Blog Category: Birth Stories

On October 23rd at 11:30 PM, my water broke, marking the start of my long and unforgettable journey to meet my baby. Following Dr. Janhavi’s advice, I decided to stay at home until my contractions intensified and were consistently occurring every five minutes. By 7:30 AM the next morning, I headed to the hospital, eager yet anxious about what lay ahead.

At the hospital, I was informed that my contractions were irregular, and I was only 3 cm dilated. Determined to speed up the process, I spent the next six hours doing everything I could—squats, climbing stairs, and other exercises—to encourage my contractions. Despite my efforts, after eight hours, I was just 4 cm dilated, and progress seemed agonizingly slow. At that point, I felt defeated and hopeless, questioning if I had the strength to go on.

But then came the unwavering support of the incredible team of women at Aastrika. Their care, patience, and encouragement gave me strength I didn’t know I had. Among them, Tintu Chechi stood out as my pillar of support. She stayed by my side throughout, her warmth and reassurance making me feel as if I was at home. Her constant words of encouragement kept me going when I was ready to give up.

At one point, overwhelmed by the pain, I begged the doctors and midwives for a C-section, feeling I couldn’t endure any longer. But at Aastrika, they are committed to supporting natural birth whenever possible. Dr. Anupama was steadfast in her confidence that I could deliver vaginally. Despite my screams and tears, she remained calm, patient, and supportive, guiding me through the toughest moments.

After 20 hours of labor, I finally delivered a healthy baby boy vaginally. The journey was long and painful, but the love and support I received from Dr. Anupama, Tintu Chechi, and the entire team at Aastrika made it all possible. I am forever grateful to these wonder-women for their care and dedication, which helped me find the strength to achieve what felt impossible.

My birthing experience at Aastrika was really calm, peaceful and relaxed. 

The baby was due on 10th December. I made sure to visit the parlour and get my eyebrows and facial done before going to Aastrika! Parlour waali aunty asked me when is your due date. When I said it’s today, she made her eyes wide open and laughed. 

My pregnancy required an induction, so on the day of admission, my waters were broken and we waited. I put on my music playlist and was listening to positive affirmations. It took about 2 hours for proper surges to start, but once they did, I thought my baby would be out on the same day. 

My midwife told me you have a long way to meet your baby, just relax. She offered me a yoga ball, which I accepted. I sat on the ball, began soft bounces and hip rolls and some exercises. Some hypnobirthing techniques also helped me. 

Now here comes the super woman 1- Tintu chechi, who kept on monitoring me, took me for a walk, and helped me squat many times to progress further. I was 3-4 cm dilated by 1am and this is when she asked me if I needed some natural pain relief methods. I agreed to it and it helped me relax more. I had a good sleep for a long time. I forgot I’m here to birth, instead I was enjoying the birth suite! 

Here comes another super woman 2, Salomi chechi. She really helped the labour to progress. A much required person at that moment, to remind me to enjoy the birth suite, at the same time telling me to get out of the bed and move because “only then you will be able to meet your baby soon”.  She kept on reminding me to drink lots of water.  

My husband sat beside me the entire time rubbing my back, holding my hand, or giving me water when needed. He also encouraged me to move.

By the time my baby arrived, I felt strong, supported, and empowered. I am truly grateful to the Aastrika midwives and my husband for helping me have such a beautiful birthing experience.

#BirthAdventure #TeamWork 

Over the 4 trimesters I have realised that while every story starting from pregnancy, labour, and post delivery is different, it is made much more special by the team at AMC. The efforts gone into understanding a mother, not just medically, but personally, make it so much more unique than any caregiver I have come across 💕 .

All went smoothly till my 38th Week appointment. Dr.Anupama told me that I was already 2cm dilated, the baby was stationed well, and that I should continue with my life normally. Coming out of the doctor’s room, both my husband and I were elated 😇 . I had a physiotherapy session scheduled at AMC right after and to our surprise I started having contractions within the session. I informed Salomi Chechi and she instructed me to monitor. She also warned me that I may have to come in for delivery in a day or two. The excitement and anxiety all kicked in together. We rushed home and started sorting everything out. Both my husband and I handed in our leaves (maternity leave for me and 3 weeks leave for my husband 🤣🤣 ).

