ANGELO & PAMELA (May 2010)
Angelo: God’s timing is always perfect and His hand is never too short. With Him, impossible is indeed nothing! Pamela:Who would have thought that I, having such a low threshold for pain and being someone who dread even the sight of a tiny injection, 
would be able to endure giving birth without anesthesia and no medical intervention especially under a very critical condition? Well here goes my story:
Over 3 months ago, our family encountered a miracle. I was diagnosed with placenta previa in the 21st week of my pregnancy. Placenta previa is an obstetric complication in which the placenta is attached to the uterine wall close to or covering the cervix. It is the leading cause of antepartum haemorrhage or vaginal bleeding after delivery. Bleeding from the vagina during pregnancy from the 20th week is considered a medical emergency, because left untreated it can lead to death of the mother and/or fetus." If you recall, in August last year, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay’s daughter in law, Kennely suffered cardiac arrest and massive bleeding due to "placenta previa" or low-lying placenta. She was very young and around my age when she died on her 7th month of pregnancy. Knowing all these, to say I was "deeply concerned" would be mere euphemism,… Words like terrified, panic stricken, or scared to death would be more appropriate. The thought of giving birth was already a huge challenge as I feared such an experience ever since high school days, thanks to biology classes. Moreover, I was aware of the biblical curse of pain given to women in Genesis 3:16 "To the woman he said,’I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children’. On top of this, the placenta previa diagnosis even intensified my already anxious state.
Angelo: We prayed and held on to God’s word, "Do not be anxious about anything but by prayer and petition with thanksgiving in your heart present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6
We asked family, friends and our dear brothers and sisters in Christ to keep praying for us. We had our next ultrasound during the 32nd week of pregnancy – 11 weeks after the initial diagnosis. After waiting for so long, we expected that there would be no more complications – we were hoping that the placenta by this time would have already shifted up into more favorable position. But the Lord chose to stretch our faith. The ultrasound showed that my condition was still the same. This time though, the Lord gave us a ray of hope. The placenta which initially covered the cervix completely, moved a little bit, although it is still partially covering the cervix.
"Is there anything we can do to initiate the movement of the placenta?, " we asked the OBGYN. But his stern answer was a BIG "no". Everything was left in God’s hands and we had to rely, by faith, and claim His promise that "Everything will truly work well for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose" – Romans 8:28. We saw this as another test of faith.
Pamela: And we continuously prayed for 3 things – that the Lord will give the doctor wisdom, that I will deliver normally and not by C-section despite the placenta previa, and that my baby will gain weight as she was earlier diagnosed to be underweight.
Meanwhile, whenever I was tempted to fear…I asked God, if it was possible for me not to feel the pain when I gave birth. I asked Him if He can hold me through the experience and shield me just like when He protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel. As I cried to the Lord, He led me to Isaiah 66:7: "Before she is pained she hath brought forth, before a pang cometh to her, she hath delivered." This helped me cling on to Him with fervent hope.
Finally, on Feb 2 this year, another ultrasound was done during my 34th week of pregnancy. Once again, the Lord held us in suspense but did not fail to leave us with another glimmer of hope. My placenta finally moved away from the cervix. It did move… but was only 13 millimeters away. That’s just around half an inch, the size of a small thumb. The doctor said that it was still not enough as the distance should be at least 3 centimeters so he suggested a final ultrasound to decide whether I could give birth normally or via C-section. He scheduled it on the 17th of February, a Wednesday.
But on Monday, 15th of Feb, 2 days before the date we were supposed to have the ultrasound, the Lord decided to give us a miracle. Happily celebrating Valentine’s Day in a hotel around town, we were interrupted with my recurring urge to go to the bathroom and pass motion. We thought it was just Braxton hicks but it became increasingly consistent and regular. Suddenly, I heard a popping sound and saw a pink discharge, so we rushed to the hospital…. It was time.
Several little miracles happened from then.
First, my doula, or my labor coach was not picking up our calls and the facility we booked was a water birthing room. This required having such a coach. At the last minute we tried another doula, whom I met only once during my 1st month of pregnancy. As it turned out , her phone was on silent but at around 3am, she was unexpectedly awakened by the flashing light in her phone. She picked up the call and agreed to come. It was uncommon for doulas in Singapore to do that because you have to book and reserve them before delivery. She was God sent, and she turned out to be a Christian, who prayed together with me while I was in labor. It was truly a perfect birthing experience for me because my mom was also singing praises while I was laboring in the water tub. My OB Gyne did not mind, because, as I learned after giving birth, he too was a Christian. Beknownst to me at that time, I was surrounded with saints during these crucial moments.
We did not agree to have vaginal examination with any other doctor other than my own OB so we had to wait awhile until he came. I was told later on that if I allowed other resident doctors to check me and I was not fully dilated, they would have wheeled me in directly to the emergency C-S room due to my placenta previa condition indicated in my file. If I may backtrack to earlier during my pregnancy the Lord also comforted me through a verse in Exodus. It was Moses’ time when the Pharoah asked the midwives to kill the baby boys of the Israelites. In Exodus 1:19 it said "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them."
That’s exactly what happened to me; I gave birth surprisingly fast – even before my midwife Deborah arrived. I had my OBGYN around, Dr. Chong Yap Seng who specializes in water birth. When he came, the first VE done to me, I was already fully dilated… meaning just ready to pop out my baby. That’s only about 1 hour of active labor. I was especially amazed upon learning that on the average, first time mothers would usually labor for 25 hours before they give birth.
Angelo: Indeed the Lord is faithful. He has faithfully answered our prayers. We asked that wisdom be given to the doctor and it was done. We asked for a normal birth despite my wife’s placenta previa diagnosis and it was done. We asked that our baby would put on weight and it was done. Our beautiful baby Brielle Razelaine was born at 7:06 am on February 15, weighing 2.46 kg, a significant jump from her weight during the previous check up. We thank God for his Love, protection and faithfulness. During the whole term of our pregnancy, my wife did not encounter any spotting or bleeding despite her placenta previa condition. We consider that a miracle indeed, Praise God! We share this to you as a testament of God’s faithfulness. In this experience we learned to walk by faith and not by sight. As we move forward as a family, we pray that we will always be able to shout of the Lord’s goodness in every circumstance. Praise be to God forever!
Psalm 71:16
"I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.