Here you go, a super long post about my awful labour and delivery process that took about 9 hours.
I was told to report to the hospital for a scheduled induction 4 days after my due date. YES. INDUCED LABOUR! My baby felt too comfortable staying inside my stomach I guessed.
Reached Columbia Asia Hospital at 8.15am and got to know that all the labour rooms were FULL. Luckily they had reserved a room for me although they prioritized those patients with contractions.
Changed my clothes and nurse started to do fetal monitoring by taping two sensors with adjustable straps to my stomach.
These are the functions of the machine- to check on fetal heartrate and my uterine contractions. The reading was printed on paper for monitoring purpose.
After making sure baby’s heartrate was ok, I had an enema (some fluid injected into the rectum via anus for the purpose of clearing out the bowels). This is to avoid pooping during the birth process (pushing time) and to prevent contamination. Imagine how embarrassed if I poop when the nurses, midwives and doctor are in front of me?
Waiting for my OB to come. Super nervous!!!
9.30am- My OB came and did an internal examination and I were told that my cervix had dilated 3cm. OB straight away broke my water. It was EXTREMELY PAINFUL (I wasn’t given any pain relief and totally conscious).
You know what happened next?
My whole body (especially legs) started to tremble and shiver after water breaking. I was totally clueless for this unexpected incident and just hope it could stop ASAP. Perhaps I was too nervous and scared when OB broke my water. This continued for about one and a half hour until I felt the pain at lower abdomen due to stronger contractions.
9.45am- Nurse got ready with all the needles and tubes to collect maternal blood (for blood test purpose as I signed up the cord blood banking package). After this I was given an intravenous drip to stimulate cervix dilation.
Nothing can be done but just to WAIT and WAIT
11.00am- I told nurse that I wanted to PEE. Since I was on the drip, I couldn’t go to the washroom and thus she passed me a plastic tray, opened the cloth that covered my private part (felt so embarrassed) and placed the tray below my butt.
Imagine how you could pee when you are lying sown? I’m not a baby. All the while I only pee when I sit or squat and now they wanted me to pee in this lying position? I tried very hard (about 5 minutes) but failed and with the help of my hubby, I sat on the plastic tray on the bed and the first thing came out wasn’t urine but the amniotic acid. The nurse came in and offered me for catheter. I refused because I wanted to try again and I waited for about 10 minutes, then only released successfully. The nurse told me it was very common to have problem in urination during labour process.
12.15pm- Started to feel the pain on my lower abdomen. After checking by my OB, I was told that my dilation had reached 4cm. OMG! So slow, how many hours I needed to wait to reach 10cm? The nurse felt my pain from my facial expression and body language and thus, she offered me to take a dose of pethidine (pain relief that was included in the delivery package). She told me injection for pethidine or epidural was not encouraged after cervix dilation reach 6cm as this may not be good for baby. If I wanted EPIDURAL, I gotta make decision now as she needed to inform the anesthetist.
I was in hesitation whether to choose epidural because a day before, an experienced midwife told me epidural had side effects and even caused paralysis. At the end, I chose to take pethidine first. If it didn’t help in relieving pain, then I could ask for epidural before 6cm.
Injection of pethidine was done on my left thigh and the nurse brought in a gas cylinder that worked to relieve pain.
This was the gas that helped me indulging in sleeping mode!
When contractions started, I called my hubby and he would then place the mouthpiece at my nose area so that I could inhaled deeply. Once the contraction had passed, then my hubby would removed the mouthpiece.
Very fast, I felt sleepy and not that conscious. It was much less stressful to get through each contraction and time seemed to go by faster.
This was the gas mouthpiece. I didn't even know when my hubby took this photo. I was in SLEEP MODE (∪｡∪)｡｡｡zzz
Time passed and I heard midwife told my hubby that I was 5cm dilated. I didn’t know what time at that moment because I was busy sleeping. I even forgotten that I needed to make decision for epidural before dilation reached 6cm.
I felt like peeing again. This time I was smart! I straight asked the midwife to give me a catheter. She inserted a small tube into my bladder through urethra. Not really painful I would say. When she was done, I could hear the sound of urine flowing out from my body to the drainage bag. This was 100 times better than the pee tray honestly. So fast and comfortable!
Around 3.40pm, I heard someone told my hubby “8cm” without knowing what the midwives or OB did to me. It’s 8 cm OMG! And this time, I only realised that I hadn't ask for epidural. And I could bear with the pain up to 8cm.
In my mind:"2cm to go, I can make it!"
I was so happy! I couldn’t wait to hear OB/nurse to tell me it’s already 10cm!!
When I was trying hard to survive from the pain, something HORRIBLE happened! My right leg cramped! WTF! Why I got leg cramp at this moment!!! The aching leg made me so frustrated and kept telling hubby that it was so painful. I asked my hubby to massage my leg as usual when I had leg cramp especially at night during pregnancy. Luckily the cramp lasted for about one minute if not I just couldn't imagine how I cope with the double pain.
