Zayd's Birth Story - Part 1

Masa entry ni ditulis, genap Zayd berusia sebulan. Alhamdulillah, after a very testing few weeks, skang rasa mcm life dah bole adjust, and we are all recovering and coping well. Ni nak cuba cram kan cerita birth story Zaydni. Kalo x tulis karang lupa, huih… sayang kalo lupa. Cerita Aisyah kakak dia written in full here, so harus la ada juga untuk adik Zayd kan. Ceritanya pjg, but will be cut into several parts. Ok, memandangkan selama ni pregnancy adalah quiet2 sbb nak surprise, tau2 dah announce bersalin, so kita start cerita birth ni from dah balik Msia lah until ke bersalin lah ye. Cerita awal pregnancy tu, entry lain (writing in reverse order dah ni hehehe).

Ok, I flew back from UK at 34 weeks pregnant. Kalo 35 weeks, dah x bole fly dah, so mmg debar sgt2. Spjg kat UK, I was tested for diabetes, high blood pressure, (yg normal2), semua came back negative dan x de masalah, which was what I had hoped for sbb nak fly ni, kalo Dr x bg surat sokongan kata everything A-OK with the pregnancy, x lepas naik flight that late in the third triemester. The only thing yg ala2 memelikkan my midwife was, masa 31 week gitu, my fundus height (bahagian teratas rahim) was measuring slightly higher than my gestational age by 2 weeks. Makna nya, rahim tu bersaiz besar 2 minggu drpd sepatutnya, but she wasn’t too concerned sehingga nak suruh aku gi scan, so she dismissed it. Di UK, scan hanya dibuat pada minggu ke-12 dan ke-20 shj. Kalo x de apa2, nnt dkt2 nak bersalin baru scan skali lg sbb nak scan kena gi hospital. Kalo checkup antenatal biasa2 dkt klinik aje dgn midwife. So dgn itu, Alhamdulillah lah, selamat aku fly 12 jam atas kapal terbang.

Lps balik Msia seminggu, aku pon gi cek dkt klinik biasa yg bole buat ultrasound and monthly antenatal visit dkt umah aku ni. Cek punya cek, semua ok, hinggalah time aku selak baju nak scan. Dr terkejut sbb perut nampak cam besar and full term dah. Bila dia measured amniotic fluid aku, hah, sah lah aku ni polyhydramnios (air ketuban banyak). Aku mulanya x heran sgt sbb masa pregnantkan Aisyah pun dah kena diagnose dgn polyhydramnios dah,tp x de apa2 masalah pon, but bila Dr tu buat full check, quadrant by quadrant, she came to an AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index) of 36.0. Ini cukup mengejutkan sbb org normal2 biasanya AFI 18 pun dah cukup tinggi, that late in the pregnancy air ketuban akan makin kurang sbb baby takes up much space dah kan, tp baby aku ni bole buat renang berirama lg dlm perut sbb dia floating2 gitu. Mula la aku panic, apatah lg Dr tu ckp aku la patient yg paling tinggi AFI dia pernah terima spjg dia kerja as doktor, mana x cuak! Terus dia tanya plan aku nak bersalin kat mana, then dia tulis referral letter sbb dia kata aku perlu pergi consult specialist dah, x leh continue antenatal checkup dkt klinik biasa2 dah after this huhu… Siap bgtau awal2 lg, apa risiko polyhydramnios ni, antaranya kalo air ketuban dia keluar secara gushing, umbilical cord bole terkeluar awal sblm baby engage, then baby bole lemas. Dah la masa scan tu Dr tu ckp tali pusat terbelit satu round dkt leher. Mmg x bole nak maintain cool dah masa tu!

