ADVICE NEEDED: 1st Baby Prem --Now Preg with 2nd | ExpatWoman.com
 

ADVICE NEEDED: 1st Baby Prem --Now Preg with 2nd

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 20 August 2013 - 14:11

Hi Ladies,

I'm here to ask some opinions as to what you lovely lot think i should do.. Let me start by telling you about the day i gave birth to my first daughter...

I woke up as normal, just lazing round the house, and as i woke up from a snooze at midday my waters popped and that was it, BANG i was in full swing labour. i had no painful contractions before that point but boy did i know about it once my waters had popped! Labour was on in full force.. Called the hubby and he drove me to the hospital.. i was there only about 3hours when it was time for me to get on the bed and start pushing.. before i really had the chance to think (or abuse the gas&air or anything else) i was holding my daughter.

It was around 5 hours from very start to very finish.

Now pregnant with my second, i have been given only a 10% chance of carrying full-term and have been told (by UK consultants) that realistically i should keep a home-birth pack at my house -as they its more than likely that i will go into labour so quickly i wont have the chance to even make it into hospital (which is only about 20mins from where i live in the uk) ...

My issue now is, (esp. considering the enormous NICU costs) do i stay here in Dubai and risk a premature birth -one that may even happen on route to the hospital, or do i head back to the UK where i know how things work and where home birth isnt illegal (as it is here?)

ps. my baby was born at 2kgs, she had no steroids to strengthen her grown and development of lungs but she was borh happy and health and didnt need any NICU care -thankfully!

