Today I had what was meant to be my 20 week ultrasound for the baby. Turns out it didn't go as smoothly as my previous 2. I arrived early and the doc went to measure the fundal height and listen to the heartbeat, but when they put the Doppler on my stomach she couldn't find the babies heart beat at all. I didn't start stressing as when I was pregnant with Lillie they sometimes had trouble finding her heart beat as she was always pressed up against my back and in awkward positions. So they trotted me off to the ultrasound room where they then left me waiting laying on my back for 10 minutes all alone to ponder the possibilities of what this scan might show. Note to the wise, never leave a pregnant woman alone who could be facing terrible news.
The Doc finally came in and proceeded to squeeze jelly on me and probe and push around my tummy, starting off the heart was very obvious and beating strongly so my relief was immediate but it didn't last long. She noticed that my placenta was too low and may cause some issues closer to delivery time if it doesn't move further away from the opening of the cervix, I may end up with a C Section, something that I am desperately trying to avoid. This wasn't great but it is manageable so I carried on feeling positive, however that it started to change when she then began having alot of trouble finding the babies stomach location. Apparently it is supposed to be below the heart but she looked and looked for 20 minutes and then called in a second opinion from her superior to confer. In the end they found something that should be the stomach but it was in the wrong place so she advised me that another follow up scan will be required to monitor it. I still didn't feel too concerned at this point, but I was making plans in my mind that if there was confirmation that the baby may need some sort of surgery or medical treatment then I will be on the first flight back to Melbourne to birth the baby there where everyone speaks clearly and honestly and where I feel safe in the knowledge that the baby will get the best treatment. I am sure they do infant surgery in Thailand but to be honest it is still "Thailand" and I would feel much more secure if we were home, safe and around friends and family.
Every other body part was present, arms, legs, fingers and the highlight of my morning was that again after much searching and conferring with each other they were able to tell me the sex. Much to my delight I am pleased to announce that we are having a BOY! I saw his little pee pee before the docs did, it was clear as day to me but they still weren't 100% sure so you never know, but I have a good feeling that it is definitely a boy, a strong little guy that is sure to be a fighter and whatever obstacles confront him I am sure he will pull through.
After waiting an eternity to see my obstetrician again she whisked through the scan results and vaguely told me that there may be some sort of problem with an opening in his diaphragm and the location of his stomach and that I should come back in 4 weeks for another scan but I asked for 2 weeks as I need to know if this is going to be a problem and if I need to start making arrangements to return to Melbourne. Also according to his size I am only 18 weeks along not 19 like she first thought and she is concerned that I have only put on 2 kgs in 4 months and I need to eat more. I was already overweight before falling pregnant, I am sure that I have enough weight on me to compensate the baby. But if Doc says eat then I must obey.
The problem I find with the Doctors here is that they are even faster to get you out the door than they are in Australia, I can barely understand her accent as it is let alone understand the medical jargon she talks about.
I always leave there with unanswered questions and I worry constantly about how this pregnancy and birth is going to turn out. With my last 2 I always felt relaxed and nurtured with my midwife carers and my labours were relatively easy and very natural. I know I can survive natural childbirth but in Thailand they are much more inclined to fill a person with medicine and drugs before letting nature take its course and now with this placenta being in a problematic position this may be all my doc needs to intervene.
Overall I feel OK about what has happened today, I am concerned greatly but I know that medical science has done wonders in the last few decades and I know that whatever the problem is with my little guy I will get whatever help he needs to fix it and keep him healthy. I am focusing on the good news of today rather than the bad otherwise it will stress me out and in turn stress him out which wont be any good for either of us. Best to just wait and see what needs to be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment