On Thursday 21st August 2008 morning at 11.03 AM ‘bundle of joy‘ weighing 3.06 kgs (6.72 pounds) was safely delivered. It was an exhilarating experience and I am happy I was part of the whole event. Dakshata and yet-to-be-named-boy are doing fine.

For us the overall experience of pregnancy is like a typical Hindi movie, it started with a extremely happy moment when we first heard the good news, then it slowly progressed for next 9 months with mostly happy moments and few sad (discomfort) moments and at the climax there were some ‘heartbeat missing’ moments but movie ended on an extremely happy note, leaving lots of loose ends for a definite sequel .

On Wednesday 20th August we went for the sonography just before the expected due date. The BioPhysical score of the baby was 4 out of 10, primararily because of low breating movements and low heart acceleration, both of these are related. Though the fluid and limb/body movements were fine but this low score needed urgent appointment with our Doctor.  When we met our doctor she said something is wrong inside and baby is distressed. This meant Dakshata would need active monitoring and immediate admission to hospital. This could lead to a cesarean delivery but Dakshata was not mentally prepared for this.

We admitted Dakshata to hospital at around 1:30 PM. Immediately NST (Fetal Non-Stress Test) was conducted followed by another sonography and color doppler. All of these test were normal. This was a big relief. Doctor, after consulting with us, decided to induce labor. Baby was already full term and matured to be delivered.

Induction was started with a cervix ripening process at 8:30PM and then Dakshata was into natural labor at 4AM. Then she progressed into active labor after that. During the complete process baby was actively monitored using NST. By 7:30AM her contraction were already very strong and pain was unbearable.  Thanks to the epidural that she had enough energy left for pushing. At 11:03 baby was finally delivered with one loop of cord around neck.

I am happy that I was with Dakshata in labor room through out. This was a big support for Dakshata and I would advice to every ‘to-be-father’ to be inside labor room with their wife. This would need lot of courage but prepare yourself for that. Carry either lemon juice or glucose water or any juice along with you. Talk to your doctor in advance and insist on this. I must say that in our case all the doctors and supporting staff were very co-operative and supportive. This simplified lot of things.

I remember a colleague of mine mentioning that after his first baby his respect for his mother increased by 10 times, now I understand the meaning of the statement. No matter how much you mentally prepare yourself, how much you read, the real experience is completely different. Nine months and last but definitely not the least, labor, takes lot of toll on mother’s body. I remember one of the doctor mentioned to Dakshata in labor room, “think how our moms delivered without epidural“, how true it is. From the whole experience I would advice all the to-be-mothers that prior to labor they must prepare themsleves physically, walk alot, keep your body fit, eat healthy, learn breating excercises (they really help), read all about labor, learn to conserve energy and get ready to face it.The end of this is so stunning that I can assure you, you will not feel the pain when you will hear the first cry of the baby, first glimpse of the baby.

As a small gift to Dakshata I have decided to give Dakshata’s name as middle name for my baby. I sincerely hope my family would agree for this. She deserves it.

P.S: We have decided to name the baby as “Ayush“. Check out some initial pictures here (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/prajakt/Aayush)