My birth experience ✨

On 21 November, I went for my 38-week checkup. I was about 38+3 weeks, and the doctor asked if I wanted to be induced. I said yes because by then I was getting heavier, having trouble sleeping and even walking felt difficult. We scheduled the induction for 28 November, 10am at SGH, when I would be 39+3 weeks.

While waiting, I was so anxious. I knew induced labour is usually more painful because it forces your body to contract. Every day, I talked to little Yasmin in my belly, asking her to come out naturally before the induction date. “Please come out by yourself, jangan sampai mama kena induce.”

Qadarullah, on 27 November around 7pm, I started having frequent contractions every 4–5 minutes. Alhamdulillah, my husb had already taken AL to prepare for my labour. I felt sharp pain on my back but not on my belly. People always say, “When the time comes, you will know.” And I knew. I was going into labour that night.

I stayed calm and timed my contractions on my phone until the app said “It’s time to go to the hospital.” I showered and realised I was bleeding a lot. We grabbed our hospital bag, called our parents and headed to SGH. I also kept having the urge to push or poop — another sign of labour.

We reached SGH at 9pm. After waiting for the doctor till 10pm, I was checked and found to be 4cm dilated. They moved me to the Delivery Suite and the contractions became extremely intense. I was given laughing gas and the option for epidural. I asked if the gas would still help as labour progressed — the nurse said no. So I agreed to the epidural.

Around midnight, the anaesthesiologist came. He was so gentle and reassuring, telling me “You’re doing so well” and “You’re so strong.” Once the epidural kicked in, the pain vanished instantly. I finally smiled and slept about 4 hours, even though I had a really bad headache from the side effects. Luckily I brought minyak angin and my husb massaged my head through it.

At 5am, I was only 5cm dilated. The pain slowly returned, so I got a top-up of epidural. At 7.15am, I was 7cm dilated, my water bag had burst, and there were signs of meconium — Yasmin had pooped inside. The doctor said she would return in 3 hours, but Yasmin wasn’t waiting.

Right after the doctor left, my contractions suddenly became so strong that the epidural didn’t work anymore. The nurse asked if I wanted another dose but I refused — I realised the epidural was slowing down my dilation. So I depended on laughing gas again.

Then the pain became unbearable. I screamed, and the nurse quickly checked me — I was already 10cm dilated at 7.49am. I was ready to push.

And this is where I have to thank my husb.. While pushing with every ounce of energy I had, I somehow ended up pulling his hair… and his ears… multiple times… like he was my stress ball. 😂 But he didn’t complain. He stayed right beside me, giving me water, feeding me dates, wiping my sweat, calming me down. I truly couldn’t have done it without him.

I kept pushing, taking breaks because I was so exhausted and in so much pain — it felt like my whole back was breaking. Finally, at 8.50am, baby Yasmin was born. Alhamdulillah.

The nurses and midwives were amazing. So supportive, so encouraging. I’m truly grateful for the entire experience and the team who helped bring Yasmin safely into the world.

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