As I stepped into the final weeks of my pregnancy, my gynae advised me to go for an elective cesarean delivery of the baby because of the breech presentation of the baby. By week 38, we have scheduled for baby Jeslyn to be delivered on 15 Sep 2008, Monday, with the thought in mind that I would like to enjoy the Mid-Autumn festival on 14 Sep before going into motherhood. I had prepared mooncakes and good tea for a romantic evening with my hubby. However, on 14 Sep, 6 a.m., when I was tossing in bed, trying to get up for a quick bathroom trip, I thought I pee'd in my bed. There was so much water coming out of me. All I could do was to quickly shout my hubby out of his sleep. Then we rushed for towels and more towels to control the gush of the water. My waterbag had burst! After that was a rush to the hospital.
At Thomson Medical Centre, I was rather disappointed with the service at the labour ward. I informed the nurse that my waterbag had burst and that I was supposed to have a C-sect delivery because of breech presentation. And urged them to quickly call for my doctor because this was unplanned and the doctor needed to be recalled back to the hospital. The nurses did some routine checks and poked needles into me. After 30 mins, when I asked one nurse who came to me whether they have called the doctor, she said not yet and they do not intend to do so until they certify that I am really going into labour, e.g. more than 2 cm dilated, etc. I was really anxious and urged them again to call my doctor. Once again, a few nurses came and went, doing a few checks here and there. Then one of them told me I am 3 cm dilated and having contractions every 2 mins, and that they will call the doc in. "What?!" I screamed in my mind. It was almost 45mins to an hour since I was admitted. With my limited medical knowledge, I thought that when the waterbag burst, it was almost certain that you need immediate medical attention to prepare for labour. And since my case was to be a cesarean ops, then definitely my doctors are needed. I felt the nurses should have notified my doctor, while in parallel, they can carry out their routine checks. If this was the case, I would not have ended up delivering my baby 2 hours after the time I entered the labour ward. This is something which I am really disappointed with such a well-established, top-of-the-chart hospital in Singapore.
Doesn't she look like an angel?
This is when I first hold her. Her smile melts my heart. It just tells the mother that all is worth going through just for us to meet. This is the wonder of life!
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