I thought I had done a lot of reading up but the truth was far from that. My birth choices were limited. I wasn’t ready to go to my parent’s place because of the high rate of C-section that I kept hearing about where they lived. My husband and family were scared to choose a home birth option and where I lived I did not have a choice of midwife-led birth center. My only option was to choose from the three big maternity hospitals the city had. I chose the one that was close to work as that would make all the regular hospital visits easy. I had heard about birth plans and I wrote one down for myself. It was more like a positive affirmation. I wanted a vaginal birth and a C-section was acceptable only if it was really needed. I did not want an epidural. I wanted to breastfeed and didn’t want even a drop of formula given to the baby. I wanted my husband to be with me in t