Nigerian Moms Share Painful Stories About Enduring Prolonged Labour And How It Changed Their Lives
One of the toughest things women go through in life is going through labour and child delivery.
While some women are lucky to have short labour while bringing their children into this world, others have painful stories to tell about enduring prolonged labour.
Sharing their stories with DailySun, a businesswoman, Ngozi Obinwa said she wouldn’t forget her first child labour experience in a hurry.
The mother of two revealed that she had her first child at 22, five years ago but the pain she experienced was unforgettable. She added that she was in labour for over 24 hours but the hours seemed longer because of the pain she endured. She said:
“I got married when I was 20 years old. I was in year one studying business administration at Lagos State University. Even though I had planned to wait for three years before having children, I was ecstatic when I found out I was pregnant.
My husband was overjoyed too. I had a beautiful pregnancy. I wasn’t sick or on bed rest. I did my chores, went to the market and attended classes until I gave birth to my daughter.”
Obinwa recalled that even though her pregnancy was smooth, the labour pain was excruciating. She stated that she went into labour one Friday morning but didn’t deliver her baby until Saturday evening.
“What I went through giving birth to my first child is better imagined than experienced. My heart skips a beat whenever I think about how I cried, begged for the pain to stop and how some of the nurses mocked me for being a cry-baby.”
The Anambra State indigene revealed that when she went into labour, she was alone at home. She added that she called her husband and told him to meet her at the hospital.
She said she packed some of the things she needed for her child’s delivery, took a taxi and headed to the hospital. She said that when she got to the hospital and told the nurse on duty that she was in labour, she told her to sit down because she was still smiling and wasn’t ready to give birth just yet.
Obinwa said:
“I had to call my gynaecologist and told him that I was already in labour. After some minutes, he came in and told the nurses to take me to the delivery room to check on me.
I was told that I had dilated only 3cm but I was in pain. I didn’t know that this would last for hours. For the next 24 hours, I was dancing in the hospital and wincing in pain but my baby wasn’t coming down.”
For hours, Obinwa said she was in hell because of the pain. She added that even her husband got so scared about what was happening and asked the doctor to carry out a cesarean section on her to save her and their baby’s lives.
“The nurses kept giving me injections to see if my baby would come down to the birth canal. I got tired of the whole thing and started screaming for them to help me.
The doctor insisted on administering a hot drip. He told me that if after I take the intravenous medicine and my baby still didn’t make her way down, then he would carry out a caesarean section.”
The mother of two stated that luckily, while the drip had almost gone half, she felt her baby moving down and the labour pain becoming more unbearable. She added that the doctor was ready to catch her baby as he told her to push.
“I was so happy, knowing that I would give birth soon. My baby was big and she was sleeping while I was in labour. It took me five minutes to give birth to her. I pushed twice and she was here.
I didn’t know I had a tear until afterwards when the nurses injected me down there and started stitching me up. My baby weighed four kg at birth. I look at her today and I laugh. She put me through hell but I love her very much.”
Thirty-two-year-old Sarah Ayomide also has a story to tell regarding the birth of her daughter last year. The fashion designer, who is based in Lagos, confessed that having a child is a journey between life and death because she felt like dying. She shared:
“When I hear some women talk about how labour and childbirth are not easy, I didn’t know they were putting it mildly. In my own case, it was like I journeyed into the land of the dead and came back to the land of the living victorious. I was in labour for almost 24 hours.”
Ayomide, a proud Christian revealed that it was God who helped her give birth to her child because her baby’s delivery looked impossible at first.
She recalled that she was making a customer’s dress when she went into labour on a Tuesday afternoon. She said she called her workers and told them what was going on and they helped her get to the hospital. She added that her husband joined her in the hospital after he closed from work and the drama started. She recalled:
“I thought I would give birth quickly but that didn’t happen. I had painful contractions but I wasn’t dilating quickly. I was so uncomfortable.
For hours, I was praying and hoping that I would give birth soon but that didn’t happen. I was dehydrated, fatigued and started experiencing shortness of breath after hours of having active contractions.”
Ayomide said that her doctor suggested that she should be hospitalised so that the medical personnel would monitor her and her unborn baby to avoid long-term complications that might arise due to her prolonged labour.
She stated that he also informed her husband that if she didn’t give birth the next morning, he would carry out a caesarean section to save her and her baby. Ayomide said:
“I looked up to the heavens and begged God to help us. My husband and I weren’t rich so the idea of having a caesarean section was not welcomed because we didn’t have the money to pay for the procedure.
My husband held my hands and we made some prophetic declarations about my body and commanded our baby to obey the word of the Lord by coming forth naturally.”
She said two hours later, she started having intense contractions and called out to the nurses on duty. She added that in thirty minutes, she gave birth to her baby without a caesarean section and she was grateful to God for answering her prayers.
