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Katarina Rodriguez details her water birth story: 'This must be the proudest moment of my life'
After sharing her water birth experience in a YouTube video, Katarina Rodriguez took to Instagram to share more details about her birth story.
The Miss World Philippines 2018 posted a series of photos and penned a three-part essay narrating the before, during, and after phases of her journey.
"In pageants they always ask, 'what's the essence of a woman?' I remember practicing this question for two years straight due to my pageant career," she wrote.
Katarina said she was never convinced of her answer until the day she gave birth to her first child.
"What's the essence of a woman? Her power," she said. "Power to rule her mind and her body. Power to overcome pain that feels like death but in turn births life. The power to do whatever it is she puts her mind to."
Before the birth
Katarina said her story began a few days earlier than her due date. She was in the shower after dinner when she noticed a small chunk of blood, so she called her midwife who then confirmed that she was 3 cm dilated.
She messaged her doula and she and her husband prepared for her birth.
"I was confused because I still hadn't felt the contractions. Then nearing midnight I started to feel something like a fist pushing down on my cervix. This is when I knew my little boy was ready to come out," she said.
"Little waves of pain all around my tummy and lower back and inner thighs would come and go. Still mild to moderate pain, I could still watch my K-drama," she added.
At around 12:30 a.m., Katarina began feeling more pain. Her doula, midwife, and husband took turns massaging her lower back.
"I never imagined throwing up would relieve me, but it did. I told myself this kid is pushing my organs up because he really wants to come out and meet everyone," she said.
"I kept track of every wave of pain, each contraction that tested my strength, each one gradually upping its intensity. I focused on the time, how much break I had in between the pain to get myself together and make a plan on how to conquer the next set."
During the birth
Two hours later at 2:30 a.m., Katarina said her " inner thighs were shaking and I felt like collapsing, this is when I knew I needed to go into the pool."
"I was leading every step of my labor, listening distinctly to every part of my body," she said. "Going downstairs and into the warm water relieved some of the pain, but with each contraction the pain also increased."
Katarina said she thought of going to the hospital because the intensity of the pain was becoming unbearable, but she soldiered on because she promised to herself not to think of anything negative.
She did a yoga breathing exercise the next two hours and would count to ten over and over again in her head. Even so, her energy was going down and she had to drink water every two minutes in between contractions.
"It honestly felt like I partied all night then ran a marathon right after while having period cramps (best description I can think of)," she said.
When the contractions got closer together, Katarina said she felt the end coming. It tested her physical and mental strength and she had the strong urge to push, but it was not yet time.
"My baby boy was demanding to come out. I kept repeating my mantra, 'I trust my body, I trust my baby, I trust my God,' over and over," she said.
"And finally at 4:02 a.m. after three and a half intense hours and one big push, my boy came swimming into our world," she said.
After the birth
Katarina and her husband welcomed Robert Joaquin Rodriguez Barbers, nicknamed Quino, on August 25, 2021.
"He is a huge baby. And long. I remember feeling his body and legs slither down my birth canal," the beauty queen said.
After her birth, Katarina said she spoke to Coleen Garcia, who lent her the birthing pool. The actress, who gave birth last year, shared with Katarina some of her experience.
"She called the part where the head is engaged to come out of the birth canal the ring of fire. A term that couldn't be more fitting because it felt like my cervix was burning every time I had the urge to push," she said.
When her son arrived, however, the burning sensation was gone.
"I'll never forget how the pain suddenly disappeared when his head came out," she said. "I was shocked that there was no more contractions, no more fire, no pain."
"And there was a tiny little human floating in the water, I felt like an animal, confused as the where he came from, amazed as to how this baby came from me."
'A woman is an ocean of her own'
Katarina also shared her own take on the common description of the contractions as sets of waves.
"I thought of the sets that occur while surfing, trying to catch a wave or survive when you get caught in a set," she said. "But then I realized a woman giving birth isn't experiencing these waves, but rather she is like the ocean, the waves are a part of her."
"Surrendering to my own body reminded me of how Mother Nature calls on the ocean to have episodes like that of giving birth, raging sets of waves, then calm, steady rests in between," she added. "I'll keep this thought forever, a woman is an ocean of her own."
Katarina said giving birth to Baby Quino "must be the proudest moment of my life."
The beauty queen, who was crowned Miss World Philippines in 2018, officially bid farewell to pageants after failing to secure a spot in the Top 30 of Miss World that year.
She was crowned Miss Intercontinental Philippines in the 54th edition of Binibining Pilipinas and went on to represent the country in the international pageant, where she finished as first runner-up.
—Jannielyn Bigtas/MGP, GMA News