Interestingly, the contractions took a pause by morning…… and to my disbelief for the next 10 days I experienced start-stop contractions 😅. Funnily enough, while I was waiting for it to progress, the team at Aastrika were also waiting for me to come in. Honestly, I too wanted to be there 10 days sooner🤣 !! How it happened and why it happened are questions that continue to remain unanswered. We ended up doing a lot of exercises together during those 10 days 🥵. Finally, upon the arrival of the due date, we took a scan followed by the appointment. I had progressed to 3 cm dilation and a membrane sweep was conducted. That evening the contractions became stronger and progressed into the night. The following day by noon, I was admitted, led by good strong contractions.

I slid into active labour and by midnight was completely dilated. I tried almost all of the birthing tools. Baby D was born just before dawn and I was thrilled to see him, enjoy the golden hour, and every bit thereafter . ❤️

My husband was there every bit of the way from early labour, spending all those leaves with me, active labour and after. He helped me through each of the birthing tools while keeping me hydrated. Looking back, I am immensely thankful for him. Even during the pregnancy he took over when I was most down (and he still does❤️ ).

Having spent the initial few weeks consulting with a ‘normal maternity’ hospital, it was not too difficult to understand why Aastrika stood out. Even today, postpartum, I know I have gained a family with the team at Aastrika . ❤️❤️

Our journey at Aastrika was beyond anything I could have imagined! To rewind a bit, Ahmed, my mom, sister, and I hadn’t slept more than two hours in two days, thanks to my discomfort and false contractions. By the time we rushed to Aastrika on Monday night (November 27), we were already running on empty. But the real adventure was just beginning!  

Active labor kicked off around 1:30 – 2 a.m. (after a comforting bowl of Maggi!), and I half expected Ahmed to sneak in a nap. But there he was, holding my hand, reminding me to breathe—something I never realized I needed so much. From stretching exercises to endless dips in the tub, Ahmed was right there by my side, phone in his pocket, playing our playlist. Fun fact: Baby K still falls asleep to those tunes!  

In between contractions, I remember Ahmed resting his head on the tub, always ready to jump up and comfort me. And I can still taste that ORS he insisted I drink! Around 6 a.m., I was screaming for a C-section, but there he was again

calm and steady, telling me, “We’ve got this. You can do it.” The patience he showed with a screaming woman in his face? Unmatched!  

By the end, he joked about his numb hand from all my gripping, pulling, and squeezing. He was also the first to tell me we could see our baby’s head—just the hope I needed to push through.  

Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without the incredible support of Sister Salomi and Sister Tintu. Their expertise made everything feel safe and empowering. Choosing Aastrika was the best decision we made, and it brought me even closer to Ahmed, showing me just how strong and patient he truly is!

We did our maternity shoot on Friday and had a super loooooongggg day. 

Saturday morning, 4.30am: I woke up to a trickle of amniotic fluid. I waited for a bit to see if anything else would happen! My husband woke up and was asking why I was sitting, and if I was having heartburn.

I said “I think my water broke”. He woke up and went to take a bath 🤣🤣 

My bag was not ready yet… And the house was in a mess, so I started cleaning! 

5.30am: I called the nurses station. Salomi chechi asked if I could bear the pain. She told to leave home a little later after labour progresses.

7:00AM: I started getting strong contractions and pains, and since we lived far away, I thought it was better we leave after breakfast. 

8.30AM: 

En route, we stopped the car during each contraction for me to be comfortable.

My mother in law kept saying “let’s just go to any hospital on the way instead of going so far”… but I was so so determined to get a water birth 🌊

10.30am: We reached the hospital, Salomi chechi said I was already 6cm dilated and I could be admitted 🥹 It was the happiest thing I heard.

While they made the room ready, I kept drinking ghee and jeera water.

