The Labour, part 1

Hi Baby,

We got to the hospital about fifteen minutes past 7, mommy was feeling very relaxed… in between contractions. Daddy managed to find a parking space and we made our way to the maternity ward. Daddy wondered whether we should go to the labour ward instead, but mommy felt contractions wasn’t strong enough to warrant heading straight there.

The duration it took from leaving the house to walking to the maternity ward resulted in daddy having very squeezed fingers as mommy held on to him when the contractions hits. When we waited for the elevator doors to open up, a bed was pushed out of the elevator, a person had passed away as the blanket was pulled over his face and they were heading towards the surau for the body to be cleansed. We stepped into the elevator and I thought it was poignant that there I am in the stage of about to give birth to life and there was a life taken.

When we got to the ward, mommy had the sudden need to pee and headed straight to the toilet and told daddy to tell the nurses what had been happening. When mommy was done and made my way to the nurse station daddy said we might need to go in straight away after they check mommy out.

I went into the room and a kindly old nurse helped mommy onto the bed, the attending nurse checked the cervical opening and said it was about 4-5cm already and timed mommy’s contractions to every ten minutes apart. She left the room and the kindly old nurse helped mommy off the bed and even massaged mommy’s back because of the pain when contractions hits.

When mommy came out of the room and back at the desk where daddy’s been waiting all these while, the attending nurse was on the phone with the labour ward, and was told mommy should go in. The nurse told us to wait while they get someone to take us there. In mean time mommy sat down and watched the going on in the maternity ward while daddy went outside for a breather. That was when I sussed out the ward was split into two, one side held the expecting mommies and the other held the mommies who just gave birth.

While waiting a nurse took mommy’s blood pressure and body temperture. Daddy came back in and not long after a nurse told us to follow her and she had mommy’s prenatal records in her hand.

We got to the labour ward and passed by the waiting area where several anxious looking daddies were waiting. We pressed the doorbell and waited. After a while the nurse said the other nurses must be busy inside and told us to wait there while she went around the side to let us in.

The door opened and mommy stepped in while daddy had to wait outside for a while until he gets called in. Mommy was feeling slightly anxious and followed the nurse in. We walked a short corridor and I was ushered into a room. A midwife said mommy need to take off everything and put on the gown provided and then they’ll hook me up. I figured better head to the toilet first because we don’t know how long the wait is. The midwife told mommy where the toilet was and told mommy not to lock the door just in case. While in there, mommy changed into the gown.

Back in the room - Room No. 3, mommy got onto the bed and another midwife strapped mommy onto a CTG machine and hooked mommy up onto an IV saline drip. After I was all hooked up only then was daddy allowed to come in and we waited.

I thought maybe I could snack on some crackers and bread to keep energy up, but wasn’t allowed any food darn it. Fortunately mommy also packed a milo drink and I had sips of that in between contractions, good thing Auntie Elaine reminded us to pack a straw for easier drinking. Daddy got to eat the cheese sandwiches mommy packed for him, so it was good that he got something to eat as we don’t know how long we’ll be there.

The midwife who attended to mommy was very nice, she monitored mommy’s contractions and noted that they were short, about 35 seconds. She said I needed the contractions to be at least 40 to 45 seconds. After an hour of monitoring she decided to help mommy’s contractions she injected something (mommy forgotten it now, I remembered it that time…) into the saline solution and hooked the tube to a monitor and she punched in ‘2’ and every half hour the number doubled.

At first mommy wasn’t too bothered with the contractions, was still able to hold a conversation with the midwives and daddy. Daddy was good, he ended up being a consultant for the midwives regarding loans and such and they asked him lots of questions.

For mommy the midwives were great, whenever mommy’s contractions hits one of them would massage mommy’s back and another would massage mommy’s tummy. The cramping feeling in the tummy wasn’t so bad compared to the killer back pain I was experiencing at the same time. The stronger the contractions the worse the back pain got. While they were doing that they also said a doa so it was most comforting spiritually.

Physically, I was doubled up in pain. I thought the N2/O2 mixture was enough to help, man I was wrong. At one point I even asked daddy if it was just a placebo effect. The tank was next to the bed and I used a mask to inhale the gas, it reminded me of my diving breathing apparatus. The mask also served another purpose, because daddy was sitting a bit away from mommy, I used the mask to knock against him to get his attention to get him to help massage mommy’s back. Daddy at that time, somehow was asleep! He said the gas did it.

Prior to that, the midwife told mommy if I like she could also give mommy an injection to help with the pain, pethadine, and mommy that time didn’t think I’d need it, so said maybe later when I really need it. About the time when mommy was about 6cm dilated after several hours of being in pain the midwife asked again if I wanted it because if I take it any later something something… I think that it’ll be too late for it to work was the reason. I said yes because the back pain was getting unbearable. I vaguely remembered a needle being stuck in.

To be continued...