Thread by @sana_195

What goes on inside the delivery room of a local government hospital. A thread.

So i was a naive medical student when i witnessed the most horrific natural child birth ever. It made me realise how absolutely flawed our health care system is and how some women end up getting treated like their lives have no worth whatsoever. 1/25

The delivery room was filthy. It stank of sweat and faeces and had no clean sheets. A small, dark, depressing place. It was a government hospital so i didn't expect any better but God knows how many poor women had the misfortune to give birth there. 2/25

I entered the room, naturally curious and excited at the prospect of witnessing the most beautiful natural phenomenon of life. However, that excitement didn't last very long. I saw this woman lying on the bed, hardly 25, visibly in pain, with a fetal monitor attached to her. 3/25

ALL ALONE. As soon as in entered, i asked her her name and how she was feeling. She looked at me, surprised, as if she never expected such basic human courtesy from a "person in white coat". 4/25

She had been lying there without any human emotional or moral support for hours now, she told me. Also that she belonged to a very poor family. Let me just mention here that it was her first child so the labour was taking a little more time than usual. 5/25

I have never been inside the delivery room before this and i was the only medical student there that day. The lady doctor who had to perform the procedure was nowhere in sight. So anyway, the labour pains were becoming more frequent..6/25

..and i could see that it was taking all the effort for her not to scream. I didn't know why she didn't get epidural at that time. Maybe it wasn't available or maybe noone told her it existed. Since it was my first time in a delivery room, i didn't know any better either. 7/25

So when the contractions were a few minutes apart, i went out looking for help. I find this stern looking nurse (must be in her 50s) and told her that the patient is in a lot of pain. The nurse came inside after a while and the doctor finally showed up too. 8/25

Then the real ordeal started. The doctor was polite at first, telling the patient to push. The woman was trying her best, struggling, but somehow the strength of the push wasn't enough. I could see how the patient was using every ounce of strength she had. 9/25

Sweating profusely, out of breath, hair flying everywhere by this time but all the efforts were futile. The baby's head kept showing and disappearing. It wasn't very long before the entire delivery room turned into utter chaos. 10/25

The doctor lost her patience so quickly, somehow blaming the patient for not putting in enough effort. The nurse was the worst! Every time the patient didn't push successfully, she would shout at her, flinging occasional jibes at her "tum maa bannay k qabil he nahi ho". 11/25

I was taken aback by her unpleasant tone and snide remarks, utterly in disbelief at the lack of empathy. The environment was getting super tense by this time! 12/25

The patient was so out of breath, tears flowing down her face continuously, severely fatigued. I could see how difficult it was for her physically and emotionally. The world is so cruel sometimes. 13/25

By this time two more nurses had entered the room because it was a difficult delivery and baby monitor started showing fetal distress. 15/25

I can't ever forget what happened in the next two minutes. While the doctor shouted at the patient to push one more time with the contraction and she did but it didn't work this time either, the nurse came out of nowhere and SLAPPED THE PATIENT. 16/25

She fucking slapped a crying patient who was struggling SO HARD to deliver her first baby, saying "tumhain samajh nahi aata kia kerna hai?? Hamaray pass faltu time hai tumharay liye??" I was horrified!! 17/25

I couldn't comprehend what had just happened and the patient looked SO scared and i just yelled "YE KIA KER RAHI HAIN AAP"! I wanted to slap her back!! I was so angry!! 18/25

The nurse acted so normal like it was an everyday thing and even the doctor didn't even say ANYTHING. The patient was super exhausted by this time and i could imagine how traumatised she was and she whispered to me "aur himmat nhi hai dr sahiba mujh say nhi hoga". 19/25

She was crying harder than ever, i didn't know what to say, i just repeated the same words of reassurance. They sounded hollow and robotic. Meanwhile the nurse started applying fundal pressure and i told the patient that this is it, ab aap nay poori himmat lagani hai. 20/25

The next contraction came and the woman pushed one last time and the baby was delivered finally. As soon as she heard the cry, the woman just fell back into the bed, her grip loosened on my hand, completely worn out, her eyes empty, almost dead. 21/25

The nurses and the doctor left. The woman was handed her baby. She didn't even smile seeing the baby and considering what she had just gone through, i didn't blame her. 22/25

I stayed her with her for the next hour and i won't ever forget what she said to me. "Aapko Allah nay meray lye farsihta bana ker bhaija hai. Aapka boht shukriya". I just felt embarrassed. Is this what years of practice does? The insenitivity of the staff was killing me. 23/25

There was complete silence now, the baby slept peacefully by her side in a green clothe. I might have shed a tear or two, still holding her hand, so emotionally drained. Till this day, i have never stepped into another delivery room. 24/25

I did complain about the nurse but no action was taken because she had been there for years and was someone very "senior". 25/25