This happened five months ago.
I still have a vivid memory of what took place last June, 2011.
PRE-LABOR AT HOME
I started my pre-labor at around 2a.m. of June 9. It meant having cramps and contractions. I was sort of panicky that morning. It wasn’t because of the pain. Far from that. It was the fear of giving birth again at night time in a public hospital. That time, my mind was already prepared with giving birth at the public hospital, at the same hospital where I gave birth to my 1st born. For what reason? Simple. I already knew the place. I was hoping that the same nurse who assisted me on my first childbirth in 2009 would be there again to assist me. Unluckily, she wasn’t there.
GREEN BARLEY HELPED ME DURING THE LABOR PROCESS
During the pre-labor at home, I consumed 1 bottle of green barley. It helped me a lot. While on the way to the hospital, I consumed one bottle again. At 11:30a.m. in the morning, I asked my hubby to go to the hospital. Just after 30minutes upon arrival, and a few times of pushing, my 2nd baby came out – normally. How was the process?
When we reached the hospital, I was told to sit down. My sister who came all the way from the Philippines did the processing of my papers since my husband wasn’t allowed inside the maternity hospital. I told the nurse that I was already bleeding so they prioritized me. I was then brought to the labor room, but I asked first if I could see my husband and sister. I was nervous, mind you. Delivering a second baby doesn’t feel it’s the second time. It’s always like the first time.
When I reached the labor room, I was checked by the nurse. My bottom was inserted with something to make me poop everything that I ate during the night/day. For two times, I went to the bathroom to poop — loosely. It was like my tummy was revolting, not the painful way though that time. It was quite a relief from thinking about the contraction. The nurse checked on me again about my dilation. This was when I told the nurse that I felt like pooping again! She IEd me. I was dilated at 8cm. She told me not to go the bathroom anymore for fear that I might give birth there. Scary. I told her, but I need to poop! She said that pooping might be my baby wanted to come out then because I was already dilated at 8cm. I heeded her advice not to walk towards the bathroom. After a few seconds, the doctor came in. I knew her. She was my attending doctor during my first childbirth in 2009. She was referred to me by a new friend then. This time around, I was quite relieved that she’d be there on my second childbirth. During my first childbirth, she wasn’t around. She just checked on me the following morning.
I WAS INDUCED WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE
That doctor IEd me, and I felt that there was something that was inserted down there! I didn’t know what it was. Just after a few seconds that the attending nurse told me I was at 8cm, this doctor (lady doctor) told me I was at 5cm. Who to believe then? I believed my nurse. Why? Because I was dilating too fast. When we reached the hospital at 11:45, I was already at 4c.m. When I reached the labor room, I was at 5c.m. A few minutes after that, I was told I was at 8c.m. How come that the doctor told me I was at 5c.m. just after a few seconds that the attending nurse IEd me?
After a few minutes, I was screaming out loud. I didn’t scream during my first childbirth. During my first childbirth, I was listening at the cries of the mothers giving birth in the other labor rooms. I hummed with praising songs during my first childbirth. It was painful yeah, but the pain was under control by my mind. But this time around, I could hear the loud cries of the mothers, and even my loud cries. It was like the screams of animals. I was screaming like hell, too. I was aware that I was screaming out loud because I could not take the pain! I was OK at home, and before the doctor checked on me, before she inserted something on my vagina. I was not OK after she had checked on me. I could not do mind over matter anymore. It didn’t help. All I could tell the nurse was to have someone hold my other hand. In other words, there was something that was done to me but I wasn’t aware of. How did I know?
After a few times of pushing, my new baby girl came out. (She heeded my plea that she should come out when we’re already at the hospital so Mommy wouldn’t panic. She did come out right after we reached the labor room! But there was a twist at this story. I knew I was dilating too fast. I knew my body then, but I was violated.) I looked at her, and she was such a cute girl with small eyes. I asked that she should be near me after she was cleaned. After sometime, she was with me at the labor/recovery room. I had a vivid memory with her. I cuddled her even though I was still bleeding. I just made sure it was controlled bleeding. My baby was very hungry then. She sucked her thumb! I removed her three fingers from her mouth! Yeah, three fingers fitted her little mouth. She was sucking her fingers heavily. For three times and for around 30 minutes, we played a game sort of tug of war: she sucked, I removed her hands, and it continued until such time that I was already laughing and could not remove her hands anymore from her mouth. I still didn’t have milk that time. After a few minutes, a kabayan went inside my room. We chatted. I asked, “why’s it that everyone was crying like a pig?” Her answer: “because you’re all given an inducer”. What the! So that was why I wasn’t able to control the pain; that was why I was crying out loud even though previously I was taking control of my labor; that was why this time around, no amount of mind over matter could do the trick! SHINOHADA, really!
IN OTHER WORDS, WE, THE MOTHERS AT THAT TIME, WE’RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE CHARGE OF OUR OWN CHILDBIRTH!
