Worth waiting for: The birth of Olwethu

Well … I don’t know where to start. But then I was 40 weeks when I decided to go to the hospital. When I arrived there, there was some nurse who was helping around, so I took some time waiting to be helped. Then I went to that nurse and told her that I’m 40 weeks, and still there’s no sign or anything. She said, “You came all the way from your home to here for this? You don’t even have signs [of labor] for heaven’s sake … I don’t have time for this. I’ve got lots of work to do.” I cried the whole night, and my fiance and I decided not to go to that hospital when I was ready to deliver.

The following week we went out to another hospital. It was 200 km from our flat but so close to his mom’s place. We went to the hospital. I stayed the whole night but still there was no progress. My cervix was still closed. The doctor told me to come the following week on Thursday to see my progress. (That was on a Friday.)

I went there on Thursday, and they told me to see the doctor first. The doctor said I was 39 weeks according to his scan. I stressed myself out, but then he told me to go to labor ward for a check up later that day. If there’s still no sign, they would induce me.

They checked me and then later told me to go to sleep. They said they would wake me early in the morning. I fell asleep around midnight, t

hen they woke us just past 3 a.m. I bathed and went to the labor ward. I took the inducing pill at 5 a.m. A little past 7 a.m. I started feeling the heat. I was so hot, and other patients were like, it’s cold—why aren’t you wearing something? I could only feel the heat, though …

I went to the toilet, then I saw a red stain on my underwear. I told myself, this is the moment I was waiting for. But I was so scared because it was my first child.

I went back to the labor ward, and they told me it was time for the CTG machine (the machine that is used to monitor the baby’s heart). I laid in bed for an hour, and that thing was really annoying. The nurse who was in charge told me she could see trouble, and I started panicking. She called the doctor, and when he arrived he told me I needed an emergency C-section. I was so nervous already.

They injected me and gave me pills; they told me the contractions were too aggressive. It was time for the surgery. My fiance was there, but he waited for me outside until it was finished.

They told me my baby was my photocopy—he looked just like me! I asked if I could see him, and they showed him to me—but I was still feeling the effects of the drugs. The only thing I saw was that he was a boy and he looked cute. I was just happy that the moment I was waiting for just happened and my bundle of joy was alive and kicking.

He’s now 2 months old. His name is Olwethu Mngomezulu. And the rest is history.

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!