Caro and Varun's Family

Caro and Varun

20 months ago, while I discovered I was expecting Lila, I did a lot of research on birth as the image we all grow up with of that moment is a scary one. My fear was compounded by the fact that I was going to do it in India, in a medical system that is foreign to me and where the cultural practices are so different from my native place. I did a lot of research and got particularly inspired by Ina May Gaskin’s “Guide to Childbirth”. Lila’s birth did not turn out as expected, she came sprinting at 33 weeks.

I had picked a hospital that is known for water birth and the best Gyne in the city who shows respect for mother’s choices. Unfortunately, Lila’s 20min delivery meant that I would have none of the 2. I ended up with an unnecessary episiotomy, 10 people in the room lit with neon tubes and if I had let them, a perfusion and epidural (I had to was able to resist that). Lila was in the nursery under observation for 10 days, leaving us very little room for bonding time and with a subsequent failed breastfeeding experience (I pumped 5h every day for 5months ~75litres of milk). I am still very grateful for some of the incredible staff working in that hospital and for Lila who is now a healthy 20months old.

This time being in Goa, I had all the elements with me to get the birth experience I wanted, starting with Corrina, a midwife from Germany running a birthing center 500m away from our house and Melissa with whom we did our hypnobirthing classes. Noah made us wait almost 41 weeks but Corrina was confident that the baby was healthy and we had all the time in the world- “he will come when he is ready” she used to say. Still, I did homeopathy, acupuncture and finally castor oil cocktail (maybe a little too much of it). On that day, 3h after this magic cocktail and 20min after the start of labor at home, we reached the birthing center … another 20min there and our baby Noah was with us.

There were no needles, no medicines, no vaginal the examinations, no time to check the baby’s heart beat, just Corrina and my husband Varun. I jumped in the tub right before Noah’s head came out and we then waited for the rest of his body to come out with the next contraction to take him out of the water. 20min later, we were all laughing, eating sandwiches on the bed and nursing Noah for the first time. I did have a few stitches, so needles came back in action for that.

We were home 3h later with a peaceful and healthy baby (3.75kg!) and filled with happiness!