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.

Prenatal Class Day 3: Breathing exercises, floor exercises and baby massage

The third day of our prenatal class started at about 7.55 pm and as we entered the auditorium, we got these:


Third day goodie bag



Facial wash and cracked heel cream



Avent breast milk storage cup


I guess by this time we quite look forward to getting our goodie bags to see what was inside! :) Initially I thought that we would only get it on the first day.

Anyway, the talk was given by the one of Adventist Hospital's physiotherapists and she began her session by telling us about the usual aches and pains a woman usually gets during pregnancy. She also taught us some breathing exercises that can come in useful during labour. I think the whole point of learning these breathing techniques is that it makes you concentrate and focus on your breathing so as to distract you from the pain. However, she did mention that if one was to elect for an epidural then all these breathing techniques are not necessary.

After that, she talked to us about baby massage and gave a brief demonstration on it. At Adventist Hospital they have a special class for baby massage in which they teach only parents (not grandparents or maids) how to bond with and massage their baby. I told Hubby the babies nowadays so "hoh mia", even have special massage for them. I have never even had a proper massage before :p

Baby massaging over, it was time for the usual biscuit and soya milk/milo break.

After the break, we came back to the auditorium to find exercise mats and pillows placed on the floor. I brought my own yoga mat (borrowed from sister-in-law) since the day before we were advised to bring our own in case they did not have enough. The first part of the floor exercises was the wife massage..aahh..how nice. In this session, they taught the husbands how to give their wives massages to help relieve all the aches and pains, especially in the neck and back.

That done, it was time for the ladies to learn some exercises to help strengthen their abdominal and pelvic muscles. This would be particularly useful during labour as well as after delivery for faster recovery.

We ended class at almost 10.45 on the third day. Although it was long, but it was fun! Looking forward to the last day.

Prenatal Class Day 2: O&G talk

The second day of the prenatal class started punctually at 7.45 pm with a talk given by one of the hospital's consultant O&G (I didn't spell it out in full because I don't know how to spell it! :p) specialists. Although he looked rather young, his talk was clear, precise and informative.

Just like the first day, we were given another goodie bag with more free stuff inside as we entered the auditorium for the talk. We got these on the second day:


Second day goodie bag



Breast pads and stretch mark/nappy rash cream samples


Before the class however, Hubby took me to have dinner at the Midlands shopping centre opposite the hospital. We had noodles at a Taiwan cafe. This is me enjoying my dinner-noodles with dumplings:



Hubby's dinner-seafood mee suah:




Anyway, back to the talk. The first part of the talk was about ante-natal care, development of the baby and screening for fetal abnormalities during the different trimesters. Most of what the doctor spoke about we had already learnt from reading materials as well as off the internet, but it was no harm to listen to it again to refresh our memory. One thing that we found quite useful was learning how to count the baby's kicks to make sure that the baby is moving constantly. He said that the baby should kick 10 times in 12 hours. So today I started counting Baby's kicks. So far she has kicked/moved 6 times today since 7.00 am this morning.

After a short break of drinks and biscuits, the talk proceeded with the doctor speaking on changes during pregnancy, complications during pregnancy as well as labour and delivery. It was interesting to know what could possibly happen and what are the steps to be taken by the doctor and hospital if such an event were to happen.

The talk ended at about 9.50 pm.

Prenatal Class Day 1: Nutrition, Breastfeeding and Baths

We woke up early, despite it being a Sunday morning as we were anticipating the first day of the prenatal class conducted by Adventist Hospital.

