breathe -
she repeated.
breathe.
breathe through the pain,
it will be over soon.
it was chaos,
she had no privacy -
as she lay in the middle of the room
her legs mounted on stirrups.
breathe.
now, push now, the doctor said
she heard a heart-wrenching scream,
which, she realised later, was her own.
someone wiped her forehead.
push. can't breathe.
tears rolled down her face
breathe.
the father was not in the picture
she did not have a birthing partner
she was alone and scared
she had taken care of herself for months
and brought herself here when her water broke
she had repeated the mantra in the cab -
stay calm and breathe.
pain.
fear.
stay calm and breathe.
now, she could not take it anymore
she wanted to stop and go to sleep
push.
scream.
there was a momentary pause
and then -
a loud cry coming from in between her legs
joy.
she had been alone all this time
now she was not.
tears rolled down her face
happy tears.
they put her baby on her chest
skin to skin contact
comfort.
she looked at her baby,
the large eyes stared back at her.
bliss.
love.
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