Chechi kept asking me to walk and do exercise but me being the lazy me… I just couldn’t bear the pain 🙈

Once we got to the room, she did some exercises for the baby to get to an optimal position… And the golden words “you can get into the tub” were all that I heard.

11.45AM: I got into the tub and oh my god! It was heaven! ☁️☁️☁️

And then the contractions kept getting more intense and there were times when I was so so tired… Chechi and my husband kept hydrating me and just being there ❤️

And then out came a tennis ball 🎾 I didn’t know what it was at that time 🤣 My husband kept using that and massaging my back… gosh that really helped…

Fast Forward ⏩: I kept napping in the middle of contractions… And then came the feeling of pushing. Good news for you all – the contraction pain vanishes and the feeling to push just intensifies. 

Somehow 2 hours passed and I still was not able to push her out… I was sooooo tired… Chechi kept saying “I can see the head”… and my husband asked “how much hair does the baby have?” 🤣🤣

And then I did give up in the middle since I was soo tired… but my cheerleaders didn’t give up.

I took laughing gas during contractions for some time. 

And even after two hours, my poor baby was still not out. Chechi said it’s time to get out of the tub and try. She gave me two last pushes to either get the baby out or we would leave the tub. 

I remember Chechi telling me “Akanksha, you got into the tub, you should not leave the tub without the baby.”

And with all that motivation, in one last extremely difficult push and an extremely loud scream… the baby was out 👶

And we saw it was a girl ❤️ and my heart was so full looking at her ❤️

My husband cut the cord… and we had our skin to skin 🤩 

Now when I think about it… It was such an amazing experience 😍 

Thank you Janhavi⁩ 😘 You have made so many of our deliveries such a memorable experience 😍

At my 38 week visit with Dr. Anupama, everything was normal. She encouraged me to follow all the guidance such as duckwalks to go into spontaneous labour, as it was a VBAC. 

A couple of days later, I started getting lower back pain and some discharge. I went to AMC at night, but after checking, Tintu chechi recommended I go home as it was still very early. 

The next morning, I was doing brisk walks, duck walks, squats, climbing stairs, and then had breakfast and rested. 

When I went back to AMC, I was 4cm! I got admitted and started doing exercises. My contractions were regular and more intense. 

After some hours at 4cm, Dr Meghana suggested that breaking the water would help me progress, and I gave my consent. 

After that I started getting intense pain which was very difficult to tolerate. Salomi chechi gave me hot water massage to my back, and checked my vitals.

Tintu chechi came at 8PM and when I saw her, I was the happiest person!  

I thought I would take a painkiller and rest for sometime, but when Dr Meghana came to check my dilation before giving the pain killer, to our surprise, I was fully dilated! 

I was in cloud 9 after hearing this! All thanks to Tintu chechi and the encouragement I got from team AMC ❤️

I was really scared of the possibility of CPD, which had led to a c-section during my first delivery.  Dr Meghana reassured me that the baby was settled in the pelvis.

When I felt like pushing, I told Tintu chechi, and sat in a squat position, and then on the birthing stool. 

Tintu chechi was giving me a hot water bag massage continuously, and always encouraging me. I believed everything she said and kept pushing despite the pain. I was really motivated by her words. 

She told me that the baby’s head was visible and I saw it in the mirror. My husband encouraged me and kept me hydrated. After 15-20 pushes, the baby was out! He was immediately put on my breast for skin to skin contact. My husband took the honour of cutting the cord. 

Overall, it was a sweet and short experience, where I was loved and cared for at every moment in AMC. 

Special thanks to Dr Janhavi who guided me with the lifestyle tips to go into spontaneous labour.

My post-delivery stay at AMC was very comfortable and it never felt like a hospital environment. Each and every person in AMC cared for and supported me until discharge.

This birth was my dream came true, I will cherish those moments forever. Thank you to the wonderful women of AMC. Loads and lots of 💕

I started having mild contractions around 4am in the morning. I called the Aastrika helpline, and was asked to monitor and take a warm water bath, and to come to the hospital if it doesn’t stop as this was my second pregnancy and I lived far away. 

