Ready or not, the baby is coming soon!

I went to the OB doctor again the other day, the same doctor as I saw last time. All seems well with the baby.

The place I went for my appointment is Lake View clinic. I thought it would be funny that Sara was born at Lakeview Hospital in Stillwater and this new one could be born at Lake View Clinic here. Abu’s brothers were born at Lake View and the vice principal of the school where I worked had her daughter at Lake View about three to four years ago. The building looks like most of the other older buildings here, cement and kind of dirty, nothing unusual. When going inside the first thing I noticed, last time and this time, is that the big double doors are left wide open for people, and mosquitoes, to come and go as they please. I saw, as we walked down a long hall to the doctor's office, smoking clay pots on the floor, these are to keep the mosquitoes away. Judging by the amount of mosquitoes flying around, the only thing the clay smoker things do is give me a headache and stomachache. As we waited, a housekeeper came by to sweep the patient room that was directly in front of us. There was some poor man in the room "recovering" from some foot injury or surgery and everyone in the waiting room can see right into his room when the door opens. He did not have a curtain to pull. I imagine he could also hear everything from the hallway and was breathing in the poison mosquito smoke. No one else seems bothered by the poisonous smoke so maybe the man did not even notice it.

When we saw the doc, she asked for a “prescription” she gave us last time, this seems to be equal to my chart. I found this is how all the clinics and hospitals work. The doctor jots down your info, in their own personal shorthand, and it is the patient’s responsibility to bring their “chart” to each appointment. Some clinics provide a folder some do not. This “prescription” was the only paper we did not have with us. For most of the appointment, the doctor would casually mention how much she needs that paper and how important it is. I nearly lost my patience with her. I wanted to say, "We do not have the paper. Either see me now, and get over it, or send me home without being seen, but I do not want to hear about the stupid paper anymore!" I managed to keep my mouth shut. 

At one point during the appointment, Sara announced that she had to go to the bathroom. Abu told me, after we left, that the bathroom, the whole building for that matter, did not have running water. He found this out when trying to flush the last person’s “deposit” with no results. Abu reported to the front desk attendant about the water and the attendant said that they had not had running water since the afternoon. It was after seven in the evening at this point.

When it was time to be examined, the woman helping the doctor, there is no way she was a nurse, she was not busy enough, asked me to climb onto the examination table. My head actually hung off the end of the table a bit because she wanted my legs straight and I am taller than her average patient. The helper removed the top of the jelly tube and plopped the cold jelly onto my big pregnant belly. The doctor examined my belly and we listened to the baby’s heartbeat. I have no idea of the rate because she did not bother to count but said it sounded good. When the doctor was done, I watched in speechless amazement as the helper scraped the jelly off my belly and put it back into the tube. Waste not want not I guess.

After she examined me and checked for swelling in my legs and feet, she spent the last half of the appointment scolding Abu and I, (but mostly Abu, which I found really strange, like it is his fault the mosquitoes like me?) for all of the mosquito bites that I have. We both tried to explain that most of the spots are old and I do not get very many anymore because I cover my body with long pants, socks, long sleeves and I am using some heavy-duty bug spray. This explanation was not good enough, I guess, because she lectured us quite firmly about the dangers of mosquito bites.

After that, I told the doctor about how I am against having a c-section and made sure we were on the same page. She was shocked to hear how long I was in labor with Sara (about 30 hours), which worries me because I am sure she would have insisted on a c-section if she had been my doc last time. I mentioned that I had to have pitocin and an epidural last time and she explained that they do not have epidurals there, only IM and suppository analgesics. I never wanted the epidural last time until I had to have the pitocin so I said that was fine. Millions of women give birth without meds, so can I, if all goes well. As I thought about it later, I started to wonder what they do for c-sections; I imagine they knock the women out before the surgery. I then asked if I could see the delivery room and recovery room so I can know what to expect. The doc called upstairs to check, making a point to tell them that I am not a Bangladeshi; we got the go ahead because no one was in the delivery room or recovery room. There is only one of each room.

We waited a bit for our escort and then we were taken to the OR "theatre." We had to remove our shoes and put on shared flip-flops. The dangers of athlete’s foot swept through my mind just as had happened when I was at the pool a few months ago but I figured the flip-flops are better than going barefoot, and I had the remnants of shared jelly on my belly. Our escorts led us through a narrow door into a diamond shaped room. For every birth, regular or c-section, women have to use this room. The "bed" is more like a flat narrow dentist chair complete with the arm rests. The old blue plastic that covers the bed is cracked in many places and the padding has long since been squished. It did not look comfortable to sit in for 5 minutes much less having to lie on while my body is experiencing the worst pain a person can endure. There was a large archaic looking OR light hanging over the foot of the "bed." The light actually looked like the newest thing in the room. Around the walls were silver circular containers, containing who knows what. This was the most I could see before I had to get out of the room. We were probably in there for 5 seconds before I had to get out. I could just imagine them tying me down to the bed, like 1950’s Twilight Birth style…  Clearly, they are not into the natural or holistic approach to childbirth.

I tried my best to swallow my emotions and asked to see the recovery room. The room itself is no bigger than the room where I had Sara in Stillwater. It has three beds squished in there with no curtains. The beds are made with the typical cream blankets but it is clear that they too have seen better days. I do not believe that they are adjustable. There are no chairs in the room for guests. In fact, this room is in the OR area so I do not think guests are allowed. There is one small "crib" in the corner for the baby. There is no TV. I did not see a bathroom but I have to assume there was one, even if it did not have running water. We quickly thanked the women who showed us around, put on our shoes and got out of there. I hardly held in my hysterical laughter as we went down the stairs and quickly got out of the building. 

Since then I have had another ultrasound, as the doctor requested, all looks good, only seven weeks to go. We saw United, a little bit, the other day when we took Sara there after three days of vomiting. Sara is feeling much better now. United Hospital looks good, like a hospital I am used to, from the little I have seen so far. I do not imagine that I will get the same birth experience that was so wonderful in MN but that would be hard to top. I have an appointment in a few days, with another new doctor, at United and we will request a tour. This doctor, I found through a Facebook group for foreign parents living in Dhaka. Three women suggested her and had a good birth experience at United. I am hopeful that this will go well. Actually, it had better go well because I only have seven weeks to go and I do not have a regular doctor yet or a place to deliver. If it does not go well I will end up delivering at home in bed! There has been some talk of me flying back to MN for the delivery but that is not an ideal situation for many reasons. Either way, no matter what happens, this baby will come and come soon!