Prelabor, Labor and Delivery

28^th August 2009M bersamaan 7 Ramadhan 1430H (Friday)

Jam menunjukkan pukul 4 pagi, bini aku tengah mengerang kesakitan kat sebelah aku ni..aku ingat ni mesti symptoms yang macam hari tu tu..yang mana aku panggil as ‘False Labor Symptoms’. Hari tu dah kene sekali, die punye contractions are not all regular and don’t increase in frequency. Maknanye die punye contraction every 20 minutes apart or less je..then hilang. Kali ni pun same, bini aku checks timing, bih kurang tu la, 20 minutes apart. Aku tade perasaan cemas lagi time tu, tapi tolong2 la urut pinggang die tu. Aku tanye die dari pukul berapa sakit ni, die jawab dari pukul 2 pagi tadi. Sudah, dah lama tu.

Pukul 5 lebih kitaorg sahur, bini aku walaupun tak puasa tapi die join jugak sambil sakit2 tu..sambil tu bincang2 kat meja makan ngan parents in law. Mak die suh bawak pegi hospital kat sebelah umah ni. Stil tak cemas apa-apa lagi. Aku lepas subuh tu siap bole tidur kejap. Mandi2 then pukul 8 lebih baru pegi Dewan Bersalin sambil ditemani adik wife aku. Mak die dah tunggu kat hospital. Aku pegi pakir kete, masuk balik dewan bersalin, mak mentua aku cakap wife aku dah kat dalam tengah check-up, orang lain taleh masuk. So bermula la penantian dari saat ini..Tapi still tak cemas lagi..pasal dalam kepala otak aku ingat ni ‘False Labor Symptoms’. Paling kuat pun doctor tahan masuk wad pastu monitor sampai bersalin. Aku tunggu je la kat waiting area yang sejuk nak mampus tu..dah la pagi tu hujan..gile btol.

4 hours later or less….

Wifey called me, she was wearing hospital uniforms (orang nak bersalin punye uniform, warna merah jambu lagi), to pass me her shirts and then speaking in whisper, “Dah bukak 4cm dah, nanti doctor panggil awak bile nak bersalin nanti”. I was astonished a little bit-or a lot? “Ya Allah, dah nak deliver dah ni”, bisik hati gementar aku. Aku paling tak suke bile sejuk gile dicampurkan dengan perasaan cemas. Menggeletar badan aku siot. Haha. Last time aku rase macam ni time aku naik chopper dari F23 nak balik Miri, brape tahun lepas punye crite tah. Dah la tengah hujan lebat gile, tapi relax je chopper tu take off jugak..kat luar hujan, dalam cabin sejuk nak mampus campur dengan perasaan cemas aku, menggeletar la badan aku, takleh nak handle beb. Dah la coverall aku basah pasal time nak boarding chopper tu bermandikan air hujan kejap.

Ok berbalik pada labor and delivery worries aku tu, tak sangka plak aku, adik ipar aku yang duduk kat sebelah aku tu perasan aku tengah cemas, hilang siot macho. Die siap bole sound “Rilek la Abg Shah, takkan cemas kot”. Aku balas “Mana ade..tengah sejuk ni”.

A few fathers enter the birthing room without a little trepidation, but I entered with lot trepidation. I would try not to faint or whatsoever that could humiliate me. Maybe ‘few fathers’ being prepared for the birth by taking childbirth education classes for instance, check out the internet, watching the labor and delivery DVDs with eyes wide open or visit the hospital or birthing center ahead of time so it’ll be familiar ground on labor day. None of those have been practiced by me. Time is I don’t have. The only thing I could do was talked to friends who’ve attended the birth of their children but that wasn’t helping at all but the story stressed me out. It’s not like the doctor or nurses will be evaluating my every move or comparing me to the coach next door. More important neither will my wife. I, being beside her, holding her hand, no..no..no, I didn’t hold her hand but I was holding her head, urging her on, and providing the comfort of a familiar face and touch is what she’d need. Am I right sayang? Eh c’mon la, even obstetricians who’ve assisted at the birth of thousands of other people’s babies can experience a sudden loss of self-confidence when confronted with their own baby’s delivery.

Kan obstetricians kan?

Wifey safely delivered a baby boy, weighed 3.1KG at 1346hrs (during Jumaat Prayer) after almost 15 minutes she fought with those pains, contractions during delivery and I didn’t want to remember my wifey face as I coached her through those last pushes, while my mouth recited ayat Qursi, Al-A’raf, Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-nas over and over again.

Welcome to the world, son.