To many women, giving birth is a scary thing especially when it is their 1st time. I am no exception as my tolerance for pain is zero.
After inducing my 1st child in June 2008 as he was already 41 weeks & giving birth the natural way, it was not as bad as I thought except for the contraction pain after breaking my water bag which lasted for about 20 mins, all thanks to epidural.
However, when I was pregnant the 2nd time, I was wondering if it is possible to have a painless delivery, meaning no contraction pain at all since I am definitely going to opt for epidural.
As my due date is 13/1/11 just 2 days after my 9th Wedding Anniversay, we decided to induce our little princess on 11/1/11 ( nice date & very meaningful to us since it is our wedding anniversary). With that, I am even more determined to find out how to have a painless delivery as I do not want to celebrate my anniversary with labour pains.
With careful planning with my gynae on the delivery plan to cater to my request for painless delivery as well an auspicious timing ( between 9am to 1pm ), she had me checked into the hospital at 2am on 11/1/11.
At 3am, the nurse inserted the tablet to induce labour. At 7am, with no contraction pain at all & a dialation of only 3cm, my epidural doctor came in to administer the epidural which I was kind of worried about the pain of the huge needle poking through my spine. However, with his experience, he was really good at it & assured me that it will be over in 1 minute if I co-operate with him by keeping still. With my husband holding my hands & giving me courage, the epidural episode was a breeze…
At 8am, my gynae came in to check on my cervic dilation which remain at only 3cm, she decided to break my water bag as well as to put me on the drip to try for my so called auspicious timing! This time round, I did not feel any contraction pain at all as compared to my 1st labour in 2008 because I already had the epidural done!
At quarter to 11am, I am all ready to give birth as I dilated fully but the doctor was not in the labour suite. We waited for about half an hour before my doctor arrives. After making sure that I am ready to give birth, I started pushing for about 10mins & before the last push for the baby to be out. My doctor stopped & asked me if I want to try for 1138hrs? My husband responded very fast with a “Why not! ” So, we paused for a while untill the clock strike 1138hrs & I gave my last pushed, out came our little princess Isabelle making her grand entry into this beautiful world!
My doctor who planned this delivery met all the requirements I asked for given that it is a natural birth & it is not easy to meet the time frame I set aside for her. Most of all, It was a painless delivery! Many thanks to you Dr Soon Siew Bee & Dr Winston Jong!