Anyone given birth at Thomson Medical Centre?

[snowqueen]

Hi

I'm now 31+5 and have just been on a hospital tour and booked my room at Thomson Medical Centre.

When I went on a tour several months ago, I assumed that you were put in the rooms in the order that were shown; meaning you start off in the Birthing Room, then move to the Observation ward, then you go up to your room.

But as it turns out, you start of in the Observation room (which has about 3/4 beds in it curtained off for privacy), while the doctors examine you and check how dialated you are and don't go to the Birthing room until you are about to deliver.

I mentioned how quiet it was in the observation room and said if I was in there, I'd be screaming the place down. How can it be so quiet in there if that's where you spend the first stages of labour - is everyone drugged up to the eyeballs or what.

I just wondered if people could share their experiences so I have a better idea of what to expect on D day.

Many thanks X

[Flyjet1]

Is your gynae at Thomson Medical Centre as well? If yes, you can report to your gynae there first, which you will be observed in their clinic bed. Until, you are "ready" or dilated, then you will be told to move to birthing room where the party begins.

Otherwise, you will have to report to the observation room. Should your water bag burst before you reach TMC, you will be admitted to the birthing room for immediate boarding.

Are you trying to avoid the observation room?

[snowqueen]

I suppose I am yes because the observation room doesn't really offer much privacy - just a large room with several beds and a curtain round each bed.

I'm not sure if everyone was drugged to the eyeballs but it did seem very quiet in there. Plus I would like to be able to walk around a little during the early stages of labour as I have heard that gravity speeds up the process rather than just lying on a bed and waiting for things to happen.

My doctor's room isn't that big either. Waiting area, consulting room and another room with a bed in it.

I would be interested to hear how the process went for other people to give me an idea.

[mules]

Hi,

Not sure if it was because it wasn't my first child, but when I admitted myself to Thomson they took me straight to the delivery room. I was there for 17 hours and not once, even when my contractions stopped for a few hours, did they suggest I should go to the observation room.

Guess it depends on how busy they are when you go in. If they are busy with alot of deliveries and you are only in the early stages, they may put you in the observation room.

Don't panic though, traditionally in the early stages you aren't really loud and screaming - that part is active labour and they would certainly have you in the delivery ward by then.

Also, by the time you are in active labour, the last thing you'll be worried about is flimsy curtains and paper thin walls - you'll just be focused on getting that baby out!

Good Luck!

[elibri]

I'm giving birth there soon and I was really worried about this too. But - it turns out that the people that give the tours always give the wrong information about this!

When you get to the hospital you will be taken to the observation room for assessment. You are then admitted and taken to your actual hospital room where you stay until you are ready to deliver - which is when they take you down to the delivery room. Apparently if everything is going smoothly without complications you can actually deliver in your hospital room. This is all info given from my ob who is one of the main drs there.

Big relief! I was shocked to think I would be spending my whole labour in a shared ward!

[robin_lilac]

In my child birth prep class, the nurse said that when comparing Asian, Caucasian, and Latin American women during labor, Asian women generally tend to be the quietest, while Latin American women generally tend to be more vocal, and Caucasian women are often spread across the entire spectrum. I've not delivered at Thomson, but perhaps that's why it was so quiet(?).

[batgirl_cdn]

If women are in the early stages of labour they don't scream, unless they are trying to be drama queens about giving birth It is during the last active stage of labour when some women tend be vocal, and it isn't necessarily screaming, more loud groaning or grunting with the body doing its work to birth the baby out. It is nothing to be afraid of or self-conscious about. As one poster already said, you won't care about who or what is around you when you get down to the last stage of birthing your baby. Just try to let go of all stress and relax and let your body do its work. Good luck and have a great birth!

