So there I was in the Labour Room on midnight of 1st Sep. The nurse helped to induce me and was asked to sleep. I couldn't really sleep. The contraction was not that bad but as my husband bunked in with me it was not that comfortable. Morning came and the contraction was still bearable. Dr Aziz came and checked but he said there was no opening yet. By noon, the contraction was a little stronger but it was still bearable. I would say I have experienced something more painful than that. When Dr Aziz came in again at noon, there was still no progress so he recommended for emergency cesarean. He said we could still wait if I want to but he said there is a possibility the baby's heart rate will drop by the evening. So his advise was to have it in the afternoon when both the baby's and my heart rate were still okay.
I agreed to it and by 3.00pm I was pushed to the OT. My hubby was not allowed to go in as it was not a scheduled cesarean. The anesthetist performed local anesthetic and was kind enough to hold my hand throughout the procedure. He was like a narrator telling me what my gynea was doing. At 3.38pm I heard Adam cried for the first time. After the nurses cleaned him, I hold him for the first time. Frankly, I couldn't describe how I felt at that time. There was this 3.74kg baby in my hands with his eyes roaming around the room. I just stared at him not knowing how to react.
When Dr Aziz came to see me later, he told me that Adam's head was still floating and not engaged yet. He said for the my next pregnancy, we will have to check the pelvic opening to know if it is big enough or not. I could not really digest what he said then.
Recently when hubby said he is ready for another child, Dr Aziz's words lingered back. Here are the questions I had and the answers I get when I did my little research to understand the situation.
Q: Why was I induced after only 2 days late? I heard others waited for as long as 2 weeks prior to being induced.
I put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. It was beyond the normal average. Though Dr Aziz did scan to gauge the size of the baby, it might not be accurate. By scanning, he could only estimate the weight of the baby. As we are aware, baby grows exponentially in the final few weeks of pregnancy. If we were to wait for a week, Adam could have grown to 4kg and huge baby not only makes it hard to deliver normally, there are many risks associated with post term pregnancy.
Q: So why was there no progress when I have been induced?
There are 2 possibilities. First is Adam is not ready yet as it was only 2 days after EDD. Only 5% babies are delivered on EDD. 95% are delivered 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the EDD. Secondly, there is a possibility that my pelvic opening is not big enough for Adam to pass through. The size of the opening has nothing to do with one's body frame.
Q: So why didn't my Doctor checked the size of my pelvic opening before he induce me?
I was told that doctors are taught to check the size of the opening using their bare hands. That sounds scary right? Other than that, they could either X-Ray the pelvic bone or do an MRI if you are already pregnant. MRI is expensive! I was told by my sister that in a government hospital in Indonesia, it already costs RM800 what more in a private hospital in Malaysia. The cheaper option is X-Ray but of course it has to be done prior to your pregnancy.
So now, before I am pregnant again, I have to see a gyne to x-ray my pelvic bone. If it is found that the opening is small, I could opt for elective cesarean that would be much cheaper than the emergency cesarean I had before. If it is found the opening is big enough, should the next child(ren) decided to stay longer in the womb, we could wait until they are really ready and have normal delivery.
The reason I had to do the research and all is because we decided to go to a nearer gynea and hospital this time around. As much as I love Dr Aziz and his team, it's not an option as they are too far. It was okay before as there were only hubby and me and I stayed at my father's condo in my last few months of pregnancy. With Adam around, and he might be in school by the time we will have our second child, we have to make a realistic choice and find a good gynea in Shah Alam instead.
P/s: My apologies if I mixed up the jargons and medical term. I am not a medical professional and this entry is explained by what I understand of the situation. Your feedback is most welcome :)
6 comments:
good luck kem! Come n join the club!!
Ehehehe baru 1st time bace blog kem....:)
ko nak gi check size pelvic bone ko ke? masa aku buat pep smear, doctor tu ckp if 2nd pregnancy anak aku x turun bawah jugak likely pelvic bone aku pon kecik & baby x muat.. tp aku tak terpk plak nak gi check size sebenar pelvic bone aku.
thanks emi!
dinna, aku nk check tu sbb dr aziz tu mention dia akan check. pastu aku tanya jugak gp dkt rumah aku.. dia pun kata boleh xray.. aku dah jumpa specialist jugak and dia pun setuju aku x-ray tp x sempat nk x-ray hari sabtu so esok aku ada apmt lagi.. tujuan aku check awal-awal sebab it's a cheaper option :) kalau kecik, terus je elective cesarean so at least dah rm2-3k save kat situ.. and kalau boleh normal boleh go for normal jugaklah walaupun over edd.. so that is definitely rm5-7k cheaper kut.. cost x-ray x kan sampai rm1k :)
oh tak pernah terpikir perlu check pelvic bone tu..oh tak sabar nak tau next story..=)
tulah.. masa pregnant x tau pun boleh ukur pelvis ke apa... tp sebab doc dah mention dulu kan so tu yang study sket...
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