Pregnancy and Labor

Just like any other couple, Idzwan and i are two people in love. 5 years in relationship and we decided to get married.

Two months into marriage, we found out that i'm pregnant. As new parents, the usual mix of emotions were there. Happy, confused, ecstatic, anxious, excited.. All at the same time. i went through rounds of morning day and night sickness. Nothing i can't handle.

Viral Fever

At 8 weeks of pregnancy, i got a high fever with rashes all over my body and was hospitalized for 4 days. Turned out it was viral fever. The entire time, all i can think of was my baby. Please let my baby be okay. Please let my baby live. Please let my baby survive. Please, no harm on my baby. Ultrasound shows that my baby is very much alive and kicking. The obstretician assured me that the baby is okay. Not to worry. It was a relief.

Thankfully the rest of 7 months of pregnancy went smoothly. Monthly ultrasound scan and bloodworks show that my baby is thriving and healthy.

Labor Story

Week 36 of pregnancy, i was bleeding. Was taken to the labor room and it is found that i'm having irregular contraction. i truly thought i was going to deliver my baby boy on that day. i was given two steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs as the baby is not full term. After 3 days of hospitalization and being observed, i was sent home. Baby is not ready to come out yet.

At 37 weeks, my water broke at 3am. At 10am, i am still 2cm dialated and baby's heart beat began to decrease. Doctor decided we can not wait any longer and i had an emergency c-section. It turned out that the umbilical cord was short, making the baby unable to descend.

Afif Haiqal was born on 11 October 2012. Truly one of the happiest moments in our life.

Now, the reason i share Afif's birth story is to see if there's a connection between my pragnancy/labor with his hearing loss. 

The doctors suspect that the  viral fever that i had at 2 months pregnancy is the culprit. At 2 months, baby's organs are developing. An infection at that time could interrupt the process. If that's the case, we're thankful it's only his ears that are not properly developed. It could've been something more serious like his brain or heart.

Or it could've been during birth itself. As i mentioned, the umbilical cord was so short that it almost broke. The lack of oxygen supply could've been another reason to his deafness. 

Anyway these are just my theories.