Within the next few days gi la Hosp Serdang plak, cek dkt Klinik O&G dia. After lama berzaman menungku, they told me what I already knew, mmg kes aku Severe Polyhydramnios, tp bole lg nak bersalin normal, cuma kena be quick kalo pecah ketuban je terus dtg hosp. Aku mcm x puas hati sgt penjelasan diorg, sbb bunyi mcm berisiko tggi baby bole lemas bagai, dan rahim dah menipis anytime bole pecah ketuban nya, tp suh tggu air ketuban pecah sendiri baru dtg. Xde preventive method ke apa ke? Dah la Dr yg first scanned aku tu mulanya nak suh admit ward terus for monitoring sbb terkejut tgk AFI  yg off the chart, tp bila dtg Consultant dia ckp x yah plak hmmm… Mana satu yg betul ni? Bahaya ke x bahaya kes aku ni? Tp dah dia bg next appointment pd 7/3/13( x logic sbb due date aku 11/3/13, and diorg ckp x kan sampai EDD lah perut dah besar mcm tu), maka baliklah aku ke rumah dgn perasaan yg lebih bingung drpd sblm gi hosp tu.

Sbb xpuas hati, gi la cek private plak, dkt Hosp An-Nur. Dulu bersalinkan Aisyah kat sana, so dah ada record bersalin kt situ. Dr Fatimah ckp, mmg air ketuban byk, and baby pon besar (at 35 weeks+, dah 3.1 kg, and hujung2 mmg keja baby ni menambah berat aje la, so baby can reach 3.5 kg+ ni). Dia ckp lg, kalo di bawah jagaan dia, most likely c-sec, sbb masa anak 1^st pon Aisyah berat dia masa lahir dah 3.8 kg, so adik pon most likely mcm tu, ditambah dgn mmg isu polyhydramnios tu lg. Tp Dr x set tarikh ke apa la, just that dia akan monitor weekly sampai la full term (37-38 weeks most likely).

So again, x de instant penyelesaian, so balik la rumah duk diam2 for the next few weeks. Risau mmg risau, tp tetap la pergi kerja. Contractions pon on off dah rasa, selalunya around 1 – 4 pg la, dtg selang 7-10 minit for a few hours tahap x leh baring, kena duduk, so mmg kerap la x brp cukup tido.Nak2 perut mmg berat n besar, posisi apa pon dah x selesa. Biasanya kalo sakit tu aku panic sorg2 jer,x kejut Hubs sbb rasanya false alarm je. Still manageable, tp takut la, kot2 sakit tu followed by spontaneous rupture of membrane kan. Mmg berdoa sgt, kalo nak pecah ketuban, semoga berlaku bkn di pg hari kerja, sbb dasyat jam nya nak menghala ke hospital tu, ada 40 minit baru leh sampai huhu…

Satu pg Sabtu around 37 weeks, aku bgn lps azan Subuh nak solat, tgk2 ada dah kuar mcm lendir plus darah. Aku suspect mucus plug la. Nak kata for certain, x sure sbb Aisyah dulu pon c-sec sbb failed induction, so x pernah la kuar tanda bersalin. Anyway, sbb x sure and sbb x sakit tu, lengah2 la jg. Around pkl 10 pg baru decided nak gi hospital. Itu pun berenti mkn kt kedai dulu hehe. Dah kenyang, baru gerak gi Dewan Bersalin Hosp Serdang.

Ok depa amik kes aku. So masuk, spt biasa, first thing diorg buat was amik air kencing. Then suh tukar pakai kain batik (sila bwk sehelai kain batik ye from rumah kalo dah nak gi Dewan Bersalin tu). Then amik blood pressure. Then they hooked me up to the CTG machine tu kan. Woop woop woop … dgr jantung baby sampai la 30 minit. Pastu Dr dtg tanya history, blah blah blah. Bunyi mcm kejap je proses dia kan, tp utk setiap task tu, ada menunggu 30-45 minit kot. Aku sempat solat Zuhur, Asar dan Maghrib nak tggu abis tau. But staff nurses diorg mmg kelass, byk dan peramah,siap suh solat dkt ruang solat staff lg, pinjam telekung apa semua. Cuma nak buat mcm mana, mmg overloaded dgn patients, yg nak beranak hosp ni, so sabar je lah.

