A Cut Below

Having made the Birth Plan, Mae and I felt a little uncomfortable about the tone and manner of it all. It sounded a little too "I want this, I want that," for our liking. So we decided to talk to Doc first.

"I tell most patients that I can't possibly stick to everything in their Birth Plan," Doc told us. But she reassured Mae and I that she has our best interest at all times. She also told us that a lot of the stuff in a Birth Plan is best decided during labour, upon assessment. We agree.

Still one little thing needed some explanation.

Mae has been contemplating on whether or not to have an Episiotomy. Basically, the procedure is just make a little snip at the vagina to facilitate Baby's exit. A lot of our pre-natal books tell us that some women actually don't need an Episiotomy. On the other hand, if the baby is too large there's always the risk of a tear.

"It'll rip right up to your ass, you damn fools," Doc was pissed at our insolence. Somewhere, a storm was raging.

Hahhaha! Okay, that's not what happened. But she did point out the possibility of a very, very bad tear. "Caucasians are quite flexible, but for some reason Asians always tear," Doc pointed out. "Must be the squat toilets we use."

We're Asians. And we're having the Episiotomy.