Newbie

Too much has happened in the past two weeks. It was such a whirlwind of activities that I have no chance of even logging into the internet. Whew...ALhamdulillah, now things have wind down a little. InsyaALlah, I'll get more opportunitites to update myself on the ongoing activites of my fellow friends in the blogging world. I'll also try to fill in on some of the activities which had kept me busy fo these past two weeks :)

During the Thaipusam holidays, we visited MIL in Shah Alam. During our last day of visit, while we were getting ready to come home to Perak, we got news that my SIL is in labor. Hmm...dah alang2 menyeluk pekasam..biarlah sampai ke pangkal lengan...iya tak. So, we decided to postpone our travel plans and wait until the baby is born before leaving for home. My SIL went into the hospital before noon, during her regular weekly check-up, her OB/Gyn had advised that the baby is coming soon as her cervix was already 3 cm dilated.

As this is her first baby, we estimated that she'll probably have her baby sometime before maghrib...meaning a 7-8 hours of labor. In the meantime, we busied ourselves with cooking & cleaning to pass the time hoping that the baby will be delivered soon. My MIL kept calling the father-to-be every odd hour or so to check up on the progress of the mother & baby. As the contraction were not coming along, the OB/Gyn has decided to fasten things along by breaking the mom's water bag and inducing labor. Usually, when the water bag is broken and some induction drug is taken, it'll be an hour or two before the baby is out...right?

Unfortunately, all through the evening and night, the baby has not been delivered. The doctor even tried using the vacuum. Still, no sign of the baby. Finally, after all energy has been exhausted from the mom, they opted for surgery. The OB/Gyn prepared the OP theatre and the mom was wheeled in. ALhamdulillah, a little after isyak, the baby was born safely through ceaserean section. 3.75 kg baby boy. What a big bouncy boy... Allahuakbar. No wonder his mom was having such a lot of difficulty in delivering him normally. May ALlah grants her the most reward for going through such an experience. SubhaALlah, she went through both a normal birth and also a C-section. Verily, Allah is most merciful & does not make us go through anything in life for no purpose.

THE VIRTUES OF PREGNANCY (IN ISLAM)

· When a woman is pregnant with a child, all the angels will make Istighfar (repentance) on her behalf. Allah SWT will, for each day of her pregnancy, write for her 1000 good deeds and erase from her 1000 bad deeds.

· When a pregnant woman starts to feel the pain from contractions, Allah SWT will write in her records as someone who is doing jihad (spiritual or physical struggle) in His path.

· When a woman becomes pregnant by her husband and he is pleased with her, she obtains the reward of a person engaging in fasting for Allah SWT and a person spending the night in ibaadah (worship).

· A woman from the time of pregnancy until childbirth and weaning the baby, is like the Mujahid (someone fighting in the path of Allah, swa) who is stationed on the frontiers of the Islamic land. If she dies during this period, she dies the death of a shahid (martyr).

· Two raka’at salaat performed by a pregnant woman is better than 80 raka’at salaat performed by a non-pregnant woman.

· A woman who is pregnant gets the reward of fasting during the day and of doing ibaadah (worship) during the nights.

· A woman who gives birth gets the reward of 70 years of salaat (prayer) and fasting. For each vein that feels pain, Allah SWT gives her the reward of one accepted hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah).

· If the woman dies within 40 days of giving birth, she will die as a shahid (matyr).

(Hadith)…….”A woman that dies in her virginity or during her pregnancy or at the time of birth or thereafter (in nifaas) will attain the rank of a martyr”

Nabi(salalaallahu alayhi wassallam) is reported to have also said “…….When her labour pains commence, the inhabitants of the earth and the sky are unaware of the stores of comfort that are prepared for her. When she delivers and breast feeds her child, then she will be granted a reword for every gulp of milk, if she had to remain awake during the night for the sake of the child, she will receive the reword of emancipating seventy slaves in the path of Allah Ta’ala. O Salaamat! Do you know who these women are? They are pious, upright, with a delicate nature yet obedient to their husbands and not ungrateful to them”

[Source: Madrasa In'aamiyyah]

C_Section Birth ( Illustration only - Images may be distrubing to some)

So much pain & trouble to bring this baby boy into this world. InsyaALlah, in the end, the reward is priceless...