2nd Pregnancy: Antenatal Checkup (34w) & Typical signs of labor

Antenatal Checkup

Checkup kalini agak ditunggu-tunggu. I am now in the safe zon if I really need to deliver. Half of me rasa macam best jugak kalau dah deliver but of course 34-35w is still consider too early and might deliver a premature baby. Yang membuatkan rasa lebih tak sabar, rasa macam baby dah engage and ke bawah sangat. Whenever he moves, terasa la something twisting at va-jay-jay. Walaupun ouch, tapi baguslah kalau dah engage kan. Bila baby hiccup pulak, terasa sampai ke rectum a series of little rhythmic movements. Bila jalan, lagilah terasa Ms V di pressing. I roughly thinks baby dah engage, so tak sabar nak tahu sekiranya hipotesis saya adalah benar.

Checkup semalam, baby baru 34w2d. His weight dah 2.3kg. Again, Prof kata 'boy', in shaa allah. Dan Prof kata baby dah engage! Weeehuuuu.. Masa scan, boleh nampak kepala baby betul2 dekat dengan cervix. *Sekarang terbayang rasa ngilu bila baby bergerak atau semasa berdiri and berjalan kepala baby dok press* Tapi, muka baby still facing up so Prof kata lagi 2 minggu ni.. Again, it's just his prediction. Tapi mulut Prof ni masin jugak masa Amir dulu ;p He added, kalau dia nak face down.. malam ni pun boleh. Ciet hehe

Talking about baby engagement, rest assured that if your baby's head engages early, it doesn't follow that you will give birth early. How far the baby reaches down into the pelvis is measured in stations.

 

Note : So 5/5 or 4/5 means that your baby hasn't dropped down yet, while 3/5 or 2/5 or less means that your baby is engaged. 

My next appointment is on 37w of pregnancy, 2 minggu lagi.. Tak sabar (asyik tak sabar, cuba bersabar sikit) nak tau If I'm ready to deliver. Amir was born on 37w. 

Typical Signs of Labor

On television, babies are often born with a rush of emotion and swift action. The mother doubles over from the pain of a single contraction, and the baby appears before the commercial break.

In reality?

- Siap admitted hospital 2 kali, lagi 4 minggu baru dia keluar
- Even very near to due, ada contraction so pergilah ke hospital dengan harapan dah boleh bawak baby balik rumah after 2 days.. Rupanya 2 hari tu keje ulang alik hospital sebab ada contraction tapi takde dilation, jadi kene halau balik rumah
- Dah overdue, akhirnya kena induce barulah baby nak keluar

Dan macam-macam lagi pengalaman ibu-ibu masa dah nak dekat nak bersalin.. Kadang-kadang ingat dah dekat, rupanya lambat lagi. Yang ingat lambat lagi, cepat pulak baby make appearance.


Anyway, there are typical signs of labor as our guidance. Though it might not so accurate, but at least we know how and when to act.

1. Effacement: Ripening of the cervix

Your cervix is softening and thinning. Tapi untuk tahu samada dah ripen atau belum hanyalah dengan melakukan vaginal exams. When I was 36 weeks pregnant Amir, kebetulan ada checkup before pulang ke kampung berhari raya. Prof Hashim kata sempat lagi nak raya, pada masatu cervix dah ripen. The following week, 37w, raya ke-3 --> Amir pun dilahirkan.

2. Dilation: Opening of the cervix

Inilah yang orang selalu kata berapa cm dah buka? The measurement is from 0-10 cm. 10cm means baby dah ready nak keluar. At first, these cervical changes can be very slow. In fact, some women are dilated 2 to 3 cm for days or even weeks before labor actually begins. Ada certain orang, kejap aje nak dilate up to 10cm. Masa dah dilate 3-4cm pun takde rasa sakit. Ada orang nak dilate from 3-4cm tu je dah seksa.

