What is More than Labor Pain?

• Blog #6

• March 14, 2022

It was September 21, 2018 at around 6:00 a.m., I have seen blood in my underwear but I did not feel any stomach pain. This time I was 39 weeks. My father-in-law accompanied me to the hospital since my husband was still on duty. The doctor sent me back home because it is only 3cm.

Around lunch of the same day, stomach pains were already starting in long intervals and still manageable. Past midnight, September 22, 2018, the pain is already in shorter intervals than it was. So by morning, we decided to go back to the hospital. When the doctor performed an IE (internal examination), it was around 6cm dilation. Though it was still far from full-term dilation, we decided to be admitted since our residence is 20 minutes away from the hospital.

This is my third pregnancy. I gave birth to my second child last November 2012. The last two labor experience was not so prolonged because they injected me with oxytocin to augment the labor. However, this time around, they did not inject me with that. So, I experienced the labor pains from its long intervals to shorter and stronger intervals. It is like my body was very stressed and exhausted since the strong labor pains started past midnight. It was like I cannot remember how painful it was with my two pregnancies and suddenly I got struck with the pain I felt this time. It was painful, and nobody can help you except that you had to calm yourself and bear the pain.

Around 3:30 pm, September 22, 2018, I felt that the labor pains were too short and too strong, so I ask my husband to call the nurse because I think the baby is about to come out. So, the attending doctor performed an IE (internal examination) and found out that I was already in full-term dilation. I was rushed to the delivery room; the pain is unbearable, and I want to push the baby out. I was inside the delivery room and all the labor memories I had, kept flashing into my mind. When the contraction starts, I had to push really hard. I had so many attempts and it is like all my energy has been used up since the labor pains started early in the morning. The doctor told me, not to get pregnant next time if I don’t have the adequate energy to give birth. Good thing, the doctor still helped me and performed the fundal push together when I’m pushing the baby out.

September 22, 2018 at 4:33pm, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. While I was looking at him, there is something on his face, and thought it was just some of the residue from inside. He was placed on my chest; I saw that there is a deformation on the nose and mouth portion. I cannot explain my feeling back then.

All mothers want the best for their children. We pray for safe delivery and a healthy baby after delivery. Who would have thought that he would come out like that? Never in our wildest dreams considering this moment in our lives.

When the assigned pediatrician came, they explained the case of our baby. He has a bilateral cleft lip and palate. My baby has cleft or in the Tagalog term “bingot”. Our whole world has been crushed by the news.

What are we going to do?

Can surgery repair this?

Where can we get the money to do all the surgeries?

How can we feed our baby?

Why did this happen?

Did I do something bad during pregnancy that my baby came out with this?

These are the questions that came into our minds and so many more that I couldn’t remember.

I was so exhausted from giving birth added by the fact that my baby has a cleft.

THIS is more than LABOR PAIN.

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