Contractions were getting closer and increased intensity. I kept changing my positions to ease my pain. I didn't cry or scream. For me, the pain was still bearable with the help of pethidine and gas. Although they didn’t provide full relief from labor pain, they still could cope with the pain by lifting them out of it a little.
Around 4.15pm, midwife told me that I had dilated 10cm. Finally, 10cm! Getting more and more painful! Midwife asked me to change position by lying on my left side, then pushed my stomach to help baby’s head to go down the birth canal I guessed. After that, the midwife asked whether I felt like pooping and I said yes a bit.
Perhaps I inhaled too much of gas, I was still very sleepy and a bit out of control although the pain was so intense ~(>_<~) Midwife taught me how to breath and push but this sleepy mother seemed very stupid and couldn’t push correctly. At first, I opened my legs wide and pushed facing front, but midwife told me I used the wrong pushing technique and I was then lied on my left side to push. After several times of trying, they asked me to push by facing front again. Legs were tied on the bed this time. I kept practicing until the midwife said I did it right. Super tiring and 100 times more painful than water breaking ٩(×̯×)۶
I hated pushing!
Yes, all the people went in the room also can see my private part. It was so embarrassed but as a lady, this is thing that we gotta face when giving birth.
After 15 minutes, the midwife told me to push harder as she could now see my baby’s head!
And in my mind, I thought everything would end very soon but who knew that she kept asking me to push till I was exhausted and almost gave up because she kept saying I pushed wrongly. Why couldn’t they say something more motivating? And I was a little unresponsive due to inhalation of too much gas and made me very hard to concentrate. My mind kept telling me: “Why can't you let me sleep since my OB is not here yet?”
At about 4.45pm, I told nurse to get my OB because I got no more energy and I wanted OB to vacuum out my baby. The nurse then replied : “ Doctor is at next room doing stitching.”
OMG!! Meaning I gotta wait? I didn’t know what to do but to wait and while waiting, trying hard to push. Getting more and more lazy to push after midwife left my room because I knew I wouldn't be able to push the baby out.
Finally OB was here after 20 minutes and he sat down in front of me, did an injection at my vaginal area, then CUT! I could hear the cutting sound although I was a bit blur. But don’t worry, it wasn’t painful at all.
Felt some pain when OB inserted the vacuum and that time, I used all my energy to PUSH and very soon, I felt something came out from down there. Hmmm….. The feeling was just indescribable. And I saw my baby carried by a nurse and I confirmed it’s a BOY. I felt so relieved after baby was emerged from my body. He was a bit in purple color (quite horrible look) but I didn’t bother much because OB still busy working at my down part.
Hubby followed the nurse to make sure our baby was okay and of course to take a few photos of our baby.
After placenta, umbilical cord and other membranes were detached and expelled, OB started to stitch the cut. The stitching process was another pain. Hmm…. It’s a kind of pain which was different with the pain caused by contractions.
Just couldn't believe that I had vaginal birth WITHOUT epidural!
Finally I kissed goodbye to the big bump! (＾▽＾)
After stitching, a nurse carried my baby came in to the labour room and showed me how he looked like. Perhaps I was too tired and the blur caused by the gas, I didn’t request to get him in my arms.
All the while I thought my baby was 3.1kg as what OB told me during last check up but what I heard in the labour room after they took my baby out was
3.52kg
Here's the proof!
So much difference OMG! I just couldn’t believe it! I guessed my OB told me the wrong weight previously because how could my baby gain so much of weight within one week time?
After got our request to change to single room approved, I was then transferred to the ward and slept for an hour until my mum and parents-in-law arrived.
I was too tired and exhausted after delivery, and didn’t bother to see my baby that night. But hubby showed me his photo.
He was just cleaned up by the nurse and his little hands were still in a bit purple color. I'm now a mother to this little boy. It's just so unbelievable and incredible!
After going through the long and painful birthing process, something came into my mind.
“This is the last/only time I am going to do this! Next baby must go for c-section!”
But very soon, I have FORGOTTEN the pain. The maternal instinct has changed my mind totally.
If you're like most women, the pain of labor and delivery is one of the things that worry you about having a baby. If you ask me, I would say it's so painful and I have yet to find words that can accurately describe it. After my baby being pushed and vacuumed out from my body, I felt like I was REINCARNATED. But trust me, it's not that horrible and excruciating. Once you see your baby, you will forget the pain.
And don't be surprised to see your sagging and loose tummy after delivery. It will shrink gradually. The use of postpartum belly wrap (bengkung) that I mentioned in previous post can definitely help.
Spent about 8 hours to come out with this post as I gotta recall the process that happened 6 weeks ago. Hope this long post can help all the mum-to-be to understand the delivery process better and you all must be brave ok?
And lastly, thanks for all the wishes and concern. LOVE YOU ALL!
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