I have been following the Healthy Mother page for over two years now, and although I had a relatively natural birth experience the first time, it wasn’t gentle or respectful – there was last minute forced drips, and other interventions. All this left me wishing that I had the chance to have my first baby at the Sanctum.

When I learnt that I was pregnant with my second child, I started religiously following the Sanctum’s posts – Birth stories, Videos and Resources. It was positively empowering to access the right information, which reinforced my belief in keeping medical interventions as low as possible.

Travelling to Hyderabad was not an option for us…So, after months of literally studying the Sanctum’s posts (thanks to which, I continued strength training, squatting, with weights upto 20 kgs throughout pregnancy, till week 38), I scheduled a Skype Call with Dr. Vijaya.

Although I had excellent OBGYNs at the clinic I went to in Chennai, I needed more support. What a call that was! The one hour I spent with Dr. Vijaya was positively reassuring – she had read my email that had all the test results, history of the pregnancy etc; twice! I asked all my questions, got helpful answers – Dr. Vijaya helped me prepare for what conventional clinical deliveries may be like, what to ask my care providers, where to insist and where to let go. Simple advice like, taking a favourite pillow to the clinic and reminding you to rest, recover went a long way in feeling comfortable and calm during labour. Basically, she tutored me on how to birth as naturally as possible in a conventional clinic. A really “silly” breathing technique, pursing your lips down and blowing out air was such an effective pain management tip! 🤰☑️

Have you seen the video where Dr. Vijaya talks about “due dates”? I watched it twice after my due date came and went. It calmed me down when everyone else was getting antsy. I was confident when I told my OBGYN that we should wait, and I was lucky to have a doctor who did wait for a whole week! But when I had to get admitted, I confess I was getting nervous and sent a quick message to Dr. Vijaya. She wrote back with such warmth and encouragement, that it gave me fresh courage! Then, after 18 hours of labour, no epidural or gas, baby arrived and what a great thing it is to trust the baby and follow baby’s cues! 💓👶💓🤱💓

Thank you, Dr. Vijaya – not just for the Skype consult, but for the great page that you run which is full of excellent resources. Birthing with love, and not fear – is indeed a wonderful thing. 🤗