Camille Naredo

The Aguilar family. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

The Aguilar family

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741687408975031125_aguilar family.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The Aguilar family. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News"/>The Aguilar family. Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News</div>MANILA -- Jiu-Jitsu master and Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar took on an unexpected challenge when he personally delivered his third child with wife May Masuda at home.Aguilar and Masuda had planned a water birth for their daughter, Aria, after consulting with a Russian doula. The couple, already parents to seven-year-old Aielle—a two-time Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu World Champion—and three-year-old Axie, wanted a more natural and peaceful birthing experience for their third child.&quot;I was looking into water births because I saw how calm and meditative they could be. Usually, childbirth is portrayed as something extremely intense, and I wanted to experience something different,&quot; shared May, who had previously undergone a C-section for Aielle and a hospital birth with an epidural for Axie.At first, Alvin was hesitant, but a conversation with a neighbor who had successfully undergone a home water birth changed his mind.&quot;Our next-door neighbor had a water birth with the same doula. She was pretty convincing when I spoke to her. I agreed, but I told May—if anything goes wrong, even a little, we&#x27;re heading straight to the hospital,&quot; said Aguilar.Despite their careful planning, things didn&#x27;t go as expected. One morning, May began experiencing labor pains. The doula was called, but heavy traffic prevented her from reaching their home in time.Meanwhile, Alvin had rushed to pick up their daughter, Aielle, from school, as he had promised she could witness the birth. By the time he returned, labor had progressed much faster than anticipated.&quot;When I checked on May, the baby was already crowning. As soon as I opened her legs, Aria just popped out,&quot; Alvin recalled.There was no time to get to the birthing tub. In a matter of seconds, Alvin found himself delivering his own child.Holding his newborn daughter for the first time, Aguilar was struck by the reality of the situation.<iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFx0F0pTpeP/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A9520621.099999905%2C%22ls%22%3A1501531.5999999046%2C%22le%22%3A1501920.0999999046%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1050" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>&quot;When she came out, I was worried. I had seen babies crown before, but I wasn&#x27;t sure what to do next. She was incredibly slippery, and I almost dropped her because she was at the edge of the bed,&quot; he admitted.To make matters worse, when baby Aria was born, her skin appeared gray. It reminded Alvin of the time his firstborn, Liam, was delivered blue and not breathing. Unsure of what to do, he frantically called the doula, who was still on the road.&quot;She told me to massage the gray areas, so I did. Each time I massaged her, her skin slowly turned pink. That&#x27;s when I realized how important that step was,&quot; Aguilar recalled.But the ordeal wasn&#x27;t over yet. The placenta had not fully detached. Over the phone, the doula instructed Alvin on how to pull it out safely.&quot;I asked, &#x27;Do I pull it like a chainsaw? Or slowly?&#x27; She said to go slowly. I kept saying, &#x27;It looks like it&#x27;s going to rip!&#x27; But eventually, it came out,&quot; he said.With no sterile container on hand, Alvin had to wrap the placenta in an adult diaper until the doula arrived an hour later.Despite the chaos, both mother and baby were healthy. Alvin, still covered in blood, was in shock but relieved.&quot;Right after that, we went out for coffee. It only hit me later—Oh my God, that just happened,&quot; he said, still in disbelief.May, grateful for her husband&#x27;s composure, praised him: &quot;He was super calm under pressure.&quot;Less than a month old, baby Aria has already taken her first plane ride to Bacolod for a wrestling event. Next, she will be flying to the United States with her family for Aielle&#x27;s international competition, followed by a trip to Japan for training.Will baby Aria and second child Axie follow in her champion sister&#x27;s footsteps?&quot;For sure!&quot; say her proud parents.

Jiu-Jitsu master and Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar took on an unexpected challenge when he personally delivered his third child with wife May Masuda at home.

Jiu-Jitsu master and Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar took on an unexpected challenge when he personally delivered his third child with wife May Masuda at home.

Chief of PH wrestling federation delivers own baby at home

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Chief of PH wrestling federation delivers own baby at home

Dyan Castillejo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 11, 2025 06:23 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

Alvin Aguilar

May Masuda

Wrestling Association of the Philippines

home birth

martial arts

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