Apa yang anda risaukan dalam 2 bulan terakhir ini?

Orang kata, bila masuk 7 bulan je.. semua dah kena siap sedia. When I was 7 months pregnant, walaupun dah siap beli baju semua..tapi still ‘malu-malu’ nak simpan beg dalam kereta.. Nanti orang kata semangat gila pulakkan. Sekali, I was threatened by preterm labor, masa nak pergi hospital itulah baru terhegeh-hegeh masukkan beg baby. Masatu pun sangat yakin yang sakit tu takde ape2 and boleh balik rumah. It turned out, kene admit kat hospital.
So my advice, MEMANG KENA BERSIAP SEDIA bila dah masuk 7 bulan tu. Bila masuk 8 bulan, and berbekalkan experience saya yang diserang contraction haritu, memang asyik terfikir je – it could happen at anytime! Oleh itu, semua neuron di otak sebelah kiri dan kanan bersatu-padu menghasilkan 1001 soalan – soalan pertama: Adakah saya akan rasa macam nak labor bila sedang makan rendang di kampung tercinta hari raya nanti walaupun due saya sepatutnya 1/10? Sempat ke nak sampai ke UKMSC dengan jem hari raya atau kene bersalin kat Hospital Kuala Pilah? Uwaaaa..

What you may be wondering about in 8 months and counting…

Braxton Hicks
Masa tengah pregnant ni, macam hot stuff betul si Braxton hicks ni.. Everyone is talking about it. Sikit-sikit Braxton hicks. Maybe ada yang dah start rasa or maybe belum. It begin sometime after 20th week of pregnancy. Braxton hicks ni macam rasa contraction jugak, tapi selang masanya lama.. bukan macam kite dah dekat nak labor. There are few ways nak differentiate Braxton hicks with the real contraction:
- Selang masa Braxton hicks lama. Mungkin rasa perut bunch up and harden once in half an hour
- Sakit masa Braxton hicks akan disappear kalau kita ubah position. Kalau tengah baring, cuba berdiri and berjalan

If the contraction don’t subside with a change in activity, then selang masa jadi lebih cepat.. maybe u can feel the tight sensation every 5 mins, you may be in real labor!
Tips : If you have more than four Braxton Hicks in an hour, silalah telefon gynae anda untuk bertanya. Jangan main-main with early contraction yang kita ingat Braxton Hicks it can lead to preterm delivery.

Baby’s Position
Susahnya hati kalau baby not in the appropriate position by this time. At least, biarlah kepala baby dah kat bawah. Tapi still banyak scenario where sekarang ni baby masih lagi in inappropriate position for labor, tapi ada kemungkinan jugak baby akan ubah position a few hours before labor. So kalau at 7/8 months ni baby belum lagi ke bawah, my gynae advice buat ‘ketuk ketampi’ or squat nak urge baby turun ke bawah. Maybe you can try.

Vertex

- Baby’s head down and curled in the "fetal position,"
- Head will be in your pelvis and his chin to his chest
- Some will move to the vertex position during labor
Though this is the optimal position for birth, tapi ada jugak isu lain – sama ada baby’s face is anterior or posterior

Anterior

- If he is facing your back
- The favored baby position
- Allows the baby to most easy maneuver through your pelvis and out into the world

Posterior

- If your baby is facing your front
- Baby’s spine will be along your spine and her face towards your front
- can create "back labor" - is a backache during labor
- Most posterior babies will turn during labor, but a very few will be born face up - called "sunny side up!"
- Tips : If the baby position is persistently posterior, avoid sitting back in chairs. Try to adjust yourself so that your belly is hanging in front of you, or lay on your side leaning slightly forward.

Frank Breech

- Baby's bottom is down
- Baby’s legs facing straight up and flat against the face

Footling Breech

- One or both legs pointing down

Transverse

- When the baby is lying sideways in the uterus

Oblique

- When the baby’s head is pointing toward mom’s hip instead of toward the cervix.

Driving Now
Sebenarnya boleh je kita drive walaupun perut dah menggunung ni, as long as – You can fit the driver’s seat! ;p
So adjust la both kerusi and steering kereta tu, kalau short distance tak jadi masalah. Kalau long distance pulak, tukar2 lah position if lenguh. Berhenti kat RnR, buat senaman ringan sikit hehe.. At least you can get up and walk around. TAPI, jangan pulak drive sendiri ke hospital while in labor walaupun hospital anda dekat.

Tapi, kalau kita tak buckle up, polis saman tak?

Making Love Now
Auwww.. malu!
Macam-macam pandangan orang pasal ni, ada yang kata ‘Jangan’ dan ada yang kata ‘Silakan’. Are you confused yet?
Actually tak banyak research pun pasal sex in the late pregnancy. It is widely believed that neither intercourse nor orgasm alone triggers labor unless conditions are ripe. If the conditions are ripe, it’s been theorized, the prostaglandins in semen might be able to help get labor party started. If you’re still in the mood – PROCEED! =)
The best thing to do if you still unsure, check with your practitioner to see what the latest consensus is and what’s safe in your situation – especially to those who are at high risk for premature delivery.

Weight gain generally slows down or stops
Last checkup at 33weeks, I noticed berat badan tak naik. Risau jugak. Untill doctor scan and tengok berat baby still increase. Alhamdulillah. I wonder jugak kenapa la berat tak naik seperti dulu kala – 4kg a month?! Errr..

Indo dari bacaan:
To those who reach the end of pregnancy maka anda juga semakin ke kemuncak kenaikan berat badan. In fact sekarang pun kita dah risau pasal nak turunkan berat badan nanti. But this weight-going-down thingy is perfectly normal. Is one way your body gets ready for labor. Amniotic fluid pun semakin berkurang dan menyumbang kepada penurunan berat badan ni - owh selama ni yang berat tu bukan saya, air ketuban rupanya. Lagi mau perasan padahal badan ni masih lagi puffy!
And loose bowels (common as labor approaches), tu semua la yang berat kita boleh turun. Hmm I notice jugak system perkumuhan badan semakin lancar – sehari 2-3 kali kot. Jeng! Jeng! Jeng!

Apa lagi ye yang dirisaukan? Ha yang ini…

Water Breaking in Public
Kalau tengok movie tu kan ade je scene yang tiba-tiba water breaking in public! Bayangkan tengah berjalan kat KLCC tiba2 waterfall muncul? Kena gelak tak kita nanti? Jangan risau itu hanya imaginasi ibu mengandung.
Kalau betul pun water breaking in public, mungkinkah ada orang ketawa berdekah-dekah sambil memegang perutnya? Mungkin tidak, ntah-ntah orang sekeliling kita lagi cemas dari kita and offer help or discreetly ignore you. In fact, 85% of women enter the birthing room with their waterbag fully intact. If you’re standing / sitting / walking, the amniotic fluid will more likely to come out as a slow trickle – or at most a small gush. That’s because when you’re upright, baby’s head acts like a cork in a bottle, blocking the opening of the uterus and keeping the most of the fluid in. Unless la kalau anda berbaring, maybe la fluid tu keluar sekali banyak – which you probably don’t do in public.

Ni baru risau pasal pekara2 yang mungkin berlaku before delivery. Belum cerita pasal kerisauan semasa delivery lagi.. Nervous!