First Time Mom: My Smooth Delivery( and how much it really costs)

I was expecting a non-teleserye labor for my first baby, but hell, it did become a teleserye labor when my water broke. Contrary to popular belief, you don't really have to wait for your water to break before going in active labor. However, since mine did, I had to give birth within 20 hours (?) otherwise the baby might get infected.

I did not go straight to the hospital when my water broke. I took a shower, made sure that I had everything in the mommy and baby bag, and alerted my OB-GYNE about the situation.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR WATER BREAKS?

It was a very weird feeling because I was just laying in bed with Kenan then I felt a gush of very very warm water flowing and I couldn't control it. Then it hit me. "This is it!!!!"

Don't panic!

1. Take a shower because you will/might labor for a long while.

2. Shave/Wax down there

3. Make sure you have everything in your mommy and baby bag (on a separate post) -- but this should have been prepared at least 3 weeks before your due date.

4. Call your OB-GYNE.

So at 1:30 pm we hailed an UBER and arrived in the Emergency Room at 2:00 pm. Not long after, at exactly 2:10 pm, I found myself in the Labor Room of CSMC (Cardinal Santos) with a bunch of people (resident doctors, nurses and interns, YES INTERNS!! lol) At first, I was very shy but what the hell right? They are going to be the same people in the delivery room anyways.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE LABOR ROOM?

There are two types of labor room. One is for observation and initial recording of your situation and the other room is for the actual labor where you will stay for XX hours.

In the labor observation room, they will monitor your baby's heart rate, contraction rate, ask for your basic info like allergies, blood type, and assess your dilation (how dilated your cervix is).

Now let's get to the hard part.

In the actual labor room, I stayed from 3:00 pm to 1:30 am, I was in active labor for 9 hours.

Labor is the most painful part of pregnancy. I don't mean to scare you soon-to-be Moms but the pain is unimaginable. I was thinking maybe this is just like dysmennorreha but 100 times more painful. Try 500 times more painful! haha The pain is a wave-like sensation in your abdomen, lower back and pelvis. As your cervix becomes more dilated, it becomes more painful and comes in every 5 mins and 2 mins (as you approach full dilation)

It was funny because the doctor asked me, "Mag-epidural po kayo, Ma'am?" and I answered without hesitation, "Siguro po 'pag 7 cm na kasi I want na kaunti lang ang epidural as much as possible." Now I know what that grin was for, Doc. HAHA Then came the skin test. They will inject you with this medicine to check your reaction, BUT they will inject it PARALLEL to your skin. It was the most painful injection I had to go through, more painful than the epidural.

Maybe around 4:30 pm, I was having a hard time breathing because of the pain. That's when they took the first oxygen tank in my room.

At around 5:30 pm, I called the doctor and said "Doc, epidural please. Hindi ko na kaya!" WITH TEARS. Then the doctor told me, as my body absorbed all the oxytocins (my labor has to be induced since the baby had to come out sooner otherwise the chances for an infection was high) , "Ma'am 4cm palang po kayo dapat po 5 cm." After 1 hour, they made me curl into a fetal position (which was very hard because my tummy was popping big time!) and injected the epidural tube into my spine. IT WAS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME!

So the 10 pain scale was reduced to 2 (discomfort) then around 1:30 am, they checked my dilation and I was ready.

They took me to the delivery room and man, that room was scary. It's full of metallic things that I know will be used for my delivery!

DELIVERY ROOM EXPERIENCE

My OB-GYNE and the other doctors had a hard time with Naima. She had to be vacuumed out! It took 30 mins of pushing, 2 people on top of my upper abdomen pushing her out (this was actually painful! I told them, "Mas masakit pa po yung nakadagan sa tiyan ko kesa sa pag-ire!") then at 2:03 am, Naima Leyla Ozdemir and her pretty, innocent face graced our lives.

What's great with the hospitals nowadays is they practice UNANG YAKAP so they will put the baby on your chest right away. Then 30 mins later, we went to the recovery room and Naima had her first latch.

For those who are wondering, the actual delivery was not painful. I didn't even feel her popping out.

Yes, they will cut your "down there" and there will be a minor stitching. No, you won't feel it, too! ( until 4 hours after)

Here's an animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wb2BlQltn0

HOW MUCH DID IT COST?

Sadly, Philhealth didn't help reduce the cost as my deduction was only 5,000.00 total.

I got the SSS Maternity Leave allowance (this is supposed to be that "paid leave" replacing your salary for the two months that you will be out. Maximum SSS allowance regardless of salary is 32,000.00 for normal delivery) because your company is not really mandated to give you your full salary. That was the misconception that I had, too. Oh well.

I took a private room in CSMC for 2500.00 per day with food and snacks included. It also had a couch and a bathroom! I stayed for 3 days.

Professional Fee of OB-GYNE is 30,000.00

Professional Fee of Anaesthesiologist is 15,000.00

Professional Fee of Pediatrician is 8,000.00

Room Fee was about 10,000.00

Vaccines for Naima: BCG and Hep B 1 (Around 7k)

Hospital Fees, Incidentals, Medicines, and Tests for Naima a whopping 50,000.00

My total was around 125,000.00

Had my labor been normal, I would have been qualified for the economized package of 80k

NOTE: I was supposed to avail of the economized package of CSMC but since my water broke and I had to go through a different route in terms of labor (because they actually had to induce my labor and not "wait" for my dilation process which is the normal process) I paid more than the usual and I was not eligible for the economized package anymore.

TIPS AFTER BIRTH:

1. The episiotomy (stitching down there) will be painful especially when you sit down. I remember using my right butt cheek to support my body when I sat or lay down. This will go on for about 2 weeks. So, prepare!

2. We want to be practical as moms especially considering the fact that this won't be our last spend. The government health centers offer a FREE to a maximum amount of 40k economized package when giving birth. They just require at least 4 prenatal check-ups with them and then they will refer you to their partner hospitals.

3. Use the free vaccines provided by our health centers. This is our tax money and not to mention our right. You will save a lot if you avail of baby vaccines in the health centers of your respective barangays.

4. For breastfeeding, eat malunggay and take malunggay supplements. It's important that our baby receives the antibodies that formula milks cannot and will never be able to give them. If you're having problems with milk production like me, I had to resort to mixed feeding. 80% Breastmilk 20% formula. I know that most Moms out there come out too strong to the point of sounding condescending and judgmental if you aren't providing your baby with breastmilk. Some moms also feel so bad that they cannot. No matter what happens with you, know what's best for your baby and go with your intuition. Of course, don't forget to consult your pedia.

Even in Motherhood, I have always believed that it is BOTH the parents' responsibility to pay. Not just the dad, not just the mom. That is why I was also able to save enough for my share in this pregnancy. I did insist for a share. After all these, I can attest that "saving for a child" will never happen. You can save for a delivery/hospital bills, etc. but not for raising a child -- because that one is a never-ending one. :)

#BIRTH #DELIVERY #HOWMUCHGIVINGBIRTH #CARDINALSANTOSMEDICALCENTER #Cardinal #epidural #givingbirth #baby #motherhood