birth of a baby.

today for the first time in my life I witnessed a pregnant woman in the later stages of labour all the way through till the delivery of her baby. so much that the woman had to go through...the vulnerability of a pregnant woman in labour...the pain she had to bear.

I only just met her that morning near the end stages of labour, but I prayed quite hard for her during the time I was there, for her not to be in too much pain, for her to have the stregth to push, and for the baby to be alright. and I believe that this baby was a miracle. =)

after the baby's head was born, the shoulders got stuck and they had to press the emergency call button which summoned everyone on that floor to the room. so many people, everyone doing something, I just tried to make myself scarce and out of the way yet still stay and watch what was going on.

it all happened so fast, well, not really actually because the time from the baby's head to be born and the rest of the body to come out was 5 minutes, and in usual circumstances the baby would not have survived. but I could only watch and pray silently when I wasn't too distracted by all these people around me.

and thank God that baby T.R.S. was born, although with shoulder dystocia/impacted shoulder (one arm more floppy and less "normal" than the other because it was stuck), but she was alive and well. I don't know if they believed in God, but I choose to believe that my prayers (and theirs if they did say some) were heard and answered. =)

the father cried when the baby girl was born, and I couldn't help but tear too. all the emotions after such a tough birth.

I went to visit the family later in the evening upstairs on the ward, and I had so much respect for the mother. it isn't easy to go through 9 months with this bump in your belly then at the end having to endure the pain (if you chose to do it naturally) to bring a new life into the world.

and while I was there, I met the 2 year old sister of the newborn baby. and somehow I had this feeling of familiarity that I had met this family somewhere before. or that I had the scene play out in my mind before. AND while the woman was in labour, I had a deja vu of that too. hmm.

but that aside, really, now that I've seen that, I can't say that my life has changed, but that experience will be one that I won't forget.

and if you ever had a chance, watch/be at a birth. or why not just have children of your own? sounds like a good idea to me...when the time is right. =)