Hospital regulation
Hospital regulation
I recently came back from the Philippines and upon my regular
review of back issues of The Jakarta Post, found a Sept. 5, 1994
letter to the editor by Ms. Saifuddin targeting the Pondok Indah
Hospital.
This was about their regulation that only one person can
attend a patient's birthing, apart from the regular hospital
staff. I would like to share my harrowing birth experience that
resulted due to this regulation.
Last March 19, 1994, I gave birth to a baby girl, 3,888 kilos
(too big for my petite frame) after a 30-hour labor steeped with
painful and regular contractions every 15 minutes. Due to this
regulation, I was unable to avail myself of the badly needed
assistance of my private midwife, since I wanted to be with my
husband in the delivery room.
As a foreigner, then only five months in Jakarta, I did not
know the language enough to communicate how I felt to the midwife
on duty. To illustrate, during labor I forced myself to stand up
after the epidural (a spinal anesthesia), something one should
never do, not getting any direct briefing from the midwife on
duty. I threw up incessantly as a result.
When I asked for a second half dose injection (since the first
one was wearing out and I was two centimeters short), she
administered it without informing me that she gave a full dose
and started blaming me for asking for it when I had a difficult
time pushing. I would not have agreed to another full dose.
During the 29th hour of labor, she could not relate to the fact
that I was still suffering excruciating pain even after receiving
two doses of the epidural. My baby, then 51 cm long was pushing
her way out by kicking directly at the area around my lungs which
the epidural did not cover.
If my private midwife was allowed in, I would have had a
better birthing experience.
I am lucky my baby, who came out by way of suction procedure,
is so far very healthy. Further, that I lived through the
experience. I think that the midwife on duty that night was very
efficient, but the sympathy and understanding I needed was
certainly lacking. Perhaps what we had was plain
miscommunication. I however feel that Pondok Indah Hospital
should look into this rule very closely so as not to lose a lot
of their pregnant women patients.
MS. NONETTE ROYO
Jakarta