After eating breakfast and kissing my daughter, Idhamu-san drove me to UMMC (If it had not been because of the complications I had during my pregnancy, I would have chosen a hospital nearer to my apartment. if Idhamu-san had his way, I would only have a traditional midwife to assist me during the delivery.Haha.nobody won in the end.) I was glad that both my mom and dad were at home looking after Neesa chan. Well, at least my daughter was in good hands...
I arrived at the labour ward slightly before 8 am. I checked-in and was rudely told by the woman sitting at the front desk to pass the clothes I was wearing and everything I had with me to Idhamu-san (I was slightly annoyed because I had with me a small bag which I was told to bring during my last visit to the Antenatal clinic. In it was my toiletries, air selusuh and some reading materials coz I knew it would be hours before I would feel any contraction after the induction. I was more annoyed with the tone of her voice. Nasib baik the lady was pregnant. Or else I would have given her a piece of my mind. Sabar, sabar... dah nak beranak dah ni. Banyak-banyakkan bersabar...)
Idhamu-san left after I handed him everything,including my handphone. As he left the labour ward, I was thinking of a way of contacting him when the time comes. Sensing my worry, a kind nurse told me that my husband had been given the number to the labour ward and was asked to call every 4 hours. What!?! He had to call them??? Every 4 hours???What if there is a complication??? How would he know?? What if......
I stopped worrying when the doctor came to induce me.Hey, she recognized me! La.... my friend from MU rupanya! 3Rd College,POWER!!!.Ramainya manusia yang familiar kat sini.I even met a former student who was doing her internship at the labour ward during my last 'visit' there. At this point, I was beginning to feel more at ease. In addition, all the nurses at the labour ward seemed very kind and helpful (except for the one sitting at the reception area). InsyaAllah, like Neesa chan, I would also be in good hands...
As I had nothing else to do, I did what I think would be lacking in the next 4 or 5 months. SLEEP.
I did not sleep so soundly as the nurses kept checking the CTG to see my progress. Besides, the lady next to my bed was making all sort of noises. We were both induced at the same time and her contraction seemed more frequent than mine.
I asked for the phetidine to be injected at around 12 pm. 5 minutes later I was so drowsy that I felt asleep.
At 3 pm, the doctor came to check on me. He told me that my cervic was 6 cm dilated and broke my water bag to reduce the pressure. (Alamak! I can't remember exactly when my water bag was ruptured but I still know exactly how it felt at that moment. LEGAaaaa.....) He then told me that it would be another 4 hours before the labour comes. When he added that it may be shorter than that, I started to panic and told him to contact Idhamu-san. He , on the other hand, handed me HIS handphone. Thank you kind doctor whose name shall not be revealed here.
When I managed to call Idhamu-san, he said that he would come after work. I insisted that he come straight away, sensing that the baby is on its way.
True enough, by 4pm my contraction was getting more frequent that I was clinging on the mask, while inhaling all the entonox (I did not request for ephidural due to unknown reason.perasan gagah dan macho, kot?) But the pethidine was much more stronger to the extend that I asked for short naps in between the contractions (ntah pape..same cam kes masa branak kat Neesa chan). The Iranian and Malaysian chinese housemen told me not to as it would make the labour process slower.
Slow as it might had seem, by 5.07pm I managed to push Khaireina chan out of the birth channel into the world.Phew! I was thinking of how fast the whole process was compared to my first delivery when I sensed that something was wrong. The two young doctors were having problem 'extracting' my placenta and blood for the G6PD.
As they were struggling, I could feel that my back was wet. The next thing I know is that I was surrounded by so many doctors, who initially had to attend to various other patients giving birth at the same time.
My body was soaked with blood and the floor was also flooded with my blood. Dr. Yip took over and examined me. He told me that my uterus was not contracting and my cervic might be ruptured.He also told me that he could not perform any operation in the room as there were too many people and the fact that I was panicking made it difficult for him to find out the cause of the bleeding. The best thing to be done was to wheel me into the operation theatre where I would be anesthetized. So there I was signing the approval form with my bloody fingers.
Dr Yip calmly explained the procedure to me as he instructed the nurses to get 3 pint of blood from the blood bank to be sent to the OT (it was my lucky day that the OT in the labour room only operates during office hours and I had to be sent to the OT at the other end of the building). He told me that if my cervic was badly ruptured and could not be stitched, they might have to take it out. What?!?I was getting cold and still sleepy to the extend that I was warned by Dr. Yip to stay awake.
The nurses kept talking to me as they wheeled me to the OT. I was too drowsy but still managed to smile at my family when I passed them by at the entrance of the labour ward. I could see Idhamu-san's worried face as Dr. Yip was explaining to him what was happening. I could also see Mak's face turned white as the doctor briefed them (I found out later that she was worried that I would end up just like the daughter-in-law of our ex-neighbour who died after childbirth due to excessive bleeding)
All I could think of during the short journey to the OT was DEATH.
I was surprised to see that everything was ready for me at the OT. In a split second I was being anesthetised from waist down and a bunch of surgeons were hovering me. Then I did what I was NOT supposed to do -passed out.
When I woke up, I was being wheeled back to the labour ward. The nurses told me that I had to stay there so that they could monitor me. I was too weak to ask anything except for my baby. They told me that my baby was in the nursery in the maternity ward. I could only see her the next day, if the doctor say that I am fit to be transfered to a normal ward.
Dr Yip came later to inform me that everything was fine. The operation took less than 1 hour. They had stitched everything that needed to be stitched.But another doctor (whom I found later to be an Indonesian Chinese specialist) told me that they found traces of fibroid during the operation. Ye ke ni?? Well... I remember that he was in the OT with Dr. Yip. Whatever it was, I was too sleepy to ask him further and decided to interrogate later, at a more appropriate time. I was just too glad to be alive. And I can't wait to see my 2.8 kg newborn who appeared to be smaller by half a kilo than her sister.
....to be continued.
(pic taken when she was 10 days old)
(pic taken when she was 20 days old)