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 January 2014 - 09:33
My nephew who is now 11 y/o was born prem in Dubai he was born 10 weeks prem. yes the insurance is about money but he was in SCBU for about a month as he got infection. The care here was amazing, just the same as it's amazing in the uk. Ultimately it's what mum (and dad) feel more comfortable doing. Good luck
339
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 27 January 2014 - 09:07
Oh I wish I had a nice Epi to help me along- stayed at home for 40 hours odd until i was 7cm dialated, then I couldnt take it any more so went to hospital. They kindly broke my waters for me (THE most excrutiating pain I have ever endured) before telling me that my daughter was nice and comfy and I would be prepped for a C section if she wasnt out after 12 hours. 6 hours later I had the Epi in preparation for the C section, 5 hours 59 minutes later I had my girl. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute I shall be having an Epi this time, immediately, unless i can manageone of these dreamy speedy births you gilrs have!!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 January 2014 - 21:24
59hours!!!!!!! OMG how did you handle that? Hope you had a nice strong epidural through out coz I know I would have needed it! FYI, my second was born just more than a month early, and my labour was over and done with in an hour and a half. Also FYI, I won't be having another baby in Dubai. Awful experience. Am just thankful that I'm a strong woman that labours well -coz I had to do it all on my own in what I can only describe as a storage area in City Hospital. -wasn't a happy bunny.
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 13 January 2014 - 12:20
Love these stories - I had a quick 59 hour labour hahaha
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 August 2013 - 17:57
Meagle, thank you so much for sharing. Your husband did really well, mine probably would have freaked out. :-) I had real contractions when we were in the car, like 3 mins apart, so I was literally holding myself on the handrail. It would have taken about 20 mins to get to the hospital, but it took half an hour because he went on a different direction as he was soo nervous. lol. OP, I don't know what hospitals are like in the UK but I can highly recommend the City Hospital. I know there have been some negative posts about it previously, but my experience was really good, the midwives were amazing and the stuff was really friendly and helpful. If I were you and had a good insurance, I'd definitely stay.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 26 August 2013 - 15:35
missrayner, I had a similar experience to you on my first child, I had her in Europe at 36 weeks 5/4 hours labour, she flew out and all was well, she was 2.6kgs and perfect, my 2nd pregnancy i was here in Dubai and also v concerned as my husband travelled etc, However I had to be induced at 40+ weeks, the little guy didnt want to come out at all, i was so sure he was coming early I had the bag in the car from 35wks, I was very well looked after here and I cant recommend the care in Dubai highly enough. My 3rd ds was by elective csection as he was breach, that went perfectly fine also, the only thing is I tested positvie for Group B Strep and he was seriously ill and in and out of NICU for 6 weeks, in my home county they do not screen for GBS so if I had gone home to have him it would have been a very different story, the point I'm making is, Dubai is as good a place as any developed country to give birth, and I will be eternally greatful for the care that I got here especially on my 3rd child, good luck with whatever you decide.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 August 2013 - 21:13
I love a labour story and my advice the would be to go home.... Its more familiar with no language barrier!!! While you are talking of fast labours my best friend in the UK had her first baby in 1hour 20 mins and her second in..... 7mins!! She was at another friends baby shower and 3 days away from her due date. She was in a hotel having afternoon tea and leant forward to get a cake when she felt something. She said to another friend she needed to leave NOW!!!!! As she went to sit down she realised there was no time and told everyone to get out the room.... Thinking she was being a little dramatic, the girls were trying to calm her down. She was screaming at another friend to get her tights off as the baby was there.... True enough within seconds the baby was born in the restaurant of a hotel.... 7 mins from leaning forward to get a cake!! Mother and baby were absolutely fine and very lucky an off duty midwife was viewing the hotel as a potential wedding venue and turned up very shortly after the baby was born. An ambulance was there very quickly!! I definitely wouldn't want to go through that here in Dubai. I went back to the UK for both my children's birth as the after care is brilliant and the advice you gain is invaluable in my opinion. Good luck with your decision, and good luck with the birth!!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 25 August 2013 - 18:54
Wow Meagle, you are SUCH a trooper! What an amazing, and scary, story! Glad the little one was born happy and healthy. Brilliant story to tell the grandkids. ;)
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EW GURU
Latest post on 25 August 2013 - 10:28
labrador: no huge drama to the story, actually. Woke with contractions during the night. Was only 37 weeks. Got up and did some laundry as there was no way I was sleeping through them. Was using an app on my phone to time the contractions. I had been told 1 hr of contractions 5 minutes apart of closer and lasting at least 1 minute each. Woke my husband up after about 90 minutes and told him to call the midwife and see if we should come in. Contractions were 3-5 minutes apart but were only 30-45 seconds. Water hadn't broken so figured we had plenty of time and wasn't 100% sure this was the read deal and not just false labor. Had a mega contraction while he was on the phone and told him we needed to go in. Went and sat on the toilet while he got our things together. Must have hit transition then because things really slowed down and pain was manageable. Told him to grab some towels as we were leaving the house just in case my water broke in the car. There was NO WAY I could sit in the car, so I ended up kneeling on the seat with my back to the windscreen and one foot on the floor. It was 2am, so no traffic. We pulled out of the garage and bam: I told him I NEEDED to push. Hospital was only about 12 minutes away and with no traffic, he just kept driving like the wind hoping we'd make it. Nope, she was born while driving down the highway. He pulled over at an underpass. I asked him what he was doing--she was crying, drive don't stop! LOL (At that point it would have taken longer to wait for an ambulance than for him to drive us to the hospital himself.) Being that it was a Friday night, I'm sure the only cars we passed were drunk folks who got a good view of my naked behind. Showed up at the emergency department with baby still attached and wrapped in a towel. Told the security guard who stood there for a minute stunned before it registered and he went in and got a doctor and a couple nurses. They transferred us to a wheel chair and then to a bed once we were inside. Cut the cord, quick checked her and I out and then wheeled us up to the labor and delivery ward where we met the midwife. ETA: Not really sure if/when my water actually broke. Probably when she came out but that's just a guess. <em>edited by Meagle on 25/08/2013</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 22 August 2013 - 15:01
I'm sorry to hijack, but I'd love to hear Meagle's story. Would you share it with us please? :-)
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EW GURU
Latest post on 21 August 2013 - 15:18
I'm interested in why your providers in the UK are so concerned about a fast labor with this baby--one that wouldn't make it to the hospital. 5 hours from water breaking is fairly fast but it's far from precipitous labor (generally defined as 3 hours or less from start to finish). (FWIW, I had a precipitous birth with my second--2 hours 22 minutes start to finish. And she was born in the car. I was told that babies that are small and well positioned tend to be the fastest births. Just curious to see what advice others with a history of fast labors are advised.)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 August 2013 - 13:46
I can understand where you are coming from. Private medical care is a money making machine but I always felt comfortable with my OB and never felt like she pushed any extra tests on me. I'm not sure what the gestational age for your first preemie was but in Dubai late preemies I.e. 33 weeks+ are also kept under observation for a few days. In the end it's really your decision and what you are at peace with, if you have family and extra help back home I would definitely consider it. I wish you the best and a full term pregnancy :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 August 2013 - 11:42
Thanks Sami. I'm with Bupa who i believe provide us great coverage, but i'm still worried. No only just the monetary side, but also the doctors themselves... I already find myself second-guessing my obstetrician, questioning whether i really need extra blood tests, and whether my husband required blood tests. Because the medical care here is ultimately a money making machine, i wonder to myself, if i did have a pre-term again would I question the doctors advice, and i'm pretty sure that if NICU was required here i would have a nagging in the back of my mind as to whether it was truly necessary. -have i just let my mind wonder a few steps too far?
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 August 2013 - 07:26
I would go back i had a preemie last March and even with great insurance we ended up paying out of the pocket. Good luck!
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EW GURU
Latest post on 20 August 2013 - 14:19
How good is your insurance?
 
 

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