Alhamdulillah.. we've reached 35 weeks! *happy tears* couple more weeks before we get to full term (I'm confused, some say 37? 38? 36?).. and I'd like to jot here that we have officially finished shopping for the baby!
Yes.. *confetti streams* husband went out (by himself!) yesterday to get the final things baby-related.. cot & bedding set (for Shah Alam) and bath tub (for Keramat). Alhamdulillah!
Okay, on to the topic.. fourth talk - Pain Management!
I have to admit, among all topics pregnancy related, this is probably the topic I did not read / study at all. The most I knew (before attending this class) was from blogs, which was just a mention of "epi", "entonox", "pethidine".. and frankly, I was OK with that. Because reading it in detail scares me a lot!
The talk was delivered by one of the 6 anesthetist in PCMC, and he came in with surgery attire, holding a backbone replica. He was soft spoken and funny - a good combination that'll come in handy should I need it later :)
He spoke about labour stages, anesthetist availability during labour and of course all the options we have to minimize the pain. Yes, I cringed but I furiously took down the notes because labour pain is something subjective - to each her own. Some doesn't need it, others have to have it.. Right now the best is to be well-informed, and I adapted 'never say never' state of mind when it comes to this topic. Friends have asked whether I'll take epi but it's too soon to say anything kan?
After all, Allah has decided our rezeki, and all we can do is pray for the delivery to be easy, safe & sound. Insya Allah.
Epidural looks gory.. despite many friends recommending it. Probably the pain justifies needle poking and all. I feel like a chicken surrendering my fate to anesthetist! And this is without thinking about the side effects! Definitely a lot of praying to be done...
Come to think about it, even laughing gas seems scary.. with the risk of baby getting sleepy towards crowning. What I can summarize is that we'd have to know the right timing to opt for any pain management for it to work well.. and first time mothers don't exactly have the advantage of 'knowing'.
Okay, let's go to fifth topic - Newborn Hearing Screening.
This topic is an enlightening.. simply because we (or rather, me) seldom hear about audiologist in a labour room / nursery. There's the gynae, nurses, anesthetist.. but no one I know mentioned about this team. A Senior Audiologist, petite lady, started off this topic with boring (as she vastly mentioned) statistics that somehow I find it scary actually.
Basically at PCMC, they'll conduct few tests to check on the newborn's hearing via a simple gadget. I forgot what's it called though.. I dozed off somewhere this session. Again, this information is very crucial.. I felt like every hospital, private or not, should offer antenatal class with this topic included. I believe every parent needs to be well educated about this, however low the risk may be.. because early detection can then lead to soonest response and treatment.
Sixth topic - Puerperium
It's actually labor stage :) One of the few topics I made sure I didn't leave my seat. She's one of the two female gynaes in PCMC..and I'm happy to report she's one friendly, reassuring lady. If I were to meet her in Cold Storage, I'd probably wouldn't know she's a doctor. She was very engaging, I felt obliged to throw few questions her way. At the time, I even briefly entertained my thoughts on choosing her for my future second pregnancy!
Anyhow, she described the process as something natural.. and that includes episiotomy! Yes, when she threw the figures (90% of Asians will need to be snipped) at us, I was floored and I think my face went white. Oh boy. I then asked her if perineal massage will help to reduce the potential, of which she simply says "there's no harm in trying"
NOT CONVINCING, this massage!
Everyone else in the room seemed fine with it, but hey, I'm not about to deliver next to them, so..who knows what'll happen right? Dr Tan later assured jokingly, that the gynaes know the right timing to cut so that we (patients) won't feel a thing. Nice one, doc!
Somewhere between this topic and previous one, we stopped for lunch, served at Food Galleria downstairs. I ate here once, and I wasn't too impressed so I kinda know what to expect this time around. They served sweet and sour fish fillets, chicken kurma (which I later heard many were complaining it was bland - hello! this is hospital food!), chinese styled veges, and.. ulam and belacan!
I briefly wondered where would husband eat during our stay..
We then continued with antenatal exercise, in a multipurpose room with yoga mats spread out. The session was lead by a nurse therapist, a cheery one at that. She taught us labour stages, breathing exercises as well as simple movements that could help us with easy delivery. Fun session, except the times I couldn't get up. Seriously, one of the nurses remarked I looked heavy and that it looks near (to delivery). I replied that with a teeth-biting-tongue smile.
Finally, the class concluded with a tour to labour room. My feet was tired and hurt by this time, I was practically limping all the way. The therapist told us to make the room as much homey as possible.. but somehow I don't know how to see it that way. Yes, it comes with a TV, toilet, cabinets and all.. But it is labour phase we're talking here, I'm not sure I'll remember the beautiful KLCC view and chicken nuggets when it's my turn later next month? The room also sits a weighing and cleaning station, just next to the bed.. a reminder that the little one's coming along lits up my face. I hope I can psyche myself because right now I just don't know how I'll react to the pain.
They served bread pudding before we adjourned.. and I had two servings of it :) it was sweet, but Milo complemented it very well I thought. All in all, like I said earlier, it was definitely worth it.. every topic presented and room visited gave us the much needed insight of what PCMC has to offer. Sure, it is scary, but I've set my mind to think that it's something I have to go through.. painful or not, to hold our little one in our arms. I'm just thankful we got the opportunity to attend this one :)
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