Chez Moi

Childbirth - in India, it is termed as ‘punar janma’ or rebirth, for the woman. Which is so apt, considering what the mother goes through to bring her baby into the world.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was understandably quite nervous with the whole birthing process. My husband pooh-poohed my fears by saying thousands of women go through it every day and it cannot be all that bad. But for the person who has to experience it, the fact that a million others do it makes for scant comfort.

In the past few months, news of the not-so-good variety concerning childbirth has been coming my way. In a rural part of Tamil Nadu, a young mother bled to death, struggling to bring her first born out. Chances are her pelvis was too narrow for a normal delivery and had she been near a proper hospital, her life would have been saved by a ceaserean section but that was not to be. The fact that she was the young cousin of friends made it all the more poignant. Coupled with the fact that I was five months pregnant at that time, I felt inordinately aghast at that.

A friend of mine lost a very dear childhood pal in much the same way. Like she indignantly asked, who bleeds to death during childbirth any more? Here is our answer: the poor, the uneducated, those unfortunate enough not to be able to call on the medical facilities that most of us take for granted, that’s who.

But horrible fate isn’t based on geography and purse strings alone.

Earlier in May, another piece of bad news reached my ears. Though this time the husband tried his best to shield me from it, as it was the baby who had lost its battle, I still heard about it. I still cannot forget that. Even as I get ready to give birth in the same hospital, the thoughts of that baby who didn’t get to live, and his poor suffering parents, haunts me every day.

As I await the birth of my baby, why am I immersing myself in such gloomy thoughts instead of focusing on the positive? I don’t have the answer to that question. What I have are prayers for the lost souls, prayers for those they left behind to grieve for ever. And prayers for every single mum out there, who is born again, bringing her baby to life.

God bless us all.