Hi folks. I had my 32 week appointment with the Dr. on Friday and it was a bit hectic this time since I had to bring my toddler Clara with me. I usually try to make an appointment for her at the local daycare for the days I have to go to the Dr, but the daycare facilities here in Nagoya are crowded (there aren't enough of them) and I have to make appointments well in advance. If I forget or can't get a call through to them soon enough I have to take her with me to the hospital. I've only had to take her with me a couple of times, and it usually turns out okay because the staff at my hospital are very kid friendly, but it's nice not to have to bring her each time. The nurses at this hospital are very patient with children, and each time Clara tried to run away while I was consulting with the nurse or getting checked they would gently retrieve her for me and give her a toy or something to look at. I really do like the staff at Kaseki Hospital, and am glad that I chose it.
This appointment was much like my last appointment, complete with ultrasound and a cervix check. This time around the Dr. asked me if I had been feeling any contractions, and I said that I had been feeling Braxton Hicks Contractions. I learned about Braxton Hicks Contractions when I was pregnant with Clara and was told that they are normal in the third trimester. You can tell them apart from real contractions because they are irregular and painless, and my Dr. in America said that if they feel uncomfortable the best thing to do is just drink a glass of water and rest until they stop. I have felt them many times before and never had any problem with them during my other pregnancy. So I told my Japanese Dr. I had started having these Braxton Hicks Contractions and he immediately prescribed a medication for me. I was a bit confused and the appointment ended right then, so I left the consultation room only to realize I had no idea what he had just prescribed and why. I had one more consultation with the nurse before leaving so I decided to ask her about it rather than interrupt the Dr. who is constantly seeing patients. I asked the nurse what the medicine was for and she said it was to stop the contractions. I told her that I had felt them before with Clara and was told they were normal. She agreed that they were normal but said that having too many was not good and advised me to take the medicine if I felt them frequently. I asked her how much was too frequent and she said if I felt two contractions in an hour I should take it. So then I go to the pharmacy located in the hospital, and when I receive the medicine the package says to take 3 a day for 7 days. I spent several minutes trying to clarify with the pharmacist (using my broken Japanese, which seemed even worse then usual while trying to discuss medication :P) how much I was supposed to take since the Dr. said to take it when I felt a contraction, not everyday. I finally was able to get across what the Dr. and nurse had both said and figured out what the Pharmacist was trying to say, and then she changed the label on the medication to say basically take one as needed.
So then I go home. I was feeling very frustrated at this point, not with the Hospital necessarily but with my still inadequate Japanese, and I had been unable to figure out exactly WHAT the drug was or what was in it, and why it was being prescribed. (I am uneasy about taking medicine I don't fully understand). When I got home I did a little research online. I found a helpful website called "Kusuri No Shiori" at www.rad-ar.or.jp/siori/english/index.html that lets you look up Japanese names of drugs and see a brief fact sheet in English. I found out that the drug I was prescribed is called Utemerin in English and it is prescribed to halt preterm labor. It also had a list of possible side effects, one of which (heart palpitations) the nurse had warned me about. I did a little more research on other blogs and found a blog that said that Utemerin is rather common for pregnant women in Japan to take, regardless of risk factors for preterm birth. I asked a Japanese friend about the drug, and she said she had not taken it during her pregnancy, but she knew what it was and what is was for. She also told me that she had not had any Braxton Hicks Contractions while she was pregnant and that may be why her Dr. never prescribed it. But that fact that she knew about it tells me that it must be fairly common. She told me that women with a short cervical canal or who are having C-sections often take it. I am having a C-section so that may have influenced my Dr's decision to prescribe it. I understand the concern (if you're having a C-section the Dr. really doesn't want you to go into labor before the scheduled day) but I am still hesitant to take it unless I feel I really need it. Two Braxton Hicks in an hour just doesn't seem like a lot to me, but maybe I'm just too laid back about them? I don't really know. Anywho, I'm keeping the meds in my cupboard but probably won't take it unless I have several contractions in a row 0_o.
Five more weeks left before the big day. I've started buying nursing bras and nursing pajamas and collecting other little things I'll need for the lengthy hospital stay (In Japan, women typically stay at the hospital for a whole week after birth as opposed to the 1-3 days you stay in the US). Hopefully I won't forget anything! ^_^v
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