They say to me in their awakening, "You and the world you live in are but a grain of sand upon the infinite shore of an infinite sea." And in my dream I say to them, "I am the infinite sea, and all worlds are but grains of sand upon my shore."

~ Kahlil Gibran. Sand and Foam. 1926. ~

Home » Post Item » Of Labor and Childbirth

Of Labor and Childbirth

January 22, 2010

 

visited my OB today.  

tomorrow, i’m 37 weeks pregnant. 

baby is  already full term and i could give birth very soon.

 

things to watch out for:

1. labor pains

2. bloody show

3. watery discharge

my OB-Gyne already gave me an endorsement letter to the hospital in the event that i experience any of the 3 in the list.

 

 

honestly, i’m scared.

it didn’t help that i had 3 previous childbirth already since all circumstances related to labor are very, very unique. even the so-called EDC (expected date of childbirth) is not an exact calculation (except of course, during C-section, wherein there is a scheduled childbirth). ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN MY BABY WILL ARRIVE.

 

at this point in time, i already feel some slight, chronic, subdued but tolerable pain around the lumbar area a few times each day. it is an intermittent and latent tell-tale sign of minor labor. i know that, like me, baby is preparing himself for the big day. yet inspite of all these, i know that no amount of preparation can really guage the outcome or the actual event.

  

remember the Agony of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane? i find this first sorrowful mystery apt to my present situation. like Jesus, i am anticipating the pain and the arduous labor. imagining that kind of pain and the entire scenario makes me gritt my teeth and sends shivers to my spine (Jesus had worse experience because he sweated with blood while praying…). i know the pain will climax in a way that will be unique and unforgettable until my last breath.

 

that’s why i already sought my counsel of friends to PRAY FOR ME, for my labor and for my baby. PRAY that i’ll be able to pull this off with grace and ease, inspite of the pain and hardship along the way. 

 

at present, my current inspiration and solace is the Passion of Jesus Christ which we share each year during Lent. i realized that no matter how painful ANYTHING can happen to me and to my life, it will NEVER be as painful as what Christ had experienced on the way to the cross. and whatever pain and hardship i will experience and encounter in this road to labor and childbirth, i will offer it completely to Jesus Christ.

 

 

Paul Tornier gladly calmed me with this thought:

Everything that is worthwhile in life is scary. Choosing a school, choosing a career, getting married, having kids–all those things are scary. If it is not fearful, it is not worthwhile.  

 

my friends, i also urge you to PRAY FOR ME, my baby and my safe delivery.

 

 

please read this prayer in the silence of your heart:

Prayer for a Safe Delivery

O Great Saint Gerard, beloved servant of Jesus Christ, perfect imitator of thy
meek and humble Savior, and devoted Child of the Mother of God: enkindle
within my heart one spark of that heavenly fire of charity which glowed in
thine and made thee a seraph of love.

O glorious Saint Gerard, because when falsely accused of crime, thou didst bear,
like thy Divine Master, without murmur or complaint, the calummies of wicked men,
thou hast been raised up be God as the Patron and Protector of expectant mothers.
Preserve me from danger and from the excessive pains accompanying childbirth, and
shield the child which I now carry, that he may see the light of day and receive the lustral waters of Baptism, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Nine Hail Marys)

 

~ Prayer of St. Gerard Majella, Patron of Awaiting Mothers 

 

thank you for your kindness… hope to return the favor someday.

;-) 

 

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