I was in my 40th week of my first pregnancy when my obstetrician-gynaecologist (ob-gyn) said to me, “You’ll have to come in for induction tomorrow morning as your scan shows a damaged organ, either the kidney or liver, in your foetus. This way, we can then deal with your baby’s condition earlier.”
As it was my first pregnancy, I just followed her advice. Luckily, my mother-in-law, who was living out of town and had volunteered to be my confinement lady, arrived ahead of my due date.
After the checkup I went home and packed/prepared myself for the big and, I dare say, painful event. Thinking back it was strange that I wasn’t scared or worried thus I was able to sleep well.
Upon waking up the next morning, my mother-in-law asked me to eat breakfast. However, my ob-gyn had already advised me against it just in case I needed to undergo a caesarean section which was recommended because of my high blood pressure during pregnancy.
So, I just had a chocolate drink and my husband sent me to the hospital. Having settled in at about 9am, I was administered with an injection to induce labour and soon … too soon, I was experiencing back muscle spasms. After a while, I couldn’t tolerate the painful sensation although it came and went. My husband reported this to my ob-gyn and she then offered me an epidural.
Every now and then the nurse came in and examined my cervical dilation. This went on for six hours plus when at long last I was wheeled into the delivery room. By then I was weak, starving and numb, like a zombie. But wait, the torture wasn’t over yet. With guided instructions from my doctor and the nurses and additional encouraging support from my husband, I pushed and pushed and pushed. But my baby refused to come out, perhaps knowing it isn’t such a beautiful world after all! Haha ….
Since the second stage of labour did not progress adequately, my ob-gyn then performed the vacuum extraction. Phew! I was so relieved when my baby was drawn out, weighing a bundle of 3.6kg.
I left my fingernail prints in my husband’s palm. I was gripping his hand for dear life during labour; so much so that he reminded me to trim my nails before our second son was due.
Today, our “Ultraman,” due to his oblong shaped head as a result of the vacuum device, is a healthy 22- year-old young man.
Khim 10
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