Crazy craving

They say all pregnant women have some craving….I did not have one nor I had the “morning sickness” (thank god!!) associated with pregnancy…so I was just wondering if everything was alright…

Now I have a new found craving for..guess what??….Mishti doi!!!!! and that explains all the extra pounds I have been gaining lately….. I don’t know how many Shaimak Davar dance classes I will have to join in order to lose all the calories I have been piling up…… sigh…….

But what the heck….it feels great!!!!!!!!!!!

Maternity Hospitals in Bangalore (Continued…)

The Cradle (Packages)

Luxury Package

Normal Delivery will cost you around 45,000+ pharmacy charges for 3 days/2 nights stay. This includes Ward stay, food charges, LDR charges, Obstetrician charges etc.

Caesarean Section will cost you around 55,000 + pharmacy for 3 days/2 nights stay. This includes Ward stay, food charges, OT charges, Obstetrician charges, Anaesthetist’s fees etc.

Suite Package

Normal Delivery will cost you around 55,000 + Doctor’s charges for 3 days/2 nights stay.

Caesarean section will cost you around 70,000 + Doctor’s charges for 4 days/3 nights stay.

The suite will include an additional attendant room with separate entrance, bathroom and sleeping space. The patient room and bed is also quite big and spacious.

We settled for the Luxury package as it works best for us. Initially you need to pay a deposit of 10,000. If you have an insurance cover, then you can go for cashless facility.

*Note* The package mentioned here are subject to revision. Please check with the website www.thecradlebangalore.com for latest updates.

Maternity Hospitals in Bangalore - Part 1

Manipal Hospital

Once the pregnancy was confirmed, the next step for us was to search for a good hospital. Since we stay close to Manipal hospital, we decided to go there for my regular check- ups.

We zeroed on same GYN/OBG whom we had consulted before I conceived. So I was familiar with my GYN/OBG and I must say that she is really good. I will recommend Dr. Meena Muthiah to anyone who is looking for a good GYN/OBG. She is very patient, has pleasant personality and makes you feel very comfortable. One of the things I like about her is that she patiently answers all your questions and never seems to hurry. Couple of times I had to call her on her cell when there was an emergency and she was always available on the phone.

Although I was really happy with my OBG/GYN, I was not at all impressed with the facilities that they provided. So I decided to do some research on net. I read many reviews and all of them confirmed my fears.

I also had some personal experiences which prompted me to change my decision of having my baby in Manipal.

The only good thing about Manipal is that they have good and experienced doctors. As far as the cons are considered, there are many!

1. The hospital is always very crowded.
2. The staff attitude is horrible. They are rude and do not show any sort of compassion.
3. They do not allow you to check the private rooms and they do not have any sort of package.
4. You never get appointments for scans. It’s always booked up to 2 months and if you go as walk-in patient, you will have to wait up to 3 hrs or more with full bladder!!
5. The washrooms are dirty and there is never any soap in the dispenser or tissues and the floor is always wet. The washroom near the scan dept did not even have a lock!

I just felt that for the money that we were spending, the facilities we were getting was not justified. So finally I had to take the tough decision. I liked my OBG/GYN very much and the hospital was near my house. But I shuddered when I thought about all that was in store for me and decided to change my hospital in second trimester. After all, giving birth is experience of a life time and I did not want to be awful!

The cradle

Although Cradle is far from my house, we decided to give it a shot. I had read some great reviews about Cradle and so we decided to check it out.

I was really impressed with the hospital. It was spic and span and the reception area was really great! I did not feel as if it’s a hospital.

The staffs were also very cordial, they showed us around and I was really impressed with the Luxury rooms they have. Oh! the bathrooms were just awesome!! We checked out the packages and it seems quite reasonable for the facilities they provided. I will provide details on the package later on in this blog.

We decided to meet Dr. Anuradha S (I had some research on her and read some reviews) and I was quite impressed with her. She is very warm person and spent considerable amount of time going through my reports and asked relevant questions about my medical history. Then she did the routine check ups and also provided me with some useful tips. I was very comfortable with her the moment I met her and that was something which was very important for me.

I was worried that she will ask me to do all those test and scans all over again, but she never even mentioned it. She just referred me for the Anomaly scan at 21 weeks which is done normally by everyone.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my experience with The Cradle and my GYB/OBG. I hope everything goes well in future as well!!

P.S: As Cradle is far from where I stay now, S and I have decided to move somewhere closer to Cradle in couple of months.

