There were 6 beds in the emergency ward section. And, each of the patient was also hooked on EFM. Urgh.. the EFM were producing a lot of noises (babies heartbeats and other sounds from the mothers’ tummies).

Pregnant mothers were in and out during the 12 hours period. While I was there, I noticed:

1. A middle-aged Malay lady was in great pain due to strong uterus contractions. However, she controlled herself from screaming, just sighing. The doctor did a vaginal exam and her cervic opened 5 cm. she was immediately pushed to the labor room.
2. A young Malay lady admitted in emergency room due to water leaking but no contraction at all. Vaginal exam showed cervic not open yet at week 37. That was her first pregnancy too.
3.  An Indian lady just next to my bed was in great pain due to strong contractions. However, her cervic just opened 1 cm, with no progress after 8 hours. She was screaming “ayo, ama..ama..oooh” throughout the night. I couldn’t really sleep because of her moaning noise.
4. A Malay young lady aged 18 and was at 28 weeks of pregnancy. She couldn’t pass urine and was in great pain. She was crying and screaming like crazy for her mommy. The doctor put her on catherer and pushed her to the labor room immediately. I believed there were going to induce her.
5. A Chinese lady who just gave birth through c-section was admitted due to strong pain at her incision after day 3. I heard the doctor said it could be caused by her appendic not the incision wound.
6. A few others pregnant ladies who were at ease and cool despite all the chaos in the emergency room!

One thing that I noticed while in the emergency room was, if you don’t want the nurses or doctors to do frequent vaginal examination (VE) on you (which is so uncomfortable and scary), you just need to control your pain. Don’t scream or tell the nurses that the pain is too much for you to bear.

A specialist gynae was called to check on me. He only arrived at 11 pm and quickly scanned my tummy. Turned out that I was still having that Plancenta Previa Major stage II. Most of my placenta was on the right side but still covering my cervic. So, normal vaginal birth was out of consideration.

Our Lil’ Bundle of Joy

The doctor talked about trying to postpone my birthing for another week. But, after checking my amniotic fluid again with a spetulum, he immediately ordered an emergency cesarean section at 8 am the next morning.

I was allowed to have a light drink at midnight but from 4 am the next day (31st March 2008), I was asked to fast again for the operation. I soaked seven Sofy Bodyfit 35cm pads that night!

On 31st March 2008 morning, a Malay lady surgeon came to scan my baby status.

She said my water bag ruptured on the left side with my baby lying in transverse position (melintang). She noticed my amniotic fluid was not much left due to the heavy leaking.

The surgeon asked my hubby to come in and explained that they’ll perform an emergency c-section at 8 am. And, will give general anasthesia due to the placenta previa major which may cause me major bleeding (tumpah darah). 3 pints of blood were already reserved for my operation.

And, she said that since my amniotic fluid was already too little, it could be quite hard for her to take the baby out. I stayed calm but my husband looked disturbed. Later (post-operation) he told me that he was almost crying when the doctor told the possible problems of my operation. Oh honey!

I was prepared for the operation. The nurse put me on catherer so that I didn’t have to get up to pass urine. She also shaved some of my bikini line hairs. I was hooked on an IV drip again, And, was changed to an operation room’s white gown.

Then, I was asked to moved myself to a trolley bed three times.

• from emergency room bed to trolley bed
• from trolley bed to operation room trolley bed
• from operation room trolley bed to operation room bed

I remember seeing my hubby waving bye-bye to me as he was not allowed to be with me during the operation.

I took a one day annual leave on 28th March 2008 (Friday) due to a strong feeling to have a good rest before checking into Hospital Sungai Buloh on 31st March.

You see, due to low level of hemoglobin (red blood cell counts) and Placenta Previa Major Stage II (uri di bawah), I was scheduled to be warded after my 34th week of pregnancy. This is critical for monitoring me and my baby as I could have a premature labor or a major bleeding.

That Friday, I took the opportunity to pose for some pregnancy pictures. I realised I don’t have any pregnancy pictures taken to show to my lil’ baby!

So, using a tripod and both my Olympus digital cameras (DSLR E-500 and compact u725 SW), I took a few pictures of myself. I was my own photographer. Yes, really!

