2: 30am
We were expecting our first baby on 14 Sep 2007 so this was like any other night, which later turned out to be a big surprise. On our last antenatal appointment, our appointed Senior Consultant Dr Lee LC told us that the baby may come anytime from now and to get prepared.
Three signs that our baby is coming:
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Water bag burst
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Traces of blood
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Contractions with two-minute intervals
After a visit to the toilet, there were signs of water flowing out. My wife woke me up and we were both unsure what to do. As more water flowed out, I guess this had to be it. Anxiously, we washed up, got changed and drove to the hospital.
3:00am
Reached KKH Women’s A&E Department, alerted the sleepy staff at the counter and they took my wife to delivery ward. Paperwork for admission was done in 10min and we moved into the delivery room. My wife started to feel the pain then.
3:15am
Within minutes, Senior Midwife Nancy entered the room, introduced herself and gave us a short briefing of what to expect. It was then that we realized, we’re going to be parents very soon. Though for every case, the time of delivery really depends on the mother and the baby, but when asked, Nancy estimated that our baby will arrive in another eight hours(How accurate!). Nancy was very helpful and her steadiness calmed our nerves a little.
A few young doctors entered the room, one after another, asking the same routine medical questions and filled up a few forms. We were asked to decide on the following options:
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Deliver without anesthetics
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Oxygen Mask-type pain relief. (Generally, this is about 10-15% effective)
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Pain Relief injection to the thigh. (Generally, this is about 40% effective and only lasts two to three hours.
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Epidural Analgesia. (This is one of the most effective and reliable ways of relieving labour pain. Pain relief is accomplished by injection of drugs through a small tube attached in the epidural space within the backbone canal. We were told this is about 80% effective)
The attending doctor explained that babies born before week 37 are considered premature. My baby was at week 36 – a few days premature to be exact. He reassured us by saying that our baby would not require any special care as he was considered mature enough. (I learnt that babies delivered before week 34 would require ICU care.)
The opening was measured at 3cm at this point. Dr Lee LC was kept updated on the progress.
4:00am
As the pain set in and within shorter intervals, my wife started to moan in pain. Barely one hour after arriving at the hospital, my wife requested for the Epidural Analgesia. An experienced anesthetics practitioner arrived shortly and asked me to leave the room for twenty minutes. I was surprised not to hear any moaning from the room when the procedure was done. (My wife has needle-phobia)
4:15am
The pain relief was almost instant and 100% effective. The midwife told us to get some rest and save some energy for the delivery.
7:30am
The hospital staff changed shift, we said goodbye to the night team and the day team introduced themselves.
9:00am
We were glad to finally see Dr Lee LC entering the room. Her assistant checked and the opening was measured at 9cm at this point. The midwife started to set up the room and prepare for the delivery.
10:25am
There were traces of blood at this point and the pain returned. We were briefed on the steps involved and position for delivery. When the opening reaches 10cm, my wife was told to push when the pain came. She held a deep breath, hugged her knees and pushed. No progress.
10:45am
Maybe the epidural made her body muscles weak or perhaps due to the inexperience, progress was slow while precious energy was wasted. Dr Lee LC was very encouraging and patient with the mistakes and failed attempts.
10:50am
Finally, she pushed the correct way but the progress was very slow as the baby would move back inwards when my wife ran out of energy. We had to wait for the next contraction to try again.
11:00am
Several attempts were made and my wife was getting tired. I started to get worried about the slow progress.
12:00pm
Slowly, I could see a small part of the baby’s head. My wife got very exhausted at this point. The midwife and I were also exhausted.
12:15pm
Dr Lee LC asked the midwife about the time spent. It was taking longer than usual (more than an hour already) and that could pose danger to baby and mother. Dr Lee explained to me that she had to use the vacuum to assist in the delivery. She told me that the baby’s head would be a little longer than normal but it would regain the normal shape in a few days. I signed on the consent form and the procedure started.
12:20pm
With the vacuum suction attached to baby’s head, a pair of surgical scissors was used to cut my wife’s flesh. Blood gushed out profusely and finally I could see the baby’s shoulders. I looked at my wife’s expression when the cuts were made and realized she didn’t even know what happened. But it was not an easy thing for me to watch. Shocking.
12:23pm
The rest of the baby’s body were out in a several seconds. I looked at my baby and was worried about the look of the head. After many stitches on my wife’s wound, it was finally over. It was quite messy by now with blood on the floor and bed, even the epidural wound was bleeding.
I stopped looking at the clock now. The delivery team left, the cleaning team came and did their duties. Next came the “Baby Doctor” as they called her. She just said the baby was ok.
My wife was given lunch but vomited after a few bites. After trying unsuccessfully to breast-feed for the first time, the three of us were moved to the ward on level eight.