My experience, air ketuban pecah dulu tanpa ada contraction. Walhal, common perception is kalau air ketuban dah pecah means dah dekat labor. Bila pergi hospital, rupanya baru 2 cm bukak. Sampai keesokan hari takde contraction mahupun dilation. Dah induce for 4-5 hours, dilation hanyalah 2.5cm. Sampailah Prof Hashim buat putaran hikmat bagi membatu my cervix to dilate then barulah dapat deliver.


3. Bloody show: Loss of mucous plug

When your cervix begins to thin and open, a thick plug of mucus blocks the cervical opening to prevent bacteria from entering the uterus may fall out - stringy mucus or a thick discharge. It's typically brown and sometimes tinged with blood.

I've been experiencing a thick discharge since last week but not brown color yet. Masa Amir dulu, fresh blood coming out on the night selepas air ketuban pecah but still no contraction and dilation. Tapi masa tu takde pulak experience thick discharge macam sekarang.

4. Rupture of membranes: Your water breaks

Inilah dia modal orang buat filem kalau ada watak orang mengandung... Elok-elok tengah shopping, tengah dinner kat restaurant ke.. tiba-tiba air ketuban pecah. Tiba-tiba okeh. Manjang nak dramatic aje kan...

Dr Halina pun berharap waterbag break masa jalan-jalan shopping kan keh keh keh. Tapi yang 'tiba-tiba' tu I percaya lah.. Sebab my case pun, tengah baring-baring tengok Mr Bean air ketuban pecah. Which patutnya, mama dok sibuk ajak jalan raya rumah saudara.. but I reluctant sebab sangat tak larat dah masa tu (Itu yg I wonder orang dalam movie tu boleh lagi keluar berjalan kan.. walaupun dah dekat?) Hehe

Kalau lah I pergi jalan raya masa tu.. pecah air ketuban kat rumah sedara ----> Ini baru dramatic!

5. Contractions: When labor pains begin

Aha, inilah dia sebenarnya sign yang sebenar dan lebih accurate. Tapi ada jugak yang kita panggil Braxton Hicks (BH) which is not the real contraction, warming up aje... But in only the contractions disappear barulah kita tahu oh, BH aje tadi ye.. So how to differentiate?

Eventually, Braxton Hicks contractions will be replaced by the real thing. To tell the difference, consider these questions:

• Are the contractions regular? Time your contractions from the beginning of one to the beginning of the next. Look for a regular pattern of contractions that get progressively stronger and closer together. False labor contractions will remain irregular.
• How long do they last? True contractions last more than 30 seconds at first and get progressively longer — up to 90 seconds. The contractions of false labor vary in length.
• Can you stop the contractions? True contractions continue regardless of your activity level or position. In fact, they often grow stronger with increased activity, such as walking. With false labor, you might be able to stop the contractions by changing your activity or position, lying down or taking a walk.

Jadi, itulah dia signs of labor. Neither you nor your gynae can really tell when labor begins. No one knows for sure what triggers labor, and every woman's experience is unique. So masa menunggu hari ni, ini lah dia pekara yang paling men'tensyen'kan... iye ke ni.. nak pergi hospital ke tak ni? Kalau delay takut bersalin dalam kereta macam Ustazah Abby. So macamana? Tensyen kan. Bagi yang bekerja, berkira-kira nak ambil cuti. Betul ke dah boleh cuti, takut end up cuti dah 2 minggu tapi tak bersalin lagi. Ape pulak kata bos? Heh, bos. Jadinya tak dapat buat keputusan dengan tepat.

Macam saya sekarang.. tengah berfikir bila la nak start cuti, jalan macam penguin bukanlah tanda tepat yang akan bersalin seminggu dua lagi. So when should I really start taking leave?

But one thing for sure, pengalaman menunggu dan melahirkan nanti - tidak kira jalan cerita yang mana akan terpilih untuk jadi jalan cerita kita kali ini - it's going to be something really special to us.