I've got a pretty intense story to share with you. During my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with a heart defect. The doctors immediately told me that my delivery would be a disaster for me. Why? Well, I couldn't give birth naturally because in my second delivery, I had symphysis pubis dysfunction and had to get a plate inserted to fix the damage to my pelvis. So, my pelvis bones wouldn't be able to spread apart for the baby to pass through. That's not all - I also had some issues with my spine, which made it tough for the anesthesiologists to administer the epidural. They couldn't find a suitable spot to inject the anesthesia, and the last resort was a general anesthetic. But, with my heart condition, that wasn't an option either.

So, I went through endless tests and searches for alternatives. There's this one clinic in St. Petersburg, Almazov, that specializes in heart treatment. People come from all over Russia to get treated there, and I was lucky to get a spot, but only after a few months. I didn't have time to wait, and the doctors were all over the place with their diagnoses, none of which were specific. They wanted to operate on me while I was in labor, which wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

Naturally, the idea of free delivery was out of the question.

They operated on my heart a month before my due date. They cleared the blockage in my vein, restored my blood flow, and confirmed that I didn't have a heart defect after all. However, a general anesthetic was still not an option.

My husband spent ages searching for a doctor, visiting different maternity wards, and talking to everyone. He finally found a doctor who was willing to take me on, but we couldn't meet her before the delivery. She called me a couple of weeks before the due date and said she was ready to take me on. We met her in advance, and she assured me that it would be a planned C-section, and I'd have my own anesthesiologist from the 'Mother and Child' clinic.

During our conversation, she kept reassuring me that everything would be okay, and we shouldn't worry about the worst-case scenario. She told me that the cost wasn't an issue, but I can tell you that it was roughly the same as what I'd pay for an anesthesiologist from the top clinic in St. Petersburg. We also had to pay for some private tests before the delivery, including an ultrasound, fetal monitoring, and blood tests, all of which were done at the 'Mother and Child' clinic.

The day of the delivery, I was told to arrive at 5 pm at the clinic.

The staff was super friendly, and they all called me by my first name. They were all very reassuring, and I felt confident that everything would be okay. My husband was with me the whole time, and he held my hand throughout the process.

At 5:30 pm, the anesthesiologist arrived to introduce himself and explain the plan. He showed me the X-rays and explained how he'd administer the anesthesia. The most important thing he told me was to try not to move when he inserted the needle. There were about 20 people in the operating room, including neonatologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons, assistants, and nurses. My husband was freaking out, thinking that something would go wrong, and I started panicking too. They bent me over, and I had to hold onto my knees with my huge belly. The anesthesiologist started administering the anesthesia, and someone was doing an ultrasound (I'm not sure what they were doing). I was shaking like a leaf, my pulse was racing, and my blood pressure was all over the place. They decided to sedate me before my first cry, as my vital signs were all wrong.

I woke up when they took the baby away. I heard the first cry, they were weighing, measuring, and taking pictures.

I was lying there crying, my husband was trying to calm me down, he was told to sit by my head and not get up, he kept saying, 'You're a rockstar! We did it! It's all behind us!' He was stroking my hair and kissing me, and the baby was screaming in the background.

My son grabbed my cheek with his tiny hand and fell silent. When I let him go, they handed him over to my husband, and he spent the golden hour with him on his chest. They stitched me up and took me to the recovery room, where I had a private room with a dedicated nurse.She didn't leave my side, and we ended up staying in the recovery room for 12 hours instead of the usual 7 because the C-section was in the evening, and they don't transfer patients from the recovery room to the ward at night.

The nurse, like everyone else in the recovery room, was doing her job with warmth and care.

- She kept bringing me water.

- She helped me get up.

- She constantly took my blood pressure, temperature, drew blood, and monitored my condition.

- She put a compression bandage on me.

- She made sure I didn't get bored

The Ward.

Single room.

The cost of the room was 4500 rubles per day.

The food was the same as everyone else's, no special treatment, and my room was at the end of the ward, so they brought me food last. One time, they even forgot to bring me any.

When you've just given birth, and the milk comes in, you're waiting anxiously for the food cart, counting down the minutes, and after giving birth, hospital food seems so delicious that you want to swallow your tongue and ask for seconds, even if it's just porridge or soup made from one liter of water.

I gave birth on July 22 in the middle of the heatwave, and there was no air conditioning or ventilation whatsoever.

The room had a separate shower and toilet.

I escaped the heat in the cool shower and was ready to live there.

Everything was simple and clean.

The room was cleaned twice a day.

In the toilet, there was wet toilet paper and regular toilet paper.

My baby had a standard crib with tilt and heating (at an air temperature of 34 degrees)

For us, the delivery was just for the birth, the anesthesiologist, and the hospital room. The staff was amazing, but I also had a free birth, so I have something to compare it to. The most important thing is that we're all alive and healthy. It was way less stressful, and I'd definitely do it again.

I have to say, one of the best things was that my loved ones could visit me anytime. The others weren't allowed to, though.