Don’t get me wrong. Inducing childbirth is something that is helpful to some mothers, especially those who needed the help to let out a baby, a big baby, in that case, and especially if the labor is taking sooooo long. But for others, like me, who was then dilating toooooo fast, I did not need the inducer! It was a Thursday, and the attending doctor was in a hurry, I was told. RUBBISH. After my second childbirth, I vowed not to give birth again.
After a few hours, at around 4p.m., I was wheeled, together with my new baby, from the labor room to the ward. At the entrance, I saw my sister and husband. I smiled at them. They were amazed at my courage. They said, I didn’t look like I just gave birth. They just told me that they just heard a few moments then someone who was wailing. Yes, not crying, but wailing. Hubby told my sister, “my wife’s strong; she won’t be crying like that.” I proved him wrong. I told him, despite how calm I look now, I wailed like the wailing of the woman that you just heard. Everyone wailed like that. They just couldn’t believe it. Then I told my hubby how this kabayan told me that the attending doctor induced us. He told me, “yeah, I remember how this friend of ours said that this doctor is known for “helping” moms to give birth “easily”. My goodness. I wished I wasn’t induced. I wished I was asked first if I wanted to be induced! I wished I was treated like a person-in-charge-of-her-body.
If the doctor didn’t induced me, this was the scenario. I would know when to push. Push ONLY when there’s PAIN, said my previous attending nurse during my 1st childbirth. Breath properly. Just think positively. These were the advice of my mother, and the online childbirth classes I attended to while pregnant.
I KNOW MY BODY. IT’S MY BODY. I KNOW WHEN TO PUSH, AND WHEN NOT TO PUSH. But the right to push properly at the right time was ROBBED off me because I was induced without my knowing.
MY NEWBORN GOT JAUNDICE! I SAID NO TO PHOTOTHERAPY; I RELIED ON GREEN BARLEY!
I gave birth at 12:15p.m. I could have jumped out of joy because my plea to God that my second childbirth should happen during the day and not at night happened! I thought I would be sent home, with my baby, after some few hours. But contrary to what I was thinking then, we were held at the hospital. The reason? My baby had jaundice! Oh my God. How come my baby had jaundice? I was told she would be put on phototherapy. Glad my sister was with me at the hospital to take good care of my baby. I had green barley then at that time that my baby was diagnosed with green barley. I didn’t administer it right away. I waited for the phototherapy; bad decision. I was almost not sleeping. Why? My baby was too strong at birth. She was trying to remove the mask on her eyes! On the second day, my boredom was heavily growing and taking a toll on me. My baby, too, was chilling because she had no clothes then under the phototherapy. I told the attending baby doctor that I wanted my baby out of medical assistance. My hubby and I were asked to sign a waiver. They checked again my baby’s condition. Her levels of birilubin wasn’t increasing. Why? Because secretly, I administered green barley. We were discharged the next day; my baby had still jaundice. I knew she’d be healed of her jaundice at home with green barley. Thank goodness, after a few drops of green barley, and after a few days, she’s cleared of jaundice. Thanks to green barley.
GREEN BARLEY FOR MY BABY’S LOW HEMOGLOBIN LEVEL
We were discharged with the condition that we’d bring our baby back to the hospital after two weeks. We brought our baby. She’s clear then of jaundice, but another problem came up. Her hemoglobin level was too low, and she was barely a month old, just 18 days, and it was unusual, we were told. Mild anemia was ruled out. Blood samples were extracted and tested. There was mild anemia. I was told to continue breastfeeding. But shinohada, no matter how much I tried very hard to breastfeed, my breastmilk just dried up for no reason at all. It was PRESSURE that I was feeling all the time and so my breastmilk dried up easily. Anyway, so I wasn’t able to breastfeed my newborn then. We weren’t given any medicine to improve her hemoglobin levels. This time again, I relied on my ever powerful, ever reliable and magical GREEN BARLEY. After a week, my newborn then was tested again for her hemoglobin level. This time around, we didn’t go to the public hospital where she was first checked up (because we were asked to). We went to our baby doctor at Al Salam, Doc H, and series of tests were done to rule out anemia and another test that I forgot the name. And oh, blessings, my baby’s hemoglobin level was normal! Thanks to green barley!
The bottom line of my post: Know your body. Know when to push, and when not to push. When giving birth at a public or private hospital, talk to the attending physician when she’s about to IE you to check if she’d be inserting s0mething or not. I was violated because all I knew then was that it was just an Internal Examination of my dilation. In my 1st childbirth, everything that the attending nurse was inserting on my IV, I was asking her. I was also asked by the attending physician then (different from my attending physician for my second childbirth) if I wanted to have an epidural, etc. I SAID NO. I gave birth then unmedicated. It was painful, yeah, but I was in control. For my second childbirth, I was induced without my knowing, even though I was dilating too fast. I wished it was never like that. I could not erase it from my memory. I could only say thanks to God for the new life, for my life, and for giving me that courage to give birth again.
P.S. If you want to know more about green barley, comment here or send me a mail at dutdot[at]gmail[dot]com or visit this Web site.
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