Mrs Tai is about 6 months into her pregnancy. Both of us are very excited about having our first child. We are still preparing for many things such as getting a baby bed, baby chair, confinement lady (sort of like a post natal doula), etc… Some have been generously given lent to us.

Over the past few weeks, especially over the Chinese New Year, we have had many friends and relatives asking us if we know whether its a baby boy or girl. On our last visit sometime end of January, the doctor said he could not be certain as the scan was not clear. So when asked, we would just say we don’t know but the next visit would be sometime at the end of February (in fact, it is today). Honestly, I have no preference be it boy or girl. I think both are equal and unique in their very own way.

The appointment was in the morning. So right after breakfast, we went straight to the hospital. We wanted to there early as we know from past visits that if you go there late, you end up having to wait for quite a while (can be more than 2 hours)… After about 1 hour of waiting, it was finally out turn.

As usual, the doctor will ask Mrs Tai the usual questions — Any more morning sickness (Mrs Tai was one of the few who had very bad morning sickness till the almost the end of the 5th month), anything to ask, etc… The doctor also commented that Mrs Tai’s weight gain is on the ‘above average’. He advised Mrs Tai to be more careful about what she puts in her mouth from now on.

Next, it was the part we always look forward to. The ultrasound scan. This is the time we get to actually ’see’ our baby and take home photos of the baby. Like every other time, the doctor will scan the body of the baby and take down measurements to check on the baby’s growth and development. He will also check the heart and show is how the heartbeat looks like. As always, Mrs Tai and I will be excited and happy to look at our baby.

The doctor continued to scan the baby but I noticed it was focused on a specific area. The doctor then asked Mrs Tai if she is free for another check on Monday. That’s quite unusual… Normally the appointments are spaced out about a month apart.

We asked the doctor if there’s anything to be concerned about. He told us that it is nothing to worry for now but he suspects something and would like to schedule a more thorough examination together with another specialist. I can understand he does not want us to panic. He definitely do not want Mrs Tai to be upset or anything as it can affect the baby. He just briefly told us that he suspects our baby may have what is called Diaphragmatic Hernia. He wrote it down for us on the ultrasound print outs and told us to look it up on the internet. We can then probably discuss on Monday with him.

Suddenly, everything starts crashing down. What is diaphragmatic hernia? I have heard of hernia but I never actually found out what it was. Is it serious? How would it affect the baby? All these questions racing through our minds. We were still at the hospital waiting for our turn to settle the bill. Both of us wanted to quickly go home and look it up. Mrs Tai was visibly upset and worried. I have to be strong for her. We settled the bill, got home and started to search for information on diaphragmatic hernia.

I guess no parents can really prepare for all these. No matter how prepared we think we are, everything still crashes. The heart sinks… We are still in a shock. What does all this mean? What happens next? We hope to find out more on Monday. At the moment, we can only hope for the best…

Some sites for further reading on diaphragmatic hernia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_diaphragmatic_hernia
http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=81164
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHealth/peds_hrnewborn/dph.cfm
http://fetus.ucsfmedicalcenter.org/cdh/