After breakfast, we made our way to the Nursing Auditorium where the class was to be conducted. We registered ourselves and were given a goodie bag with information about the talks, facilities offered by the hospital as well as some freebies. We got these:



The goodie bag



Samples of disposable diapers



More freebies

The first talk started punctually at 10.00 am and the topic was on prenatal and postnatal nutrition. It was given by one of the hospital's dietitians. She did mention that different races have different "pantang-larang" about what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten during pregnancy and after delivery, but she concluded that all kinds of food can be eaten, the key word being moderation. So I cheekily told Hubby that I can now eat watermelon, rojak and ice cream. No such luck, however! :p

The next talk on breastfeeding benefits and tecnique at 11.00 am was presented by one of the lactation nurses. She was quite amusing in her talk and demonstrated what colustrum (early milk) and mature milk looked like, besides showing us the correct method of breastfeeding and holding the baby. She also said that they encourage the baby to room-in with the mother so that she can breastfeed exclusively.

After that we proceed downstairs for a light lunch of of fried beehoon, vegetarian pohpiah and cut fruits of watermelon and honeydew (Adventist Hospital serves exclusively vegetarian food). As expected, I wasn't allowed to have any watermelon, just honeydew. So much for what the dietitian said...haha :)

Over lunch, we also had a talk by one of the companies on cord blood banking in which they store the baby's cord blood (from the unbilical cord) once the baby is born. This cord blood can be used to help cure diseases suffered by any of the baby's parents or siblings. We had heard about this before but we decided not to take it up because it is still in the research stage and there is no concrete guarantee that the cord blood will be 100% effective.

After lunch, we had a talk on baby bath demonstration. Besides learning how to bathe the baby, we were also taught how to fold nappies. The instructor then asked for four volunteers to demonstrate wearing the nappies on life-sized dolls, but for the fun of it, decided to ask the fathers to demonstrate instead of the mothers. The four fathers who went up were quite skillful though!

The last part of the first day sessions was a tour of the maternity ward. We were shown the different types of rooms; 3-bedded, 2-bedded (semi-private), private and VIP. The VIP room was really nice and it even had an LCD TV mounted on the wall. However, this would set a patient back RM3,000-00, so no need-lah. We were also shown the labour room and the waiting area for family. Fathers are allowed in the labour room, but if they did not want to go in, they had a special fathers' waiting room for them.

So all in all it was an informative first day. Day 2 report coming up.

Prenatal Class

Hubby and I will be attending the prenatal class this Sunday until Wednesday at Penang Adventist Hospital. It cost us RM125-00 for a four-day class. On Sunday it will be held from 10 am to 2 pm and Monday to Wednesday from 7.45 pm to 9.45 pm.

Taken from the Adventist Hospital website, the course objectives are as follows:

*To let mother & husband be aware of her/his wife's changes during pregnancy.
*To know the development of their baby in her womb.
*To understand her nutritional needs.
*To enable her/him to take care of herself/his wife during pregnancy and postnatal period.
*To prepare the mother for labour & delivery.
*To educate the parents on the benefits of breastfeeding & care of their newborn baby.

Since first-time mothers are encouraged to attend, we signed up for it even though the schedule is quite tight, four days in a row. Hopefully we will be able to digest the information quick enough!

The topics covered will be:

*Day 1 – Sunday
Nutrients Required For Mother & Baby
Healthy Postnatal Diet
Breastfeeding Benefits & Technique
Baby Bath Demonstration

*Day 2 – Monday
Prenatal Care
Development of the Baby
Screening for Foetal Abnormalities
Changes During Pregnancy
Complications During Pregnancy
Labour and Delivery

*Day 3 – Tuesday
Care of Baby at Birth
Immunization & Minor Problems During Infancy
Pain Relief in Labour
Video Show on Epidural Analgesia During Labour
Tour of Maternity Ward

*Day 4 - Wednesday
Prenatal & Relaxation Exercises
Breathing Techniques in Labour
Baby Massage (Overview)

I think overall we have made the right choice in selecting Adventist for our prenatal checkups as well as to deliver Baby there. It has achieved Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) which is a global programme launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and supported by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. They strongly promote breast-feeding and for the baby to room in with the mother after they are born.



Besides that, they are also a husband friendly hospital and enourage husbands to be there at the birth and delivery of their babies and they may also stay at the hospital if they wish to do so.

So we are quite looking forward to it. I will update what we have learnt after we attend the classes.