Prenatal Class Day 4: Pain Relief in Labour and Care of Newborns

By the time Day 4 of the prenatal class came around, we pretty much knew what to expect. I was in particular looking forward to more goodies in the goodie bag! :) Here's what we got on the fourth day:



Day 4 goodie bag



Sebamed products



Drypers disposable diapers



Pureen stretch mark cream


The first talk of the evening was given by one of the hospital's anaesthesiologists (I think this is how it's spelt; I can never get the spelling of these names correctly). She briefly described what types of pain relief are available in labour, the most effective being an epidural anaesthesia("epidural"). We had earlier also watched a short video on how an epidural is given. Epidurals are relatively safe but it can also cause some unpleasant side effects such as nausea, headache and backache if not administered correctly.

I think I have decided not to use an epidural and to give it a try the good ol' fashioned way. In any event, there will be a form of pain relief in a combination of oxygen and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which is on hand in every labour room. We saw what it looked like the other day during the maternity ward tour. Hopefully I can endure it. If anyone has any pain relief stories to share, please do let me know.

After the talk, the doctor also showed us the different types of needles used for administering the drugs, either by an epidural or by a spinal anaesthesia, which is also a form of pain relief given during a caesarean section. The epidural needle is pretty thick, hence the high probability of having backache. The spinal needle however is very fine and therefore will not cause any backache.

Later, after the usual break, we had a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist (newborn specialist) talk to us about the care of babies at birth. He told us that if our babies look a bit funny just after they are born, not to worry as the baby will retain water hence making them look puffy and their skin may be blotchy. He also told us how to care for newborns and the different types of immunizations or vaccines that they will need for the first few months of their lives. So Baby, this is where Mummy and Daddy have to spend more $$$!

All in all, we were quite satisfied with the classes we have attended over the last four days. The talks were informative and interesting, and able to prepare us well for what is ahead. It was money well spent indeed.