Like most mums-to-be, I wanted to give the best to my baby.
During my first pregnancy, I eagerly read everything I could to find information regarding the various things I could do to benefit my baby. I was also taking the right vitamins, getting enough exercise and was just busy baby-proofing the house.
I wanted my son to have a healthy and safe start in life and make sure that he had all the opportunities the world had to offer.
I’m an obsessive researcher. Once I have decided that something needs to be done, I’ll read, Google, talk to people and find out all that I can about it. This way I am assured that I have done my best and made the right decision.
I believe that stem cell research will continue to make advancements that could save our children’s lives in the future.
Coming across cord blood banking
Halfway through my pregnancy, I came across a brochure on cord blood banking while I was sitting in my doctor’s waiting room during my monthly prenatal visit.
“Now what the heck is cord blood banking?” I thought to myself.
My interest was piqued and I just had to find out more.
After spending some time researching and reading medical websites online, I decided that cord blood banking was definitely something that I needed to do to safeguard my son.
While it was still in its early stages in Singapore back then, my personal research convinced me that stem-cell research, much like all other scientific discoveries, would only continue to make advancements.
As far as I was concerned, this was a once in a lifetime chance. The cord blood had to be extracted minutes after my baby was born via a painless and risk-free procedure. There would be no second chance.
My husband was skeptical about cord blood banking at first, but I managed to sound him out.
I explained to him that banking our son’s cord blood was an absolute necessity as it could possibly save his life should something happen to him (God forbid) in the future. In fact, I also shared with him that there’s a higher chance of finding a match within the same family, and his cord blood could potentially even save our lives.
While I hope that I’ll never need to use my son’s cord blood, it offers me much assurance knowing that I’ve got this precious medical resource stored just in case. What’s the price of this assurance you might ask? Let’s just say that some of us may be guilty of spending more on a good meal than the annual cost required to bank our child’s cord blood.
I may come across as an overprotective mum, but when it comes to ensuring a healthy life for her child, which mother won’t do all that she can?
Choosing a cord blood bank
The year Zayden was born, only two companies offered cord blood banking in Singapore. After careful research and consultation with both companies, we decided to proceed with the company which was more established with a worldwide presence, and had their own state-of-the-art storage facility in Singapore.
My personal research showed that cord blood banking is a one in a lifetime chance to safeguard my son’s health for the future.
Our journey
After we made our decision, the rest was easy. The consultant arranged to meet us at my house, so I didn’t have to travel to their office in my pregnant state.
At the meeting, the consultant passed me a sealed box that I was required to take with me to the hospital when I delivered. Once the nurses at the hospital saw the sealed box, they automatically knew what to do and proceeded to arrange the necessary. It was fairly straightforward and simple.
Just like that, within minutes of welcoming him into the world, I’d given my son the wonderful gift of protection for a lifetime.
I chose the same company to bank both my son’s cord blood.
Choosing the same cord blood bank twice
My experience the first time was a very positive one. So when I was expecting my second son, Xavion, the decision to bank his cord blood with the same company was already a given.
Today my sons are six and four, and I’m just as confident that my decision to bank their cord blood was the absolute right thing to do.
Nothing is more important to me than guaranteeing that they have a healthy, happy and successful future.
A few months ago, I got the chance to visit the fully-owned facility at Yishun. It was a surreal experience to see the actual storage tanks where both my sons’ cord blood are being stored and knowing that should the need ever arise, this could save their lives.
Much like I had envisioned, stem cell research has already advanced greatly since I first started researching on this six years ago, and it’s still continuing to grow at a tremendous pace.
In a world of unknowns, I feel just a little more secure knowing that if something were to happen to either of my children, they’ll have a fighting chance thanks to the decision we made to bank their cord blood.
My advice for mums-to-be
Your child’s cord blood is priceless.
You only get one chance to bank your child’s cord blood before the opportunity is lost forever. As a mum-to-be, this is something that you need to take seriously. However, don’t take my word for it; do your research and then make your own wise decision.
Banking your child’s cord blood is worth every dollar you spend and much more.
It could end up saving your child’s life in the future.
This was authored by Neetu Mirchandani who blogs at Supermommy.
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