The Story of Becoming a Father by Witnessing Childbirth

A June I will never forget

A while after my wife's labor began, we went to the hospital, and I was able to witness the entire process of the birth.

It's hard to put into words, but perhaps I could call it a spectacular time that completely overturned my outlook on life.

My wife chose a natural birth.

Taking my wife, who was being attacked by pain that a man could never imagine, I tried my best to suppress my restless feelings and pretend to be calm (I'm not sure if I was pulling it off).

A few hours after arriving at the hospital, we finally moved from the hospital room to the delivery table, and the birth began. Being by her side was by no means comfortable; it was suffocating. It was the first time I had ever seen someone in such distress (pain), and the fact that it was my own wife made it even harder.

Desperately trying to appear calm to give her even a little sense of security, I rubbed her back, spoke to her, and breathed with her. Even I couldn't stop sweating nervously.

Several hours passed.
In a sense, seeing my wife facing one of humanity's greatest trials, I felt emotions that went beyond words like respect or admiration—something more like awe, the kind you feel when standing before the forces of nature or the largest sacred tree at a shrine, making me want to bow down.
Seeing my wife trying to connect our souls to the next generation, I was filled with gratitude even before the baby was born.

Uuuu

"Mother Nature" is what it is, so there's no way a father could be anything else, huh.

It's too early to cry, Ryuki.

After passing through a storm of emotions that I couldn't put into words, I finally witnessed the most mysterious and shocking moment in human existence.
I knew that people were born from people, but the moment the baby's head appeared, all those indescribable emotions just vanished somewhere.



"Wowwwwwwwww!!!!"


I saw with my own eyes why childbirth is called a miracle.
And then, the moment arrived.
The moment the baby's first cry echoed through the delivery room, tears spilled out naturally along with the words, "Ah, thank goodness..."

Just, thank goodness, such relief.

And my wife is safe too; she really did her best.
Seeing my wife welcoming our newborn child by her side, tears flowed like a waterfall.

Ah, thank goodness,

I realized I had been praying for this moment to arrive safely for such a long, long time.
The baby was crying louder than me or my wife.
Ah, thank you for being born, thank you.
This is a feeling I've never had before; is this what they call unconditional love?

Not only did my respect and gratitude for my wife explode, but I also feel she is a special existence in a new way—perhaps I could call her a comrade-in-arms who overcame the pregnancy and everything up to this point with me.
It's hard to believe that I don't share blood with this person. It feels like we are connected on an even deeper level.

I am so glad I was able to witness the birth.
Of course, every family has its own circumstances, but perhaps being able to witness the moment of human birth is a privilege for a husband.

Seeing the difficulty of childbirth with my own eyes, I am also filled with gratitude for the mother who gave birth to me.
No, for all the mothers in the world.
Big respect, thank you.

And I realize every day that my wife and I have made it this far thanks to the kind concern and support of the people around us.
Thank you so much.

I remembered what I thought at our wedding reception: that a life where you can be grateful to others is more wonderful than a life where others are grateful to you.

With gratitude in my heart, I must become an even stronger adult.

Namaste baby, nice to meet you!🙏