Despite initially begging for an epidural, Khairun opted for giving birth without drugs. Read on to find out why…
Khairun’s story of giving birth without drugs
I went to see the doctor and she told me that I might be pregnant! So we took two more urine test and both showed positive results. I was astonished because my first urine and pregnancy kit test had shown negative results!
I found out about my pregnancy in the most unique way…during a routine check up in Singapore General Hospital, where I work. The first test didn’t show any signs of pregnancy, so I happily went on to do an XRAY, without realising that I was pregnant.
While I was extremely excited I was also a little worried as I had done the XRAY. The doctor sent me to see the Gynae in SGH immediately. Miraculously, the XRAY had not affected my baby and I went home to share the good news with my family. You can only begin to imagine how delighted my husband, Tahir and I were to know that I was pregnant.
Let us know your thoughts on giving birth without drugs in the comments below!
Great Expectations of Giving Birth
The pregnancy progressed swiftly for the next few days, but suddenly it took a turn for the worse. I started bleeding like I was having my menses. I also couldn’t walk or stand for long. The longer I stood or the further I walked, the more I bled.
I was so confused and so weak. Fortunately I had very supportive superiors at work, who granted me a month of no pay leave due to my unfortunate situation.
While the bleeding stopped once I hit the 16th week, the nightmare did not end there. I started to bleed again sometime during the 28th week. Because of the erratic bleeding, the Doctors thought that I might have a pre-term delivery, but to God’s grace I managed to carry my boy to full term.
Read the rest of Khairun’s story of giving birth without drugs on the next page…
Giving Birth
In the 39th week, I headed back to SGH, to have a detailed check-up with my gynae; Dr Michele Lee. She was a little alarmed that I hadn’t experienced any real contractions. So I was sent to the labor ward for a CTG as well as a scan, to check my water levels. Only then did my gynae realise that my water bag had actually broken!
Since I had not yet dilated, I was given a choice of prostin which they inserted through my vagina. I was told to walk around so that I could dilate faster. At 7am the next morning, my cervix had only dilated to 2cm. I was so frustrated and requested to be induced by 8am, which my gynae agreed to.
I started to feel the pain of contractions at about 2pm and by then my cervix had already dilated to about 4cm. At about 5pm, I was 7cm dilated. By then I decided to take an epidural. Upon hearing my decision, my mother, who the kind staff at SGH had allowed to enter the delivery room, said this to me,
“Ayu, if you could prove your love to me, dad and your son please not take epidural”.
After hearing that I decided to skip the epidural, and opted for pulling my husbands tee shirt and grabbing his hand for dear life! At around 9pm, I started to push. My gynae, who was trying to be supportive said, “Pace yourself Khairun, this will take about an hour or so…”.
I was so stunned and could not help but yell out, “What, another hour of suffering???” During the final moments, senior midwife Zaiton was such a big help. She was shouting, “I see the head! I see the head!!” which made me continue with the pushing all the way, until I heard my son’s first cry!
When I first saw my baby I started crying so loudly that even my gynae joked that “I thought your supposed to cry while pushing?” But I couldn’t laugh or answer her…I was simply fixated on my little bundle of joy. My little prince. The whole world was suddenly empty. It was only me and my little boy.
Now that I think about it, the whole pregnancy journey was such a surreal experience. I am so glad that I had such a supportive husband. I would not have been able to do it with out him. And while the pregnancy was quite rough, I have no regrets. I can’t wait for us to have our number two!
In a nutshell:
Baby’s name: Ahmad Hassanudin Thaha S/O M. Thahir.
Date of birth: 7th September 2007
Weight and height at birth: 3.14kg and 51cm
Daddy-yo’s perspective:
How was the pregnancy journey?
It was lovely at the same time scary.
Advice from a husbands’ perspective?
Have mercy to your spouse during labor! Please! *laughs*
Any regrets?
I would be out of my mind if I were to say that I had regrets.
How did you feel when you first saw your child?
No words can explain the amount of joy that I felt. I was happy, proud, glad and afraid. Such a weird concoction of emotions.
Did the experience bring you guys closer as a couple?
Definitely! How could I not be closer to her when she has given me a heir from my family’s bloodline? I am so proud of my wife as she is a strong woman, both mentally and physically.
If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the topic, please share them in our Comment box below.
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