Dexa

Couple of hours back i saw on facebook a friend mentioned that doctor gave her dexa jab. She’s 27 weeks pregnant if im not mistaken. the moment i saw the word dexa…i had goosebump coz it brings me back to the experience i had with my pregnancy.

A lil history, i had prob conceiving my 1st pregnancy due to PCOS, i was given dexa tablets to help matured my eggs. I hope im correct coz from the handwriting written on my medication, it spells dexa to me. Anyway, i was allergic to it..which was kind of weird coz it was meant to be antihistamine (again, doctors..correct me if im wrong). So when i reached the labour room at 26 weeks of gestation and already 9cm dilated i heard doctors talking among themselves to give me dexa. i immediately told them…nope! i’m allergic to it…my face became red and  bloated! thus they didnt proceed with it. I was told that the dexa jab they wanted to give me was to help matured my babies lung. but there were lil confusion there coz i told them i had the dexa tablets, then doctor said dexa only comes in form of jab, no tablet. but argument cut short coz im 9cm dilated and there wasnt enough ventilator for my triplets, so no time for arguments..sume tgh kabut calling other hospital with extra ventilator!

So we made do without the dexa n proceed with my labour the minuted they said “we have 3 incubators ready!!!” So that was what happen for my 1st pregnancy.

As for my 2nd pregnancy, since im already aware wat was contraction like, i tend to be more alert. It was my 32nd week of gestation n i felt exactly how i felt during my first pregnancy (in which i ignored previously). This time around I clearly remembered telling syauQi “u, rase sakit mcm dulu triplets”. It was early morning, 5-ish AM and we straight rush to hospital. Yup,I  had contraction but not yet dilated. ayat doctor “tip of my finger” Then, heard doctors saying nak kasi dexa. Again i told them “nope, i’m allergic!” and they asked me how do i know im allergic to it coz what are the chances org dh penah try dexa. Told them the history of my 1st pregnancy and again doctor kind of dispute…tablet dexa? mane ade..dexa jab. after much telling all the info history of my 1st pregnancy and since im only dilated “tip of the finger” doctor suggested to give trial jab just below my skin to see any reaction. And after certain period of time..no sign of allergies, they decided to give me the dosage of dexa needed to help matured baby’s (uZAir’s) lung, just in case baby pops out at 32nd week. Alhamdulillah, it was just false alarm, uZAir managed to stay in the ‘oven’ up till 38th week, so he was a fullterm baby. Was so happy i need not go tru the experience of giving birth to premature baby again.

Fuh…that was a long mukadimah. Back to the fb shout out my friend did on dexa. I became so worried of her, fearing that she have to go tru early labour, she’s only 27 weeks pregnant. My mind started to recall back all the memories i had with the triplets. the daily trips i made to the hospital reading the machine and all. looking at their fragiler 760gram and 600gram bodies. That wasn’t easy for us. Each minute was crucial. If they are breathing well now, another minute they could suddenly stop breathing. Ni bukan case cam lets deal it day by day…it was like minute after minute. I could leave the ward seeing them nicely asleep, but the minute i step out of the ward, they might be having problem breathing. It wasnt easy for us to see our lil ones kena cucuk sini sana…but soon we got used to it, smpai kt kepala pun kena cucuk.

I remembered asking the doctor, what were the contributing factors i gave birth early. Of coz the number one answer was due to multiple pregnancy. The chances of my 760grm baby is not the same as chances of another 760gram single pregnancy. Through out the 4 months of daily visit to the ward (SCN -Special Care Nursery) we saw other parents who had the same fear and anxiety like us. It wasn’t easy. We even saw few babies who pass away.

Err..sungguh lari topic actually. The main intention i’m writing this is to share with other pregnant moms. Try not to exert urself too much. Some might say, but im feeling okay…that was exactly what i felt before going to sleep that night, little did i expect at 6am the next morning i was already 9cm. So ibu2 mengadung, jgn lah meloncah sgt… try minimize ur activity…takyah lah gi jalan2 holiday bagai. Its a different story if ur job demands u to travel…tu dah takde choice kan. Would u want to go tru such stress and anxiety, every minute pikir, will my baby go tru another minute of his / her life?

To all pregnant mothers, take good care of urself! if tetiba rase sakit tu trus lah gi hospital. biar lah false alarm pun, dpd pegi2 dh 9cm! (wah entry ni byk  kali tulis repeat the word 9cm..hihi) Ye mmg boring if doctor suruh bedrest kt umah. TAPI lagi teruk if berbulan kena ulang alik hospital to see your small fragile baby / babies!

However it was indeed the most valuable experience we had, giving birth to miracles babies and seeing them now. Alhamdulillah