Heartbeats

Even when you’re not worried about something, it’s a relief to know there’s nothing to worry about.

I was given the option to have an amniocentesis done, but was told that it was not required. So, I opted not to do it, preferring not to take the risk since it wouldn’t change anything about the pregnancy and I would not take any action based on the results. Consequently, my doctor sent me for a morphological ultrasound. Everything was fine, but the doctor who performed that test suggested I have a fetal ecocardiograph done, again based on the fact that I didn’t have the amniocentesis. Just to be sure, she said.

Of course, this led to another round of making appointments, getting an impegnativa, etc. But, due to the test, I couldn’t make the appointment through the computer system, I had to make the appointment directly at the hospital. Imagine my surprise when they set it up for 9:30 at night. It seems the doctor who performs the test was on night duty that evening, so they said, if it was OK with us, they’d set it then. I said, “why not?”

Now it was off to my regular doctor to get the impegnativa, so I could go pay it and have it stamped before going to the appointment since the office would be closed at night. It sounds like a simple thing, but once I got to the office to pay it, they were confused since there was no appointment in the system. So, they had to call the doctor to verify the appointment before they could take my money and stamp my impegnativa. But, after several minutes of confusion, and several times repeating that YES, I did have an appointment, all was resolved.

The test is free if your pregnancy is considered “at risk”. Mine isn’t (thank goodness), so I had to pay, but it was only 36 euros. Worth it for a little peace of mind.

Last night was the big night, so we headed down to the obstetric department at the hospital to have the test done. I was surprised that there were 2 other women who showed up as well.

Now, like I said, I wasn’t worried, but, when the doctor started gazing intently at the screen as he took pictures, it made me start to get a little nervous. At one point he turned the sound on so we could here the little guy’s heart, which sounded fine to my untrained ears, but my attention was fixed on his face to see if he grimaced or gave any sign that there was something wrong.

In the end, he typed up the results and gave me the ultrasound photos, telling me that everything was normal, as O and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness that they give you the results right then and there and you don’t have to agonize over it until the next time you go to the doctor.

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