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"Push!" Sara said firmly, as she placed a hand on Amona's belly, feeling the contractions. Amona groaned in pain, but obeyed the command, bearing down with all her might.

"Good, good, keep pushing," the physician encouraged from the foot of the mat.

The pain was intense, the kind that made her want to scream at the top of her lungs. But her screams were muffled by the napkin held tightly over her mouth. She tried to focus on her breathing, but each contraction made it harder to catch her breath. Sweat poured down her face as she clenched her fists, gripping tightly onto the hands of the two women holding her.

Her entire body trembled with each wave of pain, and tears streamed down her face. She couldn't think about anything else but the agony coursing through her body. She tried to remember what the physician had told her, to push when he said push, but even that was becoming difficult to comprehend. All she knew was that this pain was unbearable, and she wanted it to end.

As each co