Birth Report: Natural Childbirth, First-time Mother at 30

I have safely given birth to my daughter. I read many of your reports right before this and found them extremely helpful, so I would like to add mine to the collection.

※This is a frank, quick report from my second day postpartum, so please skip this if you are worried about reading scary details.

【Summary】
39 weeks and 4 days, 3268g, total labor duration 5 hours and 41 minutes

I was surprised by how quickly it progressed, but overall I think it was an ideal birth. It was, as expected, the most painful experience of my life, but I managed to keep my composure without screaming until the end, controlled my body according to the midwife's instructions, and breathed properly during the moments that put stress on the baby, who came out a beautiful pink color. My husband was there until the end and handled all the necessary support without me needing to explain things in detail.
The midwife mentioned that there are many factors—actions taken leading up to the birth, behavior during contractions, the baby's position—and that everything clicks into place when it's time for the baby to come out, which left an impression on me. Walking 10,000 steps every day during my maternity leave and doing prenatal yoga gave me confidence that my own preparations had paid off.

Chronological Record

(Times are approximate)

Around 1:30 AM
Woke up with pain like an upset stomach and sharp, stabbing pains. I was dozing off, but got up around the sixth time.

2:15 AM
When I got up, the tightening was at 3-4 minute intervals. I contacted the hospital; when I said the pain wasn't strong but the intervals were 3 minutes, they said I might end up being sent home, but I could come in if I wanted, or wait an hour? But they told me to contact them without waiting if it got stronger or if I didn't feel fetal movement. Since it didn't hurt much, I said I would wait and see, then took a shower and soaked in the tub.

2:41 AM
The pain increased slightly and was regular, and I was worried because I couldn't easily feel fetal movement, so I called again and was told to come in. My husband woke up and helped me prepare.

3:00 AM
Took a taxi using the GO app, cost 8200 yen for about 30 minutes. While riding, I realized the intervals were indeed 2-3 minutes and thought, 'Wait, is it starting to hurt?' I could still talk, and at that time, I thought this feeling would continue for a while.

3:30 AM
Arrived at the hospital. After being on the monitor for about 30 minutes, the pain intensified. A pelvic exam showed I was 6cm dilated, and I was admitted. The type of pain felt like menstrual cramps multiplied by several dozen, pushing upward. I remembered that one contraction lasts about a minute, so I just had to exhale 5-6 times for it to end, and I focused on enduring it, but the short intervals were tough. It reminded me of interval training from my track and field days. I was a little worried when they said the baby might be stepping on the umbilical cord, causing the heart rate to drop.

Around 4:00 AM
Pelvic exam again; 7-8cm dilated and the pain is getting stronger. Here too, I focused on exhaling, and I'm glad I was able to keep doing that until the very end. I think I went to the bathroom at some point. They said it might have been hypertonic contractions at first, and that the current level of contractions was just right for the dilation.

(By the way, I was tracking my heart rate with my Garmin, but it had to be removed around this time for an IV, so I saved the workout data properly.)

My husband said this was when I looked the most miserable. It was good that he quietly and calmly pressed on my back when I told him to when a contraction was coming. The intervals were only about 2 minutes, so I couldn't give detailed instructions.

Around 5:30 AM
I started feeling the urge to push. I gave instructions to my husband like, 'Lower! The ball pressing against my bottom!' (My husband said he was prepared to be yelled at, but I was just a bit sharp. Lol.) The practice paid off, and my husband was actually quite good at it, which made things a bit easier.
I was told I could push since I was 10cm dilated, but my foot position was awkward, and when I tried to push, I would shake uncontrollably. I was terrified of the next contraction, and since the intervals were barely 1-2 minutes, I felt like I needed a bit more rest.

6:30 AM
I changed positions and raised my legs a bit, which made it much easier to push. When I said a contraction was coming, a veteran midwife inserted her hand and guided me, saying, 'Push in this direction!' When resting, I let go of the lever. After pushing a few times, she said, 'I think if we cut here, the baby will come out!' I was surprised, thinking, 'Wait, we're already talking about that?' but I didn't feel like I could endure this for much longer.

I received instructions to push twice during one contraction, and to make the second push longer. I would exhale when the wave started, and give it my all on the second push.

The pain increased with each push, but I was told, 'Don't give up here!' and I understood that I had to endure this load. I was told to breathe because the baby was passing through a narrow spot, so I took a few deep breaths.

Around this time, when my husband showed the midwife a plastic bottle with about 5cm of water left and asked, 'Can we refill this?', she said, 'Hmm, that should be enough, right?' I felt positive, thinking that if that amount of water was enough, it meant it would be soon.

In the end, there was a sports drink, so they swapped it out for me to drink, and when I drank it right before the birth, I said, 'This is incredibly delicious!', which made my husband and the midwife laugh.

During the final contraction, my perineum was cut with huge scissors, but as I had heard, everything already hurt so much that I didn't feel a thing. The director had properly gotten permission and used anesthesia, but I wonder if anyone would ever say no to that.

6:51 AM
Birth! A baby with a beautiful color came out. When they placed the baby on my stomach, my first word was, 'Heavy!' The baby's first cry was also incredibly loud. There was a sense of stability and relief. But it really felt like, 'Is it over already?'

Around 8:00 AM
The suturing of the episiotomy and the contractions when the placenta comes out were tough. Actually, it felt like they were suturing for about an hour. When I asked how many more stitches, they said 20, and I felt despair, but it didn't hurt as much as before, so I started sending messages on my phone.

Around 10:00 AM
Apparently, I had 1300mL of blood loss compared to the average of 500mL. I went to the bathroom but was dizzy, so I was put in a wheelchair and taken to my room. The long battle was over.

Summary

Since there are many things I forget or remember as time passes, I decided to release this report in a quick format for now. I would like to add more thoughts if I have time later.

My child is incredibly cute.