One thing to call out here – they knew my name and a brief history when I called itself. That was something I did not expect and I was pleasantly surprised. 

I took a shower, meditated for a bit, and then woke my family up to go to the hospital. Everyone was excited and my husband, mom and I left. Once I reached, they did an internal examination and said I hadn’t started dilating yet and that the contractions were very mild. It could go either way so they advised me to wait nearby and watch. 

I went to a relative’s house nearby and around 3, I felt the contractions were coming in more frequently but it still wasn’t too regular (like once in 8 to 13 min) so I was doubtful but Salomi Chechi called to check on me and suggested to anyway come to the hospital to get it checked. We came and I was told I was 4cm dilated and to get admitted. 

Chechi then got me comfortable in the room and suggested some positions that would help during contractions. In some time I felt the contractions were starting to get intense and I told my husband I wasn’t sure how much longer I could cope without some relief. Salomi chechi then asked me to take a few rounds around the nurse station post which I could get into the water. After 4-5 rounds of walking with my husband where he was trying to distract me and keep me motivated, I was like, ok this is like my limit, and when we checked I was 9cm dilated by then! 

I then got into the water and Chechi was very encouraging and supportive. The water was also a natural pain relief. My water broke sometime later and about 10-15 minutes post that I felt a strong urge to push. I had managed to get through so much without shouting but those final 2 contractions where I got the strong urge to push and pushed I screamed so loud that I saw some 3-4 others in the room looking at me with concern 😅 I also understood why they call it a ring of fire. It literally felt like that! I could hear them saying the baby was crowning and my husband was holding my hand tightly saying just a little bit more. 

The next contraction I pushed hard thinking I can’t take another contraction with this much pain and my baby was born! All this happened in less than 3 hours from when I got admitted! 

They gave the baby to me immediately for skin to skin care and it was the best feeling. They wanted to check if it was a boy or girl but I just didn’t care. After my husband and I held the baby for some time , it was time for cord cutting. 

My husband let them know of my preference to cut the cord and the team was surprised and speculating if I was the first mom to. My husband was hesitant to and thought we should let the doctor do it – “it’s a baby, this is not some cake cutting” were his exact words when I had asked him earlier 🤣 so I decided I would if he didn’t. It was honestly surreal. Everyone was so friendly and the doctor was also making jokes post the delivery and the atmosphere was just so nice.  She even asked if I wanted a picture and clicked one! Something that had completely slipped my mind. When they took the baby for newborn checks they let us know it was a girl! 

For my first delivery which was at a major maternity hospital I had to literally ask to hold my son for skin to skin (they did newborn checks, put their hospital onsie and kept him in the baby trolley and left after stitching me up) and I had to insist for breastfeeding in the golden hour 😓 The doctor also broke my water and informed me after the fact on what she had done when I asked. So when they waited in Aastrika literally till just before birth for the water breaking to happen naturally, I felt so overwhelmed. 

The entire experience was amazing and I am so happy to have chosen Aastrika for my birthing centre.

I made the decision to deliver at Aastrika Midwifery Centre, and I can confidently say it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. My pregnancy was the smoothest to the extent that I used to forget I was pregnant most times. But my labour was the most painful and was not progressing at all for almost 24 hours. Despite that, I gave birth to a healthy 3.24kg baby girl vaginally, and that is only because it was Aastrika.

I am immensely grateful to the entire team, especially Dr. Janhavi, for creating such a nurturing environment for expecting mothers. Her meticulous attention to detail and care is truly beyond praiseworthy. I also want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Anupama for her exceptional leadership and unwavering dedication, which served as a genuine inspiration. I aspire to cultivate the same warmth in my life as Dr. Anupama.

Throughout my labour, Tintu, my attending midwife, was a compassionate presence, guiding me with remarkable patience. If the concept of God and angels is true, then she was sent specifically to assist me that day. I am sincerely grateful for everything she allowed me to do, because she chose what is right over what is easy. Every medication and every choice was thoroughly explained in detail, and only after receiving confirmation were they provided. My gratitude to her knows no bounds.