If not mistaken, I was already leaking my amniotic fluid (air ketuban) that day. However, the amount was so little and it was a clear water, making me thinking that I couldn’t control my urine.

You see, since early pregnancy I wore panty liners due to lots of vaginal discharge. In the beginning, I used the panty liners purchased at the local store. Then, I changed to cloth panty liners that I bought from an online store.

Wearing those cloth mini pads made me easy to monitor the discharge.

That night, the clear water discharge was more frequent and it soaked a panty liner each time. I changed 6 cloth panty liners in 8 hours.

On 30th March 2008 (Sunday), I was feeling restless. And, began to suspect that the water discharge was actually my amniotic fluid leaking. Especially, when the discharge that day contains some traces of greenish substances.

Was is meconium?

At 2 pm, my hubby came back and bought Kentucky Fried Chicken. Turned out that was my last KFC before my baby was born. We quickly ate the chicken and my favorite cheezy wedges before going to the hospital.

The amniotic fluid leaking was getting heavier that I need to wear a thick pad (Sofy Body Fit 35cm). The pad soaked in minutes!

I was admitted into the emergency labor ward of Hospital Sungai Buloh immediately.

The doctor on duty used a spetulum that was inserted into my vagina to check the water discharge. I was indeed leaking the amniotic fluid with traces of meconium.

That means, I was at risk of these complications:

1. infection - baby could swallow the amniotic fluid with meconium (the reasoning behind why a mother is ‘on the clock’ to birth within 12 to 24 hours when the water bag releases naturally)
2. fetal distress (rapid head compression when the water no longer provide a cushion)

I was ordered to fast for 4 hours and was hooked to an IV drip containing magnesium sulphate to ensure that I remain hydrated.

And, I was also belted for the mandatory 20-minute strip on the external fetal monitor (EFM) so that my baby’s heart rate can be monitored. The EFM kept me in bed, making me felt so uncomfortable. My baby was kicking and moving aggressively as if she didn’t like her privacy been invaded.

Anyway, the seismograph produced by the EFM showed my lil’ baby’s heartbeat was normal (not in distress).

I was given two steroid injections in 4 hours interval on both sides of my butt to help maturing the baby’s lung. And, two doses of antibiotic injections to fight the possible infection.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Here are the updates of my pregnancy since week 17.

1) 13th December 2007

Appointment with Klinik Kesihatan @10 am. We reached the clinic too early at 8am and have to wait quite sometimes for our turn. The procedure at Klinik Kesihatan is somehow fixed.

First, take a queue ticket at the front counter and clip your Buku Merah with the small slip. Put in the box according to your appointment time (8am, 9am, 10am, 11am etc).

Then, the nurse will call and give back the Buku Merah. Go to the lab for urine test.

After the urine test, weigh yourself and then wait for your ticket number to be displayed on the screen.

Then see the nurse for interview/advises, fundal length measurement, breast check, baby’s heart beat check and blood test for hemoglobin.

After all these, only then you can see the doctor for ultrasound and final checkup.

NOTE:

My hemoglobin level still low at 8.5. The nurse gave me Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Calcium Lactate and most importantly, Ferromed - to increase my red blood. My placenta is still lying low (seems it is completely blocking the cervic). Baby is growing well and healthy!!

2) 18th December 2007

Appointment with Hospital Sungai Buloh @9 am. Another cycle of urine test and ultrasound. Doctor said to wait until 28th weeks to see whether the placenta has move up. If it is still low, I need to be prepared to have bed rest in hospital for the rest of my pregnancy!!

Huwaaaa! I don’t want!!!!!

3) Appointment with Klinik Kesihatan is now schedules once in two weeks. Better get the earliest appoinment at 8am LOL!

4) 28th December 2007

Appointment with Klinik Kesihatan @9 am. Urine test - normal. Blood test showed my hemoglobin dropped a bit from 8.5 to 8.4 despite taking the Ferromed pills that caused me constipation!!

I was quite depressed because I’ve been forcing myself to eat a lot of high-iron food and iron pills that irritate my stomach BUT no improvement at all in my hemoglobin level. What was wrong?

The nurses (yes, nurses not doctor) debated on what to do. Alas, they took my blood again for further blood test to find if there is any abnomalities with my blood. The blood sample is sent to Hospital Tunku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang. Result will be known during next visit.

