We have now reached the second entry out of three in the series about childbirth experienced by three different people. This time we will hear about the father's perspective, and we meet Morten from the blog Farmandsblog who tells about the birth of his third daughter.
My wife has gone through three births, and I have been her faithful sidekick all three times. When my third daughter came into the world, we naturally had everything figured out about how such a birth should be carried out, but no two births are the same.
The water has broken – but just sleep anyway
Just as I am about to go to bed, my wife informs me that the water has broken, but that I can just sleep since she doesn't have regular contractions yet. Note to other women in labor: It is quite hard to fall asleep when you know your wife/partner is about to give birth.
I never really managed to fall asleep properly either. Suddenly, my mother-in-law is in the living room ready to look after the two oldest girls, and my wife and I are on our way to the maternity ward at Svendborg Hospital. The closer we get to the hospital, the fewer regular contractions there are, and it’s almost like we’re about to turn back again. Apparently, women in labor can also experience stage fright.
Silence before the storm
We are the only ones in the delivery room. It’s three in the morning, and the contractions are still decreasing. We are allowed to stay anyway. I spend the night on the delivery bed while a bed is rolled in for my wife. The night passes quietly and calmly. In fact, a bit too quietly. The water broke a long time ago, so now we really want that baby out.
In the morning, my wife is to receive oxytocin, but then the big influx comes. Many pregnant women from Funen are about to give birth, and it has to be right now. As the staff is busy, the oxytocin is postponed while we can hear one woman after another screaming for their lives followed by baby cries. My wife reads a women’s magazine, I drink coffee.
It’s actually quite cozy to be in the delivery room. I relax in a nice chair and read the news on my phone. However, the sounds from my wife paint a picture that she does not quite agree with me.
In the hope that the contractions will start on their own, we take a walk in Svendborg. We are about to drive a shop assistant in a bookstore crazy. She looks at my wife’s belly and comments that it must be any moment now. “The water has already broken, and I am actually admitted to the delivery ward, but I’m just out for a walk,” comes the reply. After that, the shop assistant quickly wraps up the gifts for the two big sisters – she doesn’t look like someone who wants to hold on to us.
Late in the afternoon, the drip is started, and it works. But then my wife wants to get into the bathtub. The drip is turned down, which results in the contractions almost stopping again. So we have to start over. We are both getting quite impatient. I keep my distance. My wife hasn’t slept for several days due to Braxton Hicks contractions; she is tired and exhausted and doesn’t need me breathing down her neck.
Welcome
The clock is approaching midnight, and it’s been more than a day since the water broke. The contractions are back, and daughter number three is on her way out of mom’s belly. I stay nicely by the headboard and offer cold cloths for her forehead, as I have no intention of ruining my sex life going forward.
The wife is fighting a brave battle, but is close to giving up when the midwife concludes that she is less open than she was earlier. It's a blow right to the face. It takes a lot of persuasion from me and the midwife before the wife is back on her feet, but it works. Suddenly, things move quickly, and now it's time to push. I keep a close eye on the clock on my mobile, as the clock in the living room doesn't work. We are standing on the edge between two dates, and I really want to know which day my daughter is actually born.
Then it happens. My third daughter comes out into the world. She is a little quiet one, who quickly comes up to her mother. She is perfect. A tear is shed.
The red wave
The worst is over, and now we have yet another perfect little daughter. However, the placenta also needs to come out, which it does, and I don't remember to look, as I have regretted looking many times before – not a pretty sight.
However, it is not just the placenta that comes out. A rush of blood suddenly pours out, and the midwife and nurse suddenly get busy. They dart around like silent ninjas and whisper to each other. I can sense that not everything is as it should be, but I choose to concentrate on my little daughter and my tired wife. It turns out that the wife has lost 1.9 liters of blood, but that the bleeding has stopped, and that no surgery is needed. So everything is now in the most beautiful order, and I have once again become a father to a little perfect girl. Welcome to the world.
