Now week 35 is done and the countdown clocks in. One more month to go 🙂 My week 35 began with Online Child Birth Class and Maternity Tour FAQ, both organized by my hospital through Zoom.
Child Birth Class
We’ve been watching videos and lectures provided by other companies, so many information covered throughout this class was kinda familiar to us.
Key notes that I took here was what to do when bag of water breaks, when to go to the hospital, and all types of labors and medication options.
Bag of Water Breaks
Here’s the 4 things you’ll need to remember and report to your health care provider.
- Color
- Odor
- Amount
- Time
Although, she mentioned that unlike TV dramas, the percentage of water breaking before going in labor is relatively low. It was about 15%. You may not need to be worried about it too much, but when it happens, most likely you are already in the hospital. Either way, if the water breaks, you must call the hospital immediately.
Time to Go to the Hospital
There are many stages in labors. Early labor, Active labor, Transition, 2nd stage, and finally Birth. She went through the duration and frequency of the contraction for each stages. But, the most important at this point is when to go to the hospital.
Here’s what she provided. Remember the number 5-1-1. When the contraction is:
- 5 min apart,
- Lasts 1 min each,
- For 1 hour,
then it’s time to call the hospital. Your doctor will lead you what to do and where to go at this point.
The confusing part is the early labor. The contraction duration is shorter, about 30-45 seconds and its frequency is 5 – 30min apart. I may freak out when the contraction started, but if I call my doctor at this point, he’ll probably tell me to stay at home for a while.
Medication Options
About the medications, she explained both pros and cons for all options and all medications has both sides. It was helpful info for me to understand what kind of risks I’m taking. I printed out one of the birth plan format and filled in already, in case I had to run to the hospital earlier than the due date. In my birth plan, there is a question regarding the medication options. It’s nice to have it written down since you probably don’t have focus to talk during labor anyways.
Maternity Tour FAQ
Maternity tour FAQ was actually 1 on 1 Zoom meeting with the organizer, so we could take advantage of it and asked many questions regarding the hospital stay.
It appears that the hospital is trying to adjust to the Covid-19 situation every week, so the rules may change frequently. But, currently they are allowing my husband to leave the hospital once or twice. Last month they told us we are not allowed to leave the hospital at all once you are in. She gave us a number to call a week ahead to make sure what the current situation is. Oh and good to know that my husband also receive a hospital meal and the chair is convertible to a bed. She also explained about the insurance policy and the birth certificate process as well as car seat safety check. It sounds like if we are uncertain, our village or police department can check if the car seat is installed correctly.
There are much more to talk about, but those are the points from the zoom lectures.
Besides that event, I had an NST appointment. It went well as usual. From next week, my OBGYN visit will be every week and I’m seeing a doctor (not a nurse) each time. Only 4 more OBGYN visit to go 🙂