[Childbirth] My Indian husband from a village experiences a Japanese assisted delivery!

A Japanese-Indian half-baby is born.
Our child has finally arrived, and our new life has begun.
Every day is filled with happiness, even while we are bewildered by our first experience with parenting.

Reflecting on the "gap between childbirth for my Indian husband and childbirth for me" that I realized through this experience.

■ The assisted delivery I took for "granted"

This is just a coincidence, but
all the families and friends around me had husbands who were present for the birth.
I myself thought that "of course, my husband would be there for the birth."

As it turned out, the birth happened at night, and the flow of events led to my husband driving me to the hospital after work and heading straight into the delivery room! It ended up being a successful assisted delivery.

……However, there shouldn't have been even a millimeter of a plan in my husband's life to "be present for his wife's delivery."

■ What is "childbirth" to an Indian husband?

In regions like the one my husband is from in rural India (a village), childbirth is basically a sacred realm performed only by women. It is common to have the mother, female relatives, and veteran midwives called nannies or dais come to the house to deliver the baby, and it seems to be a worldview where men do not enter (or rather, cannot enter).

By the way, when I looked it up, it seems that modern India is polarized:
High-end hospitals in urban areas: Assisted delivery and the husband "cutting the umbilical cord" are a trend.
Rural/public hospitals: Men are not allowed and wait in the lobby. The recommended birth partner is "the mother or a female relative who has experienced childbirth."

In other words, for my husband, childbirth is a "ritual for women only". He must never have dreamed that he would enter a delivery room.
Perhaps because of this environment, or maybe he was just scared,
until the very last moment, I feel like he was openly trying to escape, saying, "I'll go if the timing works out... (= please, I hope it doesn't)."

And so, my husband ended up entering a Japanese delivery room.
His wife was right in front of him, screaming while enduring pain, and doctors and midwives were covered in sweat and blood while delivering the baby—I wonder if my husband was completely frozen by this life-or-death scene that was far from the "quiet birth" he had imagined.

Furthermore, in that tense environment,
relentless, full-speed instructions in Japanese from the midwife were flying around.

"Papa, when I give the signal, press that button to call the other midwife!"
"When the next contraction comes, help lift Mom's body in time with my voice!"
"Give her a sugary drink while you can!"
"Support her in managing the urge to push while we wait for the cervix to open to 10cm!"

There must have been words he was hearing for the first time.
I think he did a great job with his Japanese listening skills (lol).

■ The first step for a family that overcame it together

It might have been a bit of a culture shock for my husband, but being able to welcome the greatest moment of life together is an unforgettable event for us as a couple.
We talked about how our family and friends back in India might be surprised if we told them the birth story.

…Well, in reality, I was so desperate myself that I have almost zero memory of my husband in the delivery room.

It wasn't particularly difficult just because he is Indian,
but seeing your wife give birth right in front of you is
an incredibly scary and intense experience for any husband, regardless of whether they are Japanese or foreign, I suppose.

Humans, both men and women, deserve respect.