“Today, I look at my daughter and marvel at God’s faithfulness. I can attest to the fact that God answers prayers. He did it for me and I am sure he will do it again when I decide to have my second child.”
Patience Akidor is a teacher who loves to instil discipline in children. She narrated that her first two children came into this world without delay but her last child who was born four years ago tested her faith.
Akidor said she wanted to have five children because she grew up in a large family but her experience during the birth of her third child changed her mind. She said that her two daughters didn’t stress her at birth but her son made her speak in different tongues. She narrated:
“I was in labour for over 12 hours. I went through unimaginable pain. A lot of negative thoughts were going through my mind but I rebuked them. At one point, I was gasping for air and my waist was on fire.
My doctor had to carry out a caesarean section after they noticed that my baby boy’s breathing was waning. After I gave birth to him, it was discovered that he had jaundice and he was treated for two weeks at the hospital before we were discharged.”
A caterer, Abigail Edet told the interviewer that she didn’t conceive immediately after she got married and that became a source of worry for her and her husband. She revealed that she gave birth to their first child five years after they got married and the experience wasn’t a pleasant one. Edet recalled:
“I went from one hospital to another searching for a solution to my inability to have a child. My husband believed that I was the one with the problem because he has two children from his previous marriage.
I begged him many times to accompany me to the hospital for treatment but he refused. When I got pregnant, he became happy and treated me like a queen.”
Edet stated that her pregnancy went smoothly except for some occasional feelings of nausea and vomiting. She said she was looking forward to having her baby last year but she didn’t envisage the stress she would go through giving birth to her baby boy who arrived in the early hours of the morning in August last year. Edet said:
“I went into labour in the afternoon but I didn’t give birth until the early hours of the next day. The doctor was so kind and professional. He made sure to explain things to me as my labour progressed.
He had to use forceps to bring out my baby. Even though I was scared about that procedure, he assured me that everything would be fine. I feel fortunate to have met such a doctor and his team of nurses.”
What Prolonged Labour Means
Dr Emmanuel Ekpo, a consultant gynaecologist based in Lagos said that prolonged labour, also known as protracted labour, occurs when giving birth takes longer than expected.
He added that in medical terms, it is defined as labour that lasts more than 20 hours for a first-time mother and more than 14 hours for a mother who has given birth before.
However, he stated that these timeframes may vary depending on factors such as the woman’s age, health, and the position and size of the baby.
“There are two types of prolonged labour which are primary and secondary. Primary prolonged labour occurs when the cervix fails to dilate or thin despite regular uterine contractions for several hours.
This can be caused by various factors, such as an inadequate contraction of the uterus, a poorly positioned baby, or a narrow birth canal.”
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Ekpo stated that secondary prolonged labour occurs when there is a delay in the descent of the baby through the birth canal despite adequate cervical dilation and effective uterine contractions. He added that this can be caused by factors such as the baby’s size, the position of the baby’s head, or a small pelvis.
According to Ekpo, prolonged labour can pose risks to both the mother and the baby because it can increase the risk of infection, bleeding, and the need for caesarean delivery.
“It can also cause fatigue and exhaustion for the mother, leading to a higher chance of interventions such as the use of forceps delivery. For the baby, prolonged labour can increase the risk of foetal distress, which may lead to an emergency caesarean delivery.”
Ekpo added that if labour prolongs, healthcare providers will monitor the mother and baby closely to determine the cause and assess the risks. He said the treatment might involve interventions to speed up labour, such as the use of synthetic oxytocin to stimulate contractions or delivery through caesarean section.
He noted that the decision on the best course of action will depend on the mother and baby’s individual circumstances and the preferences of the doctor handling the case.
Ekpo said that prolonged labour can be caused by ineffective contractions.
“Labour progress relies on the uterus to contract and exert pressure on the baby to move through the birth canal. If the contractions are not strong enough or do not occur at regular intervals, this can result in prolonged labour.”
He said that another factor that may cause labour to prolong is abnormal foetal position. He stated that if the baby is not in the optimal position for birth, it can cause prolonged labour.
“If the baby is facing upwards (occiput posterior position) rather than downwards (occiput anterior position), this can cause a longer and more difficult labour.”
Ekpo added that cephalopelvic disproportion, a condition where the baby’s head is too large to fit through the mother’s pelvis can cause prolonged labour and giving birth may require a caesarean delivery.
He said:
“Women who have had a caesarean delivery in the past may experience prolonged labour due to the scar tissue from the previous incision. Women who are older or who have other health conditions may experience prolonged labour.”
Ekpo noted that in many cases, the cause of prolonged labour is not clear, and it can be a combination of factors. He said that those experiencing prolonged labour need the guidance of their doctors to determine the cause and provide appropriate care to help move labour along safely.