16 Hours of Serious Labour

When Dina Kisakye and Patrick Korsah married in July, they did not want to get a baby immediately. However, they conceived sooner than they expected and they took it in good stride. Dina’s pregnancy was smooth but the delivery process was much more painful than she had been prepared for. She narrates her experience to BabyLove Network.

On 13 June  I woke up very anxious. It was my Expected Due Date. I couldn’t wait to see the product of our bond, my husband and I. Surprisingly, the day went by and nothing happened. I went to the hospital to find out why the baby did not come, and the doctor asked me to simply be patient!

On the morning of 15 June at around 4.00 a.m., I began experiencing labour pains. I went to the hospital at around 6.00 a.m. and was admitted to the labour ward immediately. While I was there, two doctors did several vaginal examinations on me, which made me a bit uncomfortable. This went on until midday and I started getting weary. At that point, I remembered that I had prayed to God for an easy delivery. So I prayed again, just to remind Him.

A third doctor came and told me that my labour was not progressing well. His words discouraged me a lot and I turned to God again asking Him why that was happening in spite of my earlier plea to Him. I decided not to let the doctor’s words put me down but to trust in God. At 4.00 pm, another doctor came and confirmed to me that the labour was not progressing well and told me that they were going to induce me.

I did not know what induced labour was but I had once heard that it was very painful. They started inducing me right away and the pain was unbearable right from the first drop. The drip was supposed to last four hours. The pain intensified minute after minute, hour after hour. Fortunately, I was under the care of a very kind and friendly nurse who encouraged me a lot. She told me that the moment I saw my baby I would forget all the pain.

Through all this pain, I wondered if my husband knew what I was going through. I loved him a lot and I did not want him to see me in that state. That is why I had refused to have him as my birth partner. The nurse advised me that it would be okay for him to see what I was going through but I still refused. In spite of my objection, she called him in and all I could say to him was, ‘Honey, it is too painful!’ He did not say a word. When I saw the look of devastation on his face, I requested the nurse to lead him away.

I reflected on my marriage and the events that had put me in this position. Terence Patrick Korsah and I got married in July 2006. We had not planned to have a baby immediately but in September of the same year, we found out that we had conceived. We were surprised at first but later on we appreciated it and we were very happy. I became very inquisitive because I wanted to know beforehand everything that awaited me.

Fortunately, the pregnancy was smooth except for occasional sweating and uncomfortable sleeping positions in the eighth month. I would regularly ‘chat’ with my growing baby and I felt we had became very attached to one another. I did not have preference between a boy and a girl and in fact we opted not to know the gender when I went for an ultrasound scan. We just loved our child and we did not want to put any restrictions on ourselves.

Now here I was, finally, but what agony! I wondered why God made giving birth such a painful experience.

At 8.00 p.m. the doctor told me that my baby was about to be born. This was such a relief; it was the best news I had heard for many hours. Instantaneously, I felt an urge to push the baby! The doctor told me that he could see the baby’s head! From that moment, I felt like my strength had been renewed and I followed the doctor’s instructions to the letter. The best experience was when the head popped out. It was amazing how the rest of the body came out so easily!

We named him Gabriel Price Korsah. I was so excited. Sadly, no one had warned that there was another painful procedure: the stitching. In my opinion, it was more painful than the delivery process. I think there was a problem because it took the midwife almost 30 minutes to stitch me: It was such a bad and unexpected experience that for a moment all my joy vanished. By the time the nurse placed my baby on my chest, I was in low spirits. I felt that my baby did not love me because he had put me through so much pain.

When I was taken to my maternity ward bed, I noticed that I was bleeding. My husband and I had no idea what was wrong and I informed the doctor when he came for a review at about 4.00 a.m. I was medicated and taken back to the theatre under anaesthesia.

Seeing my baby the next day was however so comforting and exciting that I immediately forgot all the pain I had endured. This time my motherly love was aroused and now I love Gab very much. On 17 June I was discharged from hospital.

END: PG  11/ 46-47