I’ll admit, I was a little nervous for my first prenatal appointment in South Asia. I know things can be pretty unorganized, feel hectic, and are without a doubt different here.
We started our journey by taking a taxi to the airport, leaving the green fields and hills and flying to the big city.
We made our way to the hotel.
Doctor’s Appointment
Next, we took at twenty minute walk through a park and into a neighborhood where a whole line of taxis and auto rickshaws were parked. You might think the cars were empty– definitely not. This was where the drivers not only took an afternoon siesta and conked out in their vehicle (sometimes with their feet out the window), but they also relieved themselves next to the sidewalk, facing the trees and brick wall. Whew, the stench! When I saw a guy with his back facing us, there was no question what kind of business he was doing. My husband and I just laughed and started walking in the street, rather than on the sidewalk.
We soon made it to the hospital. The hospital looked a little run down but most things here look like that so I didn’t think anything of it. It’s the care that baby and I will get that matters.
Got to Appointment: 2:00 pm–Robby was allowed in without a second thought from anyone. We love you for this, South Asia.
Appointment Fee: Paid the equivalent of $27 at the front desk and filled out a little slip of paper with my name, age, and address. That was ALL the information they had about me at that point. (There is no such thing as insurance so that’s the entire fee that people pay here).
Waiting Room: The waiting room was surprisingly crowded with people waiting for all kinds of appointments — talking about fertility, IVF, regular gyno exams…
1st Doctor gets my Information: 2:30 pm–A doctor called us into a conference room where she asked why I was there. I had previously told the lady over the phone when I made the appointment that it was a prenatal appointment but this doctor was definitely unsure why I was in front of her. “I’m 20 weeks pregnant.” I said. She asked for all the previous blood work and ultrasound paperwork. I explained that I wasn’t aware to print everything but I could look up everything on my phone. I further explained how in America things are all online and I’m pretty sure that’s inconceivable and impractical sounding to people here. So my husband and I scrambled to log into my American portals and get all the information she asked for.
Meet Main Doctor: Next, I met with the main doctor who seemed very educated and business-like but also super supportive of whatever the mother wanted for her baby and birth experience. She was shocked that I already had blood work done in the States at my first trimester appointment. I again explained that is what doctors do in America around 13 or 14 weeks gestation. I asked the doctor several questions and then she mentioned that if I ever get any results or have any other questions at all, I can simply text the office cell phone via Whatsapp.
A nurse took my blood pressure.
I laid down so the doctor could hear the baby’s heartbeat on the doppler (135 bpm). This was also the FIRST TIME MY HUSBAND COULD HEAR THE HEARTBEAT cause the only appointment or ultrasound he was allowed in for in the States was 8 weeks which was absolutely the most frustrating thing about being pregnant in America during Covid. #notmaternity
That was pretty much it. All the notes were taken on a piece of white paper with the letterhead of the office. Everything was hand written in cursive English. The “file system” consisted of a nurse taking a photo of my piece of paper with the office cell phone.
Prescription: The doctor wrote a prescription on the same piece of paper which was basically a list of all the blood tests she wanted me to get and she wrote the phrase “20 week Ultrasound” with her signature next to it. And that was that.
Pay for Blood Work: Next, we walked upstairs to another counter to pay for the blood work (equivalent of $42)
Get Blood Work: Then, walked down the hall to get my blood drawn. Good thing I knew the language because the two guys running the lab were thrilled I knew it. The lab seemed clean and the blood draw was so quick and easy, better than some of the ones I have had in the States.
Lessons I learned
- Print out records beforehand so you can show them previous ultrasounds, bloodwork, and any other records they might need.
- even if they don’t ask, tell them exactly why you are making an appointment and what you need done (if you know). For example, I knew I needed an anatomy scan, which they call an anomalies scan here.
- be assertive when needed. One front desk worker assumed I was going to take the glucose drink that day, even though I wasn’t even far enough along. I simply told him that I was not taking the drink today, just getting other blood work done.
Advice I received from hospital forms
- “Rest is important and several short rest periods in a comfortable position with your feet elevated during the day are a must for you.”
- “don’t indulge in hazardous activities such as climbing ladders.”
- “Don’t go in for jumping, bouncing, gymnastics, and excessive stretching.”
- “Don’t exercise for more than 15 minutes per day.”
Ultrasound Appointment
Two days later, we went to a clinic not associated with the hospital to get an anatomy scan or 20 week ultrasound. The doctor came highly recommended by a friend and long story short, I didn’t realize I would need to make an appointment 10 days in advance (that’s a LOT for South Asia.) I called and they said we are booked for the next week and a half. There were no appointments but we figured we might as well try.
We showed up right when they opened and by God’s grace, we were actually able to get in.
It is illegal here to find out the sex of the baby! Why?
Because boys are often preferred. When a young man gets married, him and his new wife his family (eventually) lives with his parents. So, if a couple only has girls, they basically have no one to take care of them as they age. Not to mention that this is a male dominate society and you just have more respect as a male. Women are also taken advantage of and protecting your daughter can be difficult. However, it is often the grandparents, not a child’s parents who insist on an abortion if they pay (under the table somehow) to find out if it’s a girl.
I heard of some foreigners wearing blue and pink bangles and asking the technician to simply “show” what the baby was by pointing to the pink or blue.
The clinic we went to was super nice for South Asia and the bangle question just didn’t settle right with me, not to mention all the signs in every hospital/ clinic we saw that said “seeking/asking for the sex of the child is also a punishable offense.” My husband and I both looked at each other and thought, ummm… we’ll just be surprised.
We were extremely impressed with the ultrasound. Not once, did they turn the monitor to where only the doctor could see it. Not only was this clinic’s technology up to par with what we would have gotten in the States, but the doctor doing the ultrasound explained everything that was on the screen– from the ventricles of the heart pumping, to the liver, the parts of the brain, and looking for signs of a cleft palate. We loved how they narrated what we were seeing on the screen.
You’d think with how thorough it was that we would have been able to see something on the screen to identify our little one as a boy or girl. But seriously, they did not show anything or give us any photos of even the whole uterus, like you would get in the States. Every photo was as up close as this one below, if not more.
That was the only bummer! I would have loved a picture of our whole baby curled up in my womb.
Overall, we were happy with the appointments and praising the Lord that our baby is healthy so far and everything went well.
Meeting our Doula
We also hired a doula, someone who supports a mother during birth. The doula we hired is one of the first women to even be a certified in this profession in the whole country and seems super passionate and knowledgable about the work. She attended about 30 births, which is a lot of experience for doulas here, since it’s a brand new field of work. We are also glad she speaks perfect English and the language we are learning so we won’t have to be translating things while in the delivery room.