April 2, 2009 --- That was my appointment to my ob-gyne. She measured my tummy and as expected, it was still quite small for my being thirty weeks pregnant. My weight was continuously shooting up but the measurement of my tummy, or what they call fundal measurement, is not at all matched with the weight gain I am having. Her facial expression was full of worry so I got scared too. Was there anything wrong with my pregnancy, or my baby? She then asked me to step to the ultrasound room to check on the measurement of the baby and to know if there is anyting wrong inside. The result showed that all the parts of the baby is quite okay and so far are measuring normal to his age, except the abdominal area. That shows, according to her, an early sign of malnutrition. I could not believe what I heard, for I know I have been eating for two, one for me and one for the baby. So how come he is having signs of malnutrition?
I know there is something wrong when she asked me to meet again the next day at St. Luke's Hospital to do another round up of ultrasound. This is a more extensive type of ultrasound which they call maternal and fetal doppler. There we will see the full details of what's going on inside my womb.
April 3, 2009 --- St. Luke's Hospital. Hubby and I went there early just to be sure. I was nervously waiting for my turn. At around 11:30am, my name was called and my obgyne performed what she had to do. This kind of ultrasound took us for like 45 minutes to complete. According to her, there is a notch somewhere in my left uterinary artery and she asked me to buy Aspilet to be taken once a day. She also asked me to buy a steriod and meet her again the next day to explain the results of the doppler. The next day? So that meant I had to see her again. This kind of appointment is really not normal anymore, for we would just usually meet once or twice a month. But here we are now, having three check ups in a row.
April 4, 2009--- Healthway Clinic. The doctor interpreted the results of my ultrasound. According to the report, there is a notch in my left uterinary artery and that means it is sort of blocking the nutrients or food that is supposed to be for the baby. Good thing though, according to her, my placenta which is also responsible for the transmition of food to the baby, is mostly concentrated on my right area. And good thing also that my right artery is not having any problems. So that means that the baby is "so far" still okay. But then, there is still bad news. The notch on my left side also shows that I am a candidate for pre-eclamptia. Pre-eclamptia is a condition affecting pregnant women wherein the blood pressure shoots up during the course of pregnancy. It is a fetal condition that compromises the mother and the baby. There is no other treatment but to take the baby out,meaning the baby has to be born earlier that expected. Otherwise, mother may suffer stroke, or worst, even death. Hearing that, I got extremely furious. Why is this happening to me all of a sudden? I have been bragging about how easy my pregnancy is, then all of a sudden I am hearing all this? I wanted to cry right there and then. Good thing the doctor told me that pregnant moms now a days are so lucky because these conditions can be predicted and can be avoided. That sort of gave me a peace of mind.
She then shot the steriods to me. The steriods is for the baby's lungs. It will prepare the baby and will make him mature ahead of his age so just in case worst case scenario of preeclamptia attacks and he has to be taken out, he is prepared to the outside world. I also have to take aspilet once a day to avoid thickening of my blood, again, another prevention for preeclamptia. I also have to take anibiotics 4x a day for my UTI. Some of my vitamins were increased: Amino vita to be taken twice a day, calcium to be taken thrice, vitamin c to be taken thrice, macrobee once a day, milk twice a day, and lots and lots of water. I was also asked to load on protein for the baby's sake. I never had this so many medications in my entire life!!
I am hoping and praying that all the preparations are worth it, for I really wanted to have a normal and easy birth for our baby. And of course I do not want to compromise the condition of our little angel. I am looking forward to my next appointment and this time I want to hear some good news.
::::::::::::::::
Sharing everything that makes my life as a wife and a mom a blissful experience.
