Having a ππ’π«ππ‘ plan is helpful so that moms can have a say on how they will deliver their ππππ¦ with the support of their ππ’π«ππ‘ing team. Then again, weβve learned that sometimes no amount of planning can prepare you for π€π©πͺππ₯ππ’π«ππ‘ β it can happen when you least expect it, like in a car while en route to the hospital.
This is what happened to Andrea Intalan, 36, when she gave ππ’π«ππ‘ to her second son, Dakila, in the backseat of their pickup truck on July 30, 2021. It happened on their driveway at their home in Las PiΓ±as.
Since she gave ππ’π«ππ‘ to her firstππ¨π«π§ via unmedicated vaginal gentle ππ’π«ππ‘, she planned to do the same for her second π€π©πͺππ₯. She also hoped to have a waterππ’π«ππ‘ this time around.
After the routine checkup, Andrea and her husband, Jed Intalan, went back to the hospital to submit their letter of request for a water ππ’π«ππ‘. βI had a bit of bloody discharge earlier that morning and was having some mild discomfort, which I shared with my doula and OB. My OB asked me to come by her clinic to check, and I was already 1cm dilated. She advised me to get an RT-PCR test as a precaution.β
Still, Andrea thought it would be a while before she gave ππ’π«ππ‘, as she experienced being in labor for 24 hours with her first π€π©πͺππ₯.
That night, she and her husband started timing her contractions. After getting a couple hoursβ sleep, the couple decided to go to the hospital. While Jed was preparing their bags, Andrea waded into a tub of warm water to ride out the surges. βIt helped me calm down and breathe through my contractions,β she shares.
When she got into the backseat of their truck, she realized she couldnβt sit down because of the intense pressure in her pelvic area. She ended up on her knees while facing the back of the pickup.
Andrea felt another uncontrollable urge to push and told him that she could feel their ππππ¦ coming. When he checked, he could feel their ππππ¦βs head already. Their brother asked whether she wanted to go to the hospital or back home, and Andrea chose the latter.
They parked the truck in their driveway and ended up surprising Andreaβs parents with a crying ππππ¦. βWith my ππππ¦ still connected to me, we managed to swaddle him with some clean towels,β Andrea says, adding that since Kidlat was with them in the car, he woke up to the sight of his ππππ¦ brother covered in afterππ’π«ππ‘.
Shortly after, they again left for the hospital to get Andrea and their ππππ¦ checked. Andrea shares that trusting her body and her ππππ¦ paved the way for a successful, natural, and gentle ππ’π«ππ‘. Based on her experience, her advice to expecting moms is to also mentally prepare for their ππππ¦βs arrival.
