Last year, while holidaying in Europe, I conceived my first baby. I was not overjoyed, perhaps because both my husband and I, married for only six months, were not yet prepared to be mom and dad. The baby probably heard our thought, and in the eighth week of the pregnancy, I suffered a missed abortion…. [ Continue Reading ]
“I know nothing about orthopaedics or gynaecology, anything else is okay.” I said to K. He nodded and I took up his offer to work in Sitla, a village in Kumaon . Neither of us asked nor could answer the obvious question – what if I did get a patient of othopaedics or gynaecology. I… [ Continue Reading ]
The overnight bag is by the door. The labour and childbirth book you are reading is open to “Labour.” Your contractions are five minutes apart, and as you climb into the car, you know exactly what awaits you… and pigs can fly. No matter how many books you’ve read or how many hours you’ve spent… [ Continue Reading ]
The honeymoon was over. I took a deep drag at the last of my clove cigarettes, and tried to come to terms with the memories of a seaside holiday that had got over too soon. Soon, I would have to move back to plain old tobacco – the no-nonsense smoke of a familiar, down-to-earth routine…. [ Continue Reading ]
It was a pregnancy case that all doctors turned away from, saying that it was too risky, and the mother to be stood no chance. One doctor, a woman, came forward and helped Shanti to give birth to a child. The child she gave birth to was almost half her size. Shanti is a dwarf:… [ Continue Reading ]
A few weeks before delivery, the baby’s head settles lower in the pelvis, and so the uterus or womb seems to slip downwards and forwards and the shape of the abdomen changes. This may cause a feeling of pressure in the lower abdomen. You may want to pass urine more often. There may also be… [ Continue Reading ]
When your first child is growing inside you, it is hard to believe all they say about childbirth being the most amazing experience of your life. How could the legendary pain of giving birth be memorable or amazing, you wonder? You tend to dismiss it as mere romanticism. But it is amazing. I can vouch… [ Continue Reading ]
It was on. We were going ahead with the baby. After hearing the ‘good news’, the mom-in-law squealed with delight, while the mom did a jig at the other end of the phone, and we, the post-honeymooners, put on what we thought should be the proud-parents-to-be smile. We called up so many people to let… [ Continue Reading ]
The joy a newborn kid brings into the household is unparalleled. It also entails small sacrifices like keeping awake at odd hours during the initial years. But, one toothless grin from the little one and suddenly these so-called sacrifices seem inconsequential. Pavan Bhatia, who recently became a father, recounts his experiences at trying to stay… [ Continue Reading ]
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