Pregnancy and birth is truly amazing; has one ever given it a thought - first the conception, and then the baby literally grows inside its mother from one single cell so small that it has to be magnified over a thousand times just to see it. That cell grows day by day, forming so beautifully into a baby. If you have the privilege of being with someone who is having a baby, at the end of the entire pregnancy and birth, it is miraculous to watch the mother hold her baby in her arms, instantly forgetting all the labor. Yet another amazing fact is that she will also breastfeed the baby. One can only conclude a baby is truly a gift from God.

I was afraid of the thought to give birth to my little baby in a hospital environment. Our close friends Manu and Sara suggested we meet Midwife Corinna at the Birthing Center, a beautiful Goan-Portuguese house in Assagao, where they had their baby. I was three months pregnant then. After an hour long conversation with her, and after seeing the birthing room, which I would like to add does not in anyway look like a hospital delivery room, my husband Savio and I, Flora, felt that we had come to the right place. However Corinna advised to give it a second thought to help our confidence as we seldom follow a similar birthing process traditionally here in Goa.

With the knowledge of being able to give birth to our first little baby in a quiet and peaceful environment in a beautiful tub of warm water in the presence of my husband and no doctors, this was the only place I could consider. Seeing our determination, there was no further objection from our family.

Corinna was very professional with my check-ups at the Birthing Center, which further relaxed me to an extent that my husband and I felt completely safe with her. It was an amazing experience to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. As my belly expanded more and more, visits to the Birthing Center increased, and as we spoke to Corinna and asked our questions, she patiently answered them. We learnt more and more about our little baby with each visit. She also taught me a lot of physical and breathing exercises to help me with my growing bump.

In my early pregnancy I did not experience any morning sickness nor did I have any kind of body aches. I enjoyed every bit of being pregnant. In my seventh month however, I found it difficult to work and therefore decided to quit my job. And besides, I wanted to prepare a little nest for my cute little bird. My husband from day one had been a strong support and a very good care taker. I am in love with him all over again for taking such good care of me and our baby to come. We have enjoyed ourselves being pregnant and still cherish each day we passed waiting in anticipation for our baby.

Suddenly, I felt mild contractions that repeated every half an hour. It was the 8th of April 07, Easter Day. Could this be our baby coming? We still had three weeks to go. I anyway updated Corinna and she came to see me immediately assuring that everything is okay and not to worry. The next day, the 9th of April, my contractions persisted. I was advised to have magnesium supplement to ease the contractions. The contractions did subside for a while, however early next morning on the 10th of April, my body began to ache, especially my legs. I began breathing exercises to keep myself relaxed, though I could not sleep that night. When I finally decided to catch up with some sleep on early 10th morning, my waters broke.

We were not prepared for this sudden arrival as the due date as per my last period was somewhere around the 5th of May. As I did not get to attend any classes on how to cope with labor, Corinna said that I would have to do and learn. Before we reached the Birthing Center at around 10am, she had everything ready for me. A few more moments and I slipped into the birthing tub I long awaited for. I did not know what was going to happen next, but besides Corinna, I was fortunate to have her collegue Julia, as well. The two of them, along with my mother and above all my husband Savio, were a wonderful moral support to me.

As I went into the final stage of labor my mother sat at one end of the tub and started softly reciting the rosary, Savio sat besides me and held my hand, Corinna and Julia sat at the other end from where they could monitor me and the temperature of the water in the tub. Savio and I followed all of Corinna’s instructions word for word. Four hours later, at 2pm sharp, under Corinna’s and Julia’s watchful eyes, I gave birth to my beautiful little bird Zipporah and in an hours time we were home with a new joy to hold in our hearts... changing our lives forever!!