[suzyQ]

i delivered at tmc last sept and the observation ward (where i languished in pain for about 5hrs) was anything but quiet!

i got to wait at two observation wards, actually. the first one had something like two or three beds, and one of them was occupied by a lady who had about seven or eight visitors. i was extremely self-conscious although contractions were only four minutes apart and very bearable at this stage.

i was wheeled to another observation ward after about an hour or so (water bag burst and put on syntocin or something), and i think there were at least four beds in this one. besides the whispers of a couple – not too sure if she'd already delivered or was waiting to deliver like me – i could hear people chatting along the corridors and even kids running and playing. at one point, a child even came in and peered at me from behind the curtains, and had to be dragged out by its parent. my contractions were picking up speed and becoming excruciatingly painful and i eventually asked for epidural to be administered despite my birth plan to have a drug-free delivery.

was then pushed into the delivery suite where anaesthetist administered the epidural and there i stayed for another 5hrs (and even fell asleep) till i delivered.

hope that helps.

[MinniMe]

I was worried about the same thing. But, my labour started around midnight, I went to Tomson at 11pm and I was taken straight to delivery room. The room category I had book earlier was full, so they had to upgrade me to the suites. The whole experiense at Tomson was great, the midwives, nurses were fantastic

[mom to be]

I need to pay extra S$300 to my gyne. Otherwise, she wont except any birth plan. Anybody got same experience?

Should I pay her or is it illegal for her to charge me birth plan fee?

Im 34 weeks pregnant and my gyne is Dr. Heng from east shore hospital. Thanks!

[in8mom]

So... is there a reason you think all laboring women are screaming during labor unless they are "drugged up to their eyeballs??"

I like batgirl-cdn's response. In my experience, as she said, I didn't grunt until the pushing stage. I labored pretty quietly.. and this was all at home. My neighbors said they were surprised they didn't hear a peep.

[snowqueen]

In8mom, i don't think its a case that we think all labouring women are screaming unless drugged up to eyeballs but if its your first child you really have no idea what your labour is going to be like, how much pain you will be in and how much noise you will make, if any and how you will cope.

Until I went to the antenatal classes I didnt realise that there were so many different stages to labour with varying levels of pain through the different stages. Most of us have only seen what birth is like in the movies - basically water breaks, extreme pain begins and the actress is wailing ans screaming blue murder but in reality it's just not like that.

As I'm the original OP I may as well tell you how it all turned out. I had to have a C-section after a failed induction attempt as my baby had to be delivered 3 weeks early. I was taken straight to my room the night before and stayed there while all the 'preparations' were done and remained there until I had to go into theatre.

I will say that the nursing staff are brilliant but the food is terrible! Thank god for Deli France downstairs.

Mum2b - As for being charged for a birthing plan by your gyne, this is daylight robbery as it's just a document expressing your wishes for the big day, it's not like you are asking them to do any extra work. I will say though, that birth plans are a bit of a waste of time and a friend of mine who had a natural deliver who did a birth plan also agrees. When you are in the throws of labour or even having a birth like mine, you are constantly making decisions there and then on the day and everything you plan to do seems to go out the window.

I did allot of things that contradicted my birth plan -I had a shave, and enema, let the nurses bath my baby and even let them give him dextrose water when I was unable to breastfeed for the 4 days I was in hospital.

Just go with the flow, it's much less stressful. Use it as a guideline to express your wishes to your doctor but be prepared to throw it out the window on the day.[/code]

[batgirl_cdn]

You absolutely should not be charged for a birth plan!

And it really saddens me to hear that people feel like their birth plans can be thrown out the window when you get to hospital. Doctors and nurses should respect parents plans unless it endangers the life of the mother or baby, and even then it should be explained to the parents. Just because hospital staff have their cookie-cutter ways of handling patients doesn't mean parents need to agree. The husband should be protecting his wife's interests so she doesn't need to be worrying about any of this during labour.

Shaving and enema? I didn't think that was even done anymore! Very old-school and unnecessary.

Medicalized birth is so inferior to what women can experience if left to birth the way nature intended.