(For more information on The Cradle, please visit their website http://www.thecradlebangalore.com/)

Home Pregnancy Test

What really amazes me is the progress medical science has made. Gone are the days when pregnancy was confirmed based on the vomiting and the fainting spree and that knowing look on the face of other womenfolk in the house (at least that’s what they showed in movies!!)   Thank god we don’t have to rely on those tell tale signs anymore. One of the easiest ways to confirm pregnancy is to simply take the Home Pregnancy Test. This is especially convenient for women who are trying to get pregnant so that you don’t have to run to your health care provider every time you suspect that you are pregnant!! It is very simple to use and can be done within the privacy of your home.   In India, one can choose from various brandsPregcolorcard pregnancy kit, Velocit Pregnancy test kit etc. I took the Velocit Pregnancy test kit it was fairly simple to use and the instructions were not too complicated.  

How it works?  

All home pregnancy kit detects the presence of hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine. It appears in pregnant women’s urine in approx 20 days after her last menstrual period. The hCG level rises rapidly after this.    

Interpreting the results

  It’s fairly simple. If single line or band appears it means that the test in negative. If you see two lines on the test kit, it means that the result is positive. If you get a faint line, then don’t get disheartened, try the test again after few days and you will be able to see a darker line.  
However, some times home pregnancy test might give a false positive result i.e. you may get a positive result although you are not pregnant. This can happen due to certain medical condition, improper testing or defective test kit. So it is always better to confirm the pregnancy by the doctor once you get a positive result on the home pregnancy test before announcing it to the world!  
Similarly, you might get false negative results too!! The test will show negative, but you might be actually pregnant!! This can happen if you take the test too early or the pregnancy test kit might be defective. If you get a false negative result, then try the test after 4-5 days again. By then the hCG level in urine might rise and you may get a positive result.  
Home pregnancy tests are not considered 100% accurate. You need to visit a doctor and get a blood test done to check the beta hCG levels which will confirm the pregnancy.    

Preconception

Starting a family is one of the most important decisions which a couple has to make. There are certain things which you might want to consider before planning for the arrival of your little one 

Finances

Before planning for a baby, it is always better to take a second look at your finances to ensure that once you have your baby, it will not make huge hole in your pockets especially if you are planning to stop working for a while. Keeping a budget aside every month will be an intelligent decision. If you are not doing it already, there is nothing wrong in starting now!

Age

I was reading an article on how urban women have become career centric and busy schedule of spouses further delay their plans of starting the family. The 20’s is considered the most fertile period for women. As you get older, your chances of miscarriage and genetic abnormalities like Down’s syndrome are higher. Personally I feel this is an ideal age as you are more physically active to chase your little one around!

Support system

Although this holds good once the baby is born, there is nothing wrong in deciding about your support system. This especially hold good for working mums. You need to have a good and reliable support system who can handle your infant once you go back to work. If are one of those lucky ones like me who have their parents who can look after your kid, then nothing like it! you know your child is in safe hands and you can concentrate on your work without worrying too much about the little one you left behind…If you are not, then you need to find someone who will take proper care of your precious one.

Preconception Check up

It is a good idea to go for a preconception check up if you are planning to start a family soon. This is to ensure that you are physically ready for pregnancy and that your baby will be born as healthy as possible. It includes blood test and urine test and sometimes your practitioner may suggest some other tests like pap smear. S& I went in for a preconception check up. It really puts your mind at rest just knowing that you are healthy enough to have a baby! Your doctor will also give general advice on getting pregnant which will include figuring out your ovulation. Women who have regular periods can easily calculate when ovulation occurs. Ovulation happens 14 days before you expect your period if you have 28 day cycle.

Prenatal Vitamins

At your preconception visit, your doctor may ask you to take Folic acid tablets. Folic acid prevents serious birth defects such as neural tube defect (a birth defect involving incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord) in your baby upto 70%. These tablets should be taken especially before conception and during early pregnancy.

1 comment April 19, 2009 Mochagirl 

So I have finally arrived!!

Being an avid reader, I have always been interested in reading experience of people when it comes to choosing a restaurant, a holiday spot or review of movies or hotels. One of my big sources of information was BLOG….

Although I have been contemplating about starting one of my own, one thing that always stopped me from venturing into it was the question “What do I write about??” I just did not want it to be another blog where you post something for few months and then you realise there is nothing more to write!

Then finally, the day arrived when I got the inspiration to write something. The day when I first felt little flutter of life within me. So my blog “An Inspiration of Life” is intended to be place where I will share my experience of my journey from pregnancy to motherhood (read ecstasy, happiness, thrill, joy, worries, confusion and responsibility). And another inspiration, my husband S without whom this would not have been possible (I have to write this since he is the one who help me set up this blog!)

PS- There might me times when I might just write off the topic…call it writer’s liberty