Then kena tggu Medical Officer dia dtg utk scan.MO dia adalah sgt garang and ada attitude okeh. Dtg2 je marah2 semua nurse kat situ, then scan aku (which dia komfemkan mmg ada polyhydramnios), pastu tanya  with an exaspersated note, ‘Awak ingat awak bole bersalin normal ke?! Air ketuban mcm ni byk. Diorg x cakap ke kat awak sblm2 ni?’ followed by ‘Masa lps operate yg first dulu diorg x cakap ke keadaan rahim awak mcm mana? Ok ke? Bole bersalin normal lg ke? Awak x tanya ke?!?’ Aku rasa x de org kot yg tanya Dr x pasal2, ‘Eh Dr, rahim saya ok ke?’ Nak2 first baby, org dah hulur baby and bill suh checkout tu, cpt2 la checkout kan, x soal byk lg.Tp aku x amik hati la, jwb je la, ‘tak’. Mmg x de org ckp apa pun, dan mmg x tahu apa2 pun kan hehe.

Lps tu MO tu buat vaginal examination. Still 0 cm, tp cervix dah soft kata dia. Ok, now masa utk dia consult aku. Kalo awal2 td nmpk mcm dia ada attitude yg satu mcm, skang dia appear very professional. Dia ckp baik2, bgtau risiko2 utk kes aku ni. Dia bg choice samada nak bersalin normal atau c-sec. Kalo normal, risikonya, kalo x get to hosp in time bila air ketuban pecah, bole jd  tali pusat yg keluar dulu and baby lemas. Dia bole induce and rupture the membrane artificially,but since baby is now estimated to be 3.5 kg, chances are, I might end up with a c-sec anyways. Risiko c-sec plak is more to the mother lah, dia ckp. Since xde record previous c-sec ended up mcm mana, they don’t know status rahim tu camne. Takut2 ada komplikasi like bleeding, then maybe kena buat blood transfusion, or worse, hysterectomy (nauzubillah!). And of course, bila dah c-sec twice, the following deliveries semua c-sec jg, so bye bye VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caeserean). And max no of births pon maybe 3 or 4, lps tu they will suggest for BTL (Bilateral Tubal Ligation, or ikat la, kata mudahnya). Aku tanya la Dr tu, mengikut expert opinion, mana lg baik? Dia kata, dia x leh bg jawapan, tp kalo dia, personally dia amik c-sec, sbb elective c-sec (EL LSCS) adalah lebih baik drpd emergency c-sec (EM LSCS). Dr suggested aku diskas dgn Hubs, then let her know. Kalo nak c-sec, she will schedule one for me ASAP and release some consent forms for me to sign. Then off she went.

Pening jgk nak decide. Last2 Hubs kata focus kat pregnancy yg ni je dulu, and c-sec seemed most obvious. So once dah decide tu, kitaorg kena tggu lg sejam lebih kot baru Dr tu re-appear sbb dia pegi deliver baby org lain dulu, guna vacuum lg so tu psl lama. Kan? Mmg short staffed (and shortage of facilities jgk la hosp ni, kesian aku tgk, poning staff dia yg ada). Anyways, Hosp Serdang buat planned c-sec every Weds and Friday, and since Rabu tu dah penuh, diorg ckp amik Jumaat la. Hopefully perut aku bertahan. Kalo x sempat, Dr ckp, just dtg la, they’ll do an emergency c-sec on me. Boring sbb kena tggu extra 2 days, tp at least bersalin hari Jumaat, plus tarikh yg dia bg tu jatuh pada 1/3/13, konon2 tarikh lawa so nevermind la mehhh…

Nervous gile nak sign consent form sbb risiko yg mcm2 dia list kan, and once kita sign tandanya dah faham segalanya and x leh nak blame hosp lg kalo apa2 yg disenaraikan tu terjadi. The only plus thing is that, scheduled c-sec konfem ada katil punya. Satu hari dia set aside 6 beds utk c-sec. heh, jgn x tau, kalo bersalin normal ada kes x de katil duduk kat wheelchair okeh? Or duk atas trolley tepi koridor sampai la Wab Bersalin kat atas ada katil kosong. Mula2 masuk Dewan Bersalin lg dah they make you signed this form saying that you acknowledge katil x cukup and you are willing to be placed kat mana2 temporary area.

Ok nanti sambung lg part 2, bila dah admitted... :)