When Madam Goh Sze Chie and her husband came to me, they had been trying to conceive for the past three years.
This couple had a history of sub-fertility which meant that they had failed to conceive after a year of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse.
They were, understandably, worried. This sub-fertility was attributed to Madam Goh having irregular menstrual cycles.
They had started to look for other assisted options to get pregnant. Madam Goh tried two rounds of IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination) where the husband’s semen was processed in our laboratory before the sperm was transferred into the wife’s uterus during her time of ovulation.
This procedure needs no anaesthesia. However, this procedure is only meant for couples with coital problem, borderline male problem and unexplained sub-fertility.
Unfortunately the two rounds of IUI were not successful.
Yet in April 2011, I was overjoyed when I heard that Madam Goh had conceived naturally.
Her natural pregnancy wasn’t without problems. In the early months, we feared complications as she had a threatened miscarriage. I quickly advised her to be admitted into Gleneagles Medical Centre where we treated her with plenty of bed rest and gave her the Progestogen treatment.
Once she was out of the danger zone, she was allowed to go home. Her pregnancy was smooth sailing and we met regularly when she came in to see me for her antenatal check-ups at my clinic.
At 33 weeks, she was admitted into the hospital again when she felt her water bag burst.
I made sure she was admitted and monitored closely as her baby at 33 weeks was still considered premature. However, 2 weeks later, she went into spontaneous labour, giving birth to a healthy baby girl weighing 2.7 kg.