The Rhythm of My Pregnancy: The Birthing Fear Factor

It is the final month of my pregnancy and lets just say the whole thought of delivery is at the forefront of my mind. You would think that I have been thinking about this daily for the past 8 months, but honestly like anything I normally do ….I procrastinated till the reality of the situation kicked in.

It all kicked in when I first experienced the Braxon Hicks contractions (fake contractions). I was 34 weeks pregnant, in Canada and was leaving a movie theatre. When the unfamiliar pain kicked in I stopped dead in my tracks and held my lower abdomen. You can imagine the thoughts that ran through my head. “What is going on, is this labour pains, will I be giving birth in Canada?” This pain really jolted my imagination waves, as I began to realise that wow I am going to one day give birth and it isn’t going to be great feeling….it is going to be painful.

Once I had managed to make it safely home (in South Africa) I decided that I needed to jack up my ideas on the whole concept of birth. Yes I had been to antenatal classes and yes I had seen all the gory birthing videos. But for some reason something didn’t click inside me. It was like I was watching a fictional movie where stuff you know stuff happens…but it won’t happen to you.

My real Aha moment happened when I chatted to a mother who had experienced both a C-section and a Natural Birth. My first question for her was – which one did you prefer? That question opened up a full 20minute information-filled conversation about the benefits of having a Natural Birth. It was like she was talking about a joyful occasion and when I saw her husbands facial expression I thought wow “I want that emotion and feeling!” She nearly blew me away ……with all the facts and issues with C-sections, hospitals and how she would really encourage me get as informed as possible about your birthing options. She said “South Africa is the second highest ranked country in the world for women having C-sections. I really feel like women are not fully informed about their options. Kanya a C-section is a major abdominal surgery. God made you for labour and it should be a wonderful experience and the environment should be like you are making love to your husband, a relaxing and peaceful environment.” I dwelled on those last words and realised that at no point did I envision a love making environment for birthing.

I took our conversation as a God-incident and began changing my non existent birth plan. You see my original birth plan was to just have a natural delivery at Fourways life hospital with my current gyne. I had based it all on convenience because we lived so close. I mean I literally can see the hospital from my veranda. I think I figured that I would have an advantage of getting to the hospital quickly….coz labour can be quick (NOT SO TRUE). But I was not truly comfortable with my decision because I had heard that this hospital was called “Caesar- Palace” due to the many women who end up with C-sections and my gyne was apparently a Caesarean queen. And to add to it the Hospital didn’t quite have the “love-making environment” my friend was talking about.

Then I came across Genesis Clinic which is a natural birthing clinic in Johannesburg. It is 30 minutes further than the Fourways hospital but every picture, word and person who I had spoken to who had given birth there, screamed the birthing as a painfully joyous occasion! I finally knew what I wanted and it was this experience. I wanted to have my own room and my own midwife. I wanted to sit on a yoga ball and do stretches with out the gadgets and wires attached to me. I wanted to have music and candles playing in a love making environment while I screamed “AVON YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!!” and pushed SIAM out. I also wanted to be comforted with the fact that should something go wrong there was a C-section theatre ready for me. And when the whole event is over I want to be able to have my husband hold me in my king size bed while I drift off into la la land. All of this was available at a one stop shop – Genesis Clinic. My fearful thoughts about birthing were now becoming strangely peaceful ones. So I changed my gynaecologist, met up with two wonderful midwives and made my reservation for the Genesis Clinic.

I guess we all have our own birthing expectations and fears, and it may not actually turn out the way we planned and expected. But I think what is really important is that before that day comes we are happy with the decisions we have made to that date, whether it is C-section or no C-section, hospital or birthing clinic, gyne or midwife, love making or CSI. You should be confident in the hands of the people who will be looking after you and most importantly the environment should be sufficient enough for you to master your body’s capability to journey through the labour. But honestly speaking......the whole event is really in Gods Hands! ….. the count down is on...hopefully I am still inspired to blog.

The Rhythm of My Pregnancy: Traveling During 3rd Trimester

One of the hardest decisions I had to make this year was the decision to fly 18plus hours for my brothers wedding or stay and play it safe. Although we prayed about the whole situation, I personally thought this prayer request was a no-go because of the risk and the huge financial implication. But just like most of the God ordain miracles, He pulls through in the biggest of ways at the most opportune moments…..which is what someone once told me is called “Gods Just Becauses” …God does it…just because He can.

The reality of this miracle hit me while I was sorting out one of my bedside draws and came across a crumpled, triple folded piece of paper. I curiously unfolded it and discovered it was my Fasting Contract which I had filled in at the beginning of the year. As I read through the list I began to cry because at that particular moment God had answered three of the biggest things we were praying for. I had fallen pregnant and we had booked our tickets to Canada. At the time when I had written these requests I don’t think I was fully confident about the out come. I thought God would answer one not both of the requests. But now as I type this blog I realise that I am a testimony to myself. ……Wow God is Good.

Although I was trusting in God to protect SIAM and I during our travels to Canada, I wasn’t going to be stupid about it. Its like driving without a seat belt and saying God will protect me. …..brrrr. So I read up on all the precautions and risks and here is my summary list of things you need to consider when flying while pregnant.

1. Firstly check with your Gynecologist for the true go-ahead. If you have no complications and are less than 36 weeks pregnant you should be safe…..but get that letter which states you are healthy to fly. If you look obviously pregnant you may be asked to show this proof of your status and health.
2. Read up on the airline pregnancy policy. Lufthansa and Air Canada restrict women flying past 36 weeks of pregnancy. Smaller air crafts actually restrict women at less South African Airways is 35 weeks for international flights. 
3. Wear comfortable cloths (not tight) and get flying stockings. I don’t think you necessarily have to get measured for the stockings just make sure they are tight (not unbearable though)
4. Get a prescription for blood thinning injections especially if you have a history of deep vein thrombosis. I was put on something called Clexane which I had to inject 3 times through out my travel (every 24 hours). Thank goodness I was travelling with mom (ex-nurse). My sisters were also excellent at giving me the injection….and well Avon finally got the guts to inject me on the last injection and also did well.  
5. Don’t rush to get on the plane…it is a waste of time and energy. Sit down or walk around before boarding the aircraft. Take deep breaths and chat to your baby.
6. Book seats with plenty of space. Avon and I found that the seats at the far back of the plane had plenty of space and were also close to the bathroom. But if you don’t like turbulence then try sit close to the centre of the plan. Note – pregnant ladies can’t sit at the emergency exit L. …..but you can sit in the front rows where most families sit with their kids. However there is a increased chance that you may sit next to a crying baby.
7. During flight – don’t sit down for more than 2 hours with-out walking. Try keep as calm as possible especially during the turbulence. Your baby can sense if you get stressed so try your best to keep that heart rate normal. Increased stress levels are never good for a pregnant lady. Trust me it is super hard to stay calm when all you can think about is “ARE WE GOING TO MAKE IT!!”. ….I just hummed songs and that calmed me. 
8. Drink plenty of water and you are guaranteed to never sit for too long… our bladders can only handle so much.
9. Carry a stash of food with you, things such as dried fruit, biltong, gummy bears, granola bars, cookies (you name it), especially if it is a long flight and stop over. Although most flights feed you, it tends to be at strange times and there is nothing worse than pregnancy hunger pains on a flight.

Okay those are the tips for today…….at 34 weeks I flew to Canada and back (18hours) with a 10 hour stop over in Germany and Siam is still healthy and kicking.