Date : 20th May 2012
Location : Columbia Asia, Puchong
The rite of passage for all parents-to-be.....the antenatal class. Supposed to prepare us for all the uncertainties of child birth and parenthood.
Quite honestly me and wifey were expecting more from this class. After being told by our respective friends on how important and useful this class could be, we went with rather high hopes. I would not say we wre dissappointed, but perhaps underwhelmed would be the more appropriate word.
The session began with the Consultant O&G, Dr Ng SP (our gynae!) giving a talk which could easily be titled as "What To Expect When You're Delivering". By keeping the presentation concise and simple and given the high probability of him being the one to facilitate most of participants' delivery, it was no surprise he held the class in rapt attention. The phrase that stuck to me from his presentation was "The most dangerous journey man has to undertake is the journey of birth"!
The next speaker, Consultant Pediatrician, Dr Florence Lok sounded like she'd rather be somewhere else that Sunday morning.....She breezed through her presentation in less than 15 mins! The speaker after her, Dr Noor Asilah (Consultant Anethetist) turned her session in to a rather elaborate endorsement and promotion of the epidural method. Not really convinced with her arguments, but then again in the labour room, anything could happen, right? It has to be another option to have.
The hallmark of all antenatal class - the exercise and breathing method for expectant mothers were introduced by the Physiotherapist, Ms Lee. Hoo-hoo-ha....hoo-hoo-ha..... Her cheerful nature quickly warmed herself to the class and both me and Cheryl enjoyed the peculiar exercise routines too! The last session was by Midwife, Ms Tan who gave us some really informative motherly advice from her own experience - especially on how to breastfeed and bath a newborn. I had to agree with Cheryl that this session was perhaps the most useful of all. To wrap it all up, she brought us all to visit the labour and delivery room - to prepare us for the eventual D Day and to view the cute babies in the newborn room.
Like mentioned earlier, we were expecting more from this class, never the less it was a day well spent on educating and preparing ourselves for the eventual day (and thereafter). We could see the rest of participants were rather nervous/excited/anticipating as well, so perhaps me and Cheryl are not alone in feeling this way. Having said that, the class went a long way in arresting some of our fears.
Tiger cub - Wishing you a safe journey ahead!
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