Hmm.. I believe the Ferromed pills that I took were not absorbed by my body because I consumed it with Calcium Lactate which is a Calcium supplement. Calcium is known to hinder iron absorption!!!

Now, I take Ferromed on empty stomach with Vitamin C in the morning. And, Ferromed with Ribena juice (contains lots of vitamin C)and eat oranges with dinner at night. And, take Calcium Lactate with milk at 3pm every day. Seems that my strategy is working because my stool no longer turns black due to non-absorption of iron. And, I no longer constipate.

I also eat a lot of high-iron food such as red meat, green vegetables, dried fruits, crab soup and cockles.

Hopefully, my hemoglobin level will rise to 12 during the next visit to Klinik Kesihatan!!!!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

I went to see Dr K at LPPKN again on 20th November 2007. My pregnancy is now about 15 weeks plus.

As usual, the nurse took my weight and blood pressure. And, some blood for blood test. I was asked to go to the 10th floor for urine analysis and the blood test.

The lab girl handed me the result of my test and I was a bit concern when I saw my Hg count dropped from 10 to 8.5. This looked not good ;0

And, it was really not a good news. My hemoglobin level (red blood) was so low and I was diagnosed as having moderate anemia. Meaning I don’t have enough iron in my body to produce red blood.

Another issue was my placenta was lying so low, very near to the cervic. And, the baby’s head is on it as if it is its pillow. My baby’s progress is great, measuring 8.9mm at 15 weeks.

Due to the low lying placenta and low hemoglobin level, Dr K decided to discharge me a month early from LPPKN. She issued a letter to my choice of hospital for further ante natal care and delivery.

The low lying placenta can cause bleeding. The bleeding will not harm the baby but it is fatal to me because my red blood is so low.

I need to eat more iron fortified food to increase the level before my next appointment at the hospital.

Some research on internet regarding low-lying placenta reveals that this is common for pregnancy under 7 months. And will normally corrected itself as the womb grows.

—-

A low-lying placenta is not an uncommon finding on second trimester ultrasound scan. As many as 15% to 20% (one in five to six) of pregnancies have a low lying placenta. Fortunately, only 5% (one in 20) of these remain low lying at 32 weeks and only one third of those are low lying at term (37 weeks). After 28 weeks, a low lying placenta is known as placenta praevia.

The vast majority of pregnant women will have their placenta issues resolved by the time labour starts and will not have any problems.

—-

So, what should I concern is to increase iron that is necessary to produce more red bloods because the baby is taking the iron from me.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Now I’m in the second trimester already. And, I’m so happy!

However, new pregnancy complications start to emerge. I got flu, cold and mild fever a few days ago. And, yes - sore throat and cough.

I was struggling to breath when sleeping because both my nostrils were blocked with thick mucus. And, I felt really bad because I can’t take any medicine to clear them up!

Except for some Vicks Vaporub and Vick Inhaler - which do no good - there was nothing else that I can do.

When the cold and flu went away, I got these terrible itchy rashes all over my belly! My belly now is swollen red with little bumps/bristles. Almost every night I woke up feeling the urge to scratch and scratch!!

I tried not to scratch but sometime I scratched in my sleep.

My husband bough me a medicated powder and I applied it on my belly. What a relief. The itching stops but not completely. It will come again and I starts to pour more powder on my belly. And, later I felt my belly skin so dry and tensed up.

Oh my God! Help me please.

Luckily, a month ago I bought a C-Mama Healing Salve by EarthMamaAngelBaby from an online store. The box said it can heal surgical wounds, strech marks, burns, existing scars, inflammations and RASHES. I originally bought the salve for my leg scars.

So, I applied the salve all over my belly. Amazingly, the itching stops. And, my belly skin feel moisturise again. But, sometimes I felt a burning sensation on certain parts of the skin. It is as if the salve is acting to heal the rashes.

It has been a week since I suffered from the itchy rashes. And, it has been two days since I applied the healing salve. I thinks my belly looks better today. It is written on the box that it will take 2-4 weeks for rashes to be healed.

Ooh.. that long eh? But, 2-4 weeks is better that having to suffer the extremely itchy belly for the next 7 month, right?