Too much Pain for one –by Olawale Opeyemi

So earlier today, I went to the hospital with my sister-in-law who was in labour. I don't know how or why, but I always happened to be around whenever she's in labour, I remembered the last time we did "same" (in 2013). I was about to hit my bed around 2:00am in the midnight. When I got a call from her hussy (my brother) asking me to come and accompany her to the hospital.... he knew that I hate hospitals by the way, but what option do I have?

“Will you be fine to stay with her"?  He asked quietly?

“Of course I will"

I answered without hesitation, looking at how much pain she was going through alone, that couldn't make me say otherwise (even though, I knew, it was going to be a long night for me, no matter how quick it may be) and like I’d imagined, she put to bed but not until later in the day and to a very beautiful baby boy, whom I grew to love so much....

Back to the present day... 3years after that long night....at about 5a.m on Sunday, came another call from my very dear brother, I knew from his voice what the call was about, so I didn't wait a second to ask where we're headed....

"To the hospital" he responded. My beloved sister-in-law is labour again! 

My mind raced back to 2013 and I was seeing her face clearly, the pain, the anguish, the anxiety, the restlessness and the un-explainable joy on her face when she held "Mohammed" in her arms for the first time, all‎ flashed through my mind.....

I said to myself while praying of course "she's done it before, she can bear it again"..... I've always known that she has great threshold for pain, but this time, it's different, she was going through so much pain than I could ever imagine or explain.....not, because she was the first woman I had seen in such condition.

In fact, I was about thirteen , when I first witnessed the agony and pain every mother has to endure in bringing a new life to the world...I was the youngest and very endearing too, perhaps the qualities are what usually get me the first place, when it comes to accompanying, expecting mothers in pain in their time of need"

Lol...I'd gone with my step mother who not because she's fond of me that much, but because she knew how patient and strong I can be (especially when trying to keep my worries underneath my smile. She also knew I can take all her tantrum "gracefully")... requested that I go with her when she was in labour... we were there for more than two weeks before she was finally delivered of a cute baby girl via CS....

There were many pregnant women in the ward being a teaching hospital, and it was a "traumatic" experience for me at that age...for instance, a woman came in the morning, gave birth to two little girls, and died hours later....  I was just standing there, staring at my step mum and wondering if she was also going to die like her neighbour.... I remembered sitting at the corridor of the ward alone in my over-size gown, lost in thought, wondering why it was taking too long for her to put to bed (I've seen movies where pregnant woman goes into the labour room and return with baby few minutes later) so, you can imagine my frustration... and let me say that nurses at the government hospitals were the worse…

I don't know if the trend has changed oo, but, then it was terrible!

So, back to my sister-in-law, we got to the hospital safely, but her pain grew as her contraction continues.

‎I tried occupying my mind with book that I knew reading it wouldn't make my day a longer one than I had experienced (I had gone with a book titled " Boko Haram and its suicide Squad") wrong choice of book for that moment, you'd agree with me....but, I managed it..."the account of the terror and evil perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect, was another horrific knowledge to have entirely...the writer, an American journalist Adrian Davieson was vivid in his narration, the gory pictures were painted "real" , the massacred villages  were told to details, and it was like I was there live…" was reading with divided attention, until I couldn't read anymore owing to her growing pain, she couldn't hold on to her strength  again, so  I had to stop! 

...she was like that for few hours, before her doctor finally decided ‘twas time to induce her, after which the contraction became more profound and frequent.... I was praying for the baby to come quick so her "suffering" could stop...meanwhile, when we first got there, we met a neighbour inside one of the rooms, I noticed she was sobbing  but didn't know  why…

 I tried not to pry, but the journalist in me wouldn't let me be, I later got to know why she cries uncontrollably! She lost her baby! Yeah, unfortunate, right? I felt so bad for her.

....the doctor attending to my sister-in-law  guessed my discipline and he was right,  he kept asking why I was so quite with a specific look on my face....so, I promised to share my thought with him once I'm done.

Like 30 minutes after the inducement, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl where she laying, labour room wasn't necessary anymore, she did it right where she laid! That got me so close to seeing a delivery for the first time......the baby is so magnificent, .‎her curly hairs, the little fingers, shinning face ‎ and her cry...it was wow!  At first, I forgot the hours of pains that I witnessed, and was overwhelmed with joy!

The baby was cleaned up, dressed up and handed over to me...

I just stood there staring at this beautiful gift of God...there and then...

I remembered the sound of her mother's cry, the agony she passed through for hours on that bed, the pains (not adding the whole nine months ) , and it dawned on me what a priceless gift we have in our mothers...no amount of pain can be compared to the one they went through giving us life.....

Mothers are fearless, and are not to be meant to toiled with...‎how can one person go through such harrowing experience  and still loves the  reason for her pain unconditionally? 

...it's too much pain for one person, but a mother isn't one, she's a whole