LiL’deviL’s LittLe famiLy

21 September 2005
I forgot how many weeks pregnant I was when I went for my first check up. But it was quite late, round about the third month. I regret I never keep a copy of my health checks record. Actually I requested one weeks after I left the hospital after giving birth but they never manage to give it to me.

All the basic stuffs for first check ups -> filling in forms, taking measurements, blood and urine sample. Was given a ‘Pregnancy hand-held record’ which I’m told to carry with me all the time just in case there’s an accident, a baby diary which I never keep up-to-date, and the first Bounty Bag for mums-to-be which contains lots of goodies like magazines, samples and brochures.

I was given a few choices of antenatal and birthing care and asked to choose one, but I didn’t know anything at that time so I just asked the midwife to help me choose. She said she will put me on a waiting list on something but I didn’t know what then. It was actually the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP), which is ‘a midwife-led model of maternity care that offers continuity of midwifery carer to women and their families throughout pregnancy, birth and the early weeks at home with a new baby’. With this, I will be cared by a group of same midwives. This was a new service with certain restrictions and with limited places. There are other types of antenatal care but the one I eventually took was hospital care where I saw midwives at the hospital clinic. I was seeing the same midwife until my last visit because she was pregnant too and began her maternity leave already. I only knew that MGP was the better choice when it was too late. The hospital actually called me before to inform me that I was going up on the waiting list but me being stupid and told them I don’t mind the type of care that I get, so I guessed they kick me out of the list.

Before I left I was to make an appointment for my next visit and ultrasound on my 20th week. I already planned to take a visit back to KL at the end of the month for about two months so I would skip one check up but the midwife said it was fine. So my next check up will be on my 20th week gestation together with the ultrasound.