I felt more secure and cared for here than I did in my own home. The conscientious efforts of every team member to ensure the comfort of mothers are incredibly heartwarming. To be candid, if they had an in-house postpartum care centre like those in other countries, I would have gladly stayed without a second thought. Every detail, no matter how small, was meticulously attended to. The facility is impeccably designed. I felt as though I could arrive empty-handed, knowing that the team had anticipated my every need.

My experience at Aastrika has filled me with nothing but love, gratitude, and profound admiration for both the facility and its exceptional staff as well as the founder. I extend my sincerest thanks to Team Aastrika; my successful normal delivery would not have been possible without your exceptional care and support.

Once again I am eternally grateful from the depths of my heart. Every glimpse of my baby girl fills me with boundless gratitude towards Aastrika.

My VBAC Birth Story: A Journey from Trauma to Triumph

I had always wanted to write about my birth experience since the time I found out I was pregnant for the first time back in 2021. But those were the COVID times, and unfortunately, my experience was deeply traumatic. My first pregnancy ended in a c-section — the reasons were unclear, and I was left with more questions than answers.

During that same time, a friend of mine was facing challenges with breastfeeding, and I connected her with a doctor I had previously consulted. That doctor was working at Aastrika, and that’s how I discovered this beautiful midwifery centre in Bangalore. It officially started in 2022, and right then, I decided that if I ever had a second child, I wanted my delivery to happen at Aastrika.

Fast forward to 2024. I was thrilled to see Aastrika’s glowing Google reviews. So many happy mothers, many of whom had successful VBACs (vaginal birth after caesarean). Reading those stories gave me hope — something every pregnant woman needs more than anything else. It’s so disheartening when women are labeled with, “You had a c-section earlier, so this time too it will be the same.” That mindset needed to change, and Aastrika gave me the reassurance that it could.

When I met Dr. Anupama, the very first thing she told me was that my first pregnancy had spontaneous labour and could have been a normal delivery. No one knew why it ended in a c-section. Her words echoed what I’d been wondering for years. But this time, I was determined. No matter how much pain it brought, I wanted to experience a normal delivery. The trauma from the first time had left a deep imprint, and I was ready to reclaim my power.

The Birth of My Second Little One

At around 37 weeks, my water broke at 2:30 AM. Within half an hour, contractions started — initially 10 minutes apart, and by 3:30 AM, they were just 5 minutes apart. We had been briefed by Dr. Jahnavi that with 5:1:1 contractions, we should head to the hospital. So, I called the midwife station, and Anju chechi suggested we come in by 8 AM after breakfast. But I was anxious, so we reached Aastrika by 6:30 AM.

The staff were incredibly calm and welcoming. They suggested we come back by 2 PM since antibiotics are typically administered 12 hours after water breaks. But since we lived far, we requested to stay. I was admitted at 12:30 PM. Tintu chechi was with me, guiding me through exercises and tips to help my cervix dilate.

At 2 PM, I was just 1.5 cm dilated. By 7:30 PM, I was 5–6 cm dilated, and by 9:30 PM, I was taken to the labour ward — active labour had begun. At 8 cm, the pain was overwhelming. I requested an epidural and eventually got some rest. When I woke, I was fully dilated. It was time to push.

They reduced the epidural effect so I could feel the urge to push. From 1 AM onwards, Dr. Dhwany, the midwives, and the nurses were all there with me — constantly motivating, encouraging, and helping me change positions to support the baby’s descent and rotation.

At 3:09 AM, with every ounce of strength and using the breathing techniques I had learned in my labour management classes, I gave birth to my baby boy.

Gratitude and Empowerment

Words cannot express my gratitude to Dr. Dhwany, who had been my greatest motivator in those final weeks. She kept reassuring me that I could have a normal delivery — and she was right. Thanks to the incredible team of doctors, midwives, nurses, and support staff at Aastrika, this birth was not just safe and respectful, but deeply healing.

Most of all, thank you for honouring the mother’s voice and respecting her birth plan. This experience has empowered me, and I will forever cherish the memory.