Okay, if you're like I was about 5-6 weeks into your pregnancy, you are probably questioning if there is really something going on in there or has this been a major scam and you're looking around for the hidden camera. After about a million Google searches, I was reassured that there is something in there and the preggo symptoms will be flooding in shortly. Now the main point of this entry is Korea's love affair with ultrasounds. I personally do not feel these numerous scans are necessary unless the pregnancy is a high risk one. However in saying that, there is one scan that isn't routinely done in Western countries that I was glad I had done.
At 6 weeks it was suggested by my obstetrician that I go in for my first check up. I knew at the time that it was a bit early for anything substantial to be done but I agreed to go in anyway because I wanted to be cleared to fly to Canada the next day (nothing like leaving things to the last minute!) I was also told that they would be doing an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy (apparently the nurse's ramblings on the phone about HCG levels a few weeks before wasn't confirmation enough - see previous blog entry). So I mentioned all of this to hubby and warned him that all we might see on the screen is a bean like blob. No problem, we were in this together, so off we went.
Fast forward to the clinic. After being escorted into the screening room, I was instructed to remove my bottoms (thank goodness I wore a skirt!) I knew the dreaded internal ultrasound was about to happen (I had avoided this unpleasantness long enough that it clearly caught up with me - see previous blog entry). Not to go into too much detail but it was forgotten once something flashed onto the screen. Now I know I mentioned above that I knew we wouldn't see much but part of me seemed to think we would see this little alien like creature on the screen. Nope, not going to happen! After a few seconds where my husband and I were leaning forward, squinting our eyes at the screen and quite possibly angling our heads to the side a bit. We both said a rather anti climatic "oh". Because all we saw was a perfectly round circle. Noticing our perplexed faces, the technician proceeded to use her mouse to point to the circle and say that's the yolk sac. Yes, now that cleared things up (said very sarcastically). Now I know for a fact my husband didn't have a clue what that was because I know I didn't. But I felt because I am a woman and managed to become pregnant that I should know these things, so I kept quiet about it and secretly thanked the creators of Google. After an emphatic "ahh, yes, of course" (on my part, hubby was still unusually quiet), we were presented with our prenatal information pack (sadly with no information on this elusive yolk sac). The part of the appointment when the nurse was going over the scan photos with us, is usually when most people would ask intelligent questions. Nope, not me. Instead I said, "I feel like a chicken". After a very awkward silence interrupted briefly by a snort of laughter from my husband (bless him, he gets me) we were on our way home. (FYI -I was cleared to fly no problem).
To sum up this experience, although it certainly will not even get an honorary mention next to the likes of "hearing the first heartbeat scan" or "seeing the baby bouncing up and down scan", it was a great way to actually see something in there and knowing it's happening rather than wondering. My understanding is that in Western countries the first scan is usually done around 11-13 weeks. Now that's a long time to wait and to wonder what is going on in there.
To sum up the first ultrasound for all my expat readers in Korea:
- take that first 6 week scan if it's offered to you. You will feel better!
- it's relatively inexpensive (somewhere around 50,000-80,000 won depending on where you go and some of that may also be covered by your insurance).
- expect to see a round circle and nothing else. Embrace the circle beforehand and it might be more exciting.
And finally, the most important advice:
- WEAR A SKIRT
- GOOGLE "YOLK SAC" PRIOR TO YOUR APPOINTMENT
- KEEP CHICKEN COMMENTS TO YOURSELF!
No comments:
Post a Comment