Parenthood

It was a tough time for me when I decided to have a baby. I came from Bangladesh only eight months before and my husband just completed his graduation here and started a contractual job with loans on his shoulder. He also needed to save money for our PR applications where bank solvency is a must. I was not working because I could not speak English at all. In such a moment when money was needed most and we needed to control our expenses I decided to have a baby. My husband was not happy with the decision and wanted to wait. But I told him that when he goes to work I have nothing to do at home and it is better if we have the baby right now.

So we tried for months and then one morning I found my pregnancy test positive. I was really excited and happy. I started dreaming about how my baby will look like and started talking with her. But the time changed so fast and I started realizing the real challenges of being a mother. I could not eat, drink or even sleep for weeks. My husband had pressure in his job and he did not want to lose it because it was the only source of our survival. Therefore he would not speak with me that much. My family was not here and the time difference between my country and Canada is 11 hours so I could hardly manage a time to speak with them. It was a very tough time. But my husband took care of me as much as he could, he bought different foods and took me different places so that I can maintain a good mode. He also bought our first car so that I do not have to suffer in going to doctor/hospital in the winter time.

At first, we had a family physician who was taking care of me. But she went on leave soon. So I was assigned to an obstetrician. She was so lovely and friendly that once I started seeing her, I started loving the pregnancy time. I had a lot of fear and worry about the delivery but she helped me overcome all these fears. She gave me enough time and took extra care. She was like my sister who helped me overcome all the obstacles. I followed her advice as there was no one else from my family beside me.

One day we went to a restaurant to have dinner. The food was so good that we ate more than usual. I ate so much that I could hardly take a breath. At night when we went to sleep, I had a feeling I never had before. My husband immediately called an ambulance. While I was being taken by the paramedics, my husband packed some stuff in the bag and started for the hospital. From the several briefing of my doctor and hospital management, we knew where the Triage is and where to go, so we directly went there. The nurses were so helpful that they received me from the paramedics and shifted me to an initial assessment cabin within moments. My doctor came by 20 minutes and after checking pulse, blood pressure and other symptoms they decided that this is the day I am going to be a mother for the first time, but the time was still undetermined. My doctor said, at least 10 more hours to go.

But I did not have to wait that long. Around 10 o’clock in the morning my labour pain started. Around 3:00 pm the doctor came and together with two other nurses started preparation for the delivery. And finally at 4:10 pm my daughter arrived in the world. This one hour was the most difficult time of my life but the nurses and my doctor helped me so much that I eventually ended up making it very easily. In the morning when my pain started I was wishing if my mother were here beside me. I called back home and asked for everybody’s wishes and blessings. But I finally found my doctor and nurses so helpful that I didn’t actually feel the absence of my parents. After my delivery, I stayed one day in the hospital and the nurses took great care of me and the newborn baby. They showed us how to feed the baby, cloth the baby, wash the baby and lay the baby down in the car seat to bring her home. I am grateful to my doctor who told me that she had a daughter of my age. I am also grateful to my nurse who herself was pregnant then but helped me with great care and professionalism.

It was the most positive experience I ever had in my life in CANADA. Finally, I would like to thank the Canadian health care system and the Victoria Hospital in London and my doctor and nurses who made my delivery time so easy and enjoyable.