Video Transcription

Antenatal Care: Taking Care of Yourself, Your baby and each other

But you do get very emotional, producing hormones and all that.
Yeah, I think it’s normal to be stressed, tired, and emotional because everybody goes through that stage. I have morning sickness. I do sometimes get moody, and my partner’s like, “Why are you grumpy at me?” And I just… I can’t explain it because it’s just random mood swings and stuff. My emotions are all over the place. My energy levels were really good in the first and second trimesters with the girls. Yeah, I felt a lot of sickness.
Yes, no energy. It’s really rundown.
Yeah, I was excited but nervous at the same time, scared. Didn’t know what to do, still trying to wrap my head around, like, what’s going to happen and stuff like that.
Yeah, more than I thought I would.

For Aboriginal women, it’s really important because a lot of our statistics, you know, say that we have poor antenatal care in pregnancy. We have low birth weights, we have neonatal deaths, and that sort of stuff. So, working with the women, really getting in and getting them seen prior to 13 or 14 weeks, the first outcome for the mother and the baby is going to antenatal care.
It helped me because I knew that everything was going on track and that, you know, there were no complications, just peace of mind for myself, knowing everything was going smoothly.
Having had a little bit of information, you kind of feel relieved because you don’t really see what’s going on with the baby inside. All you can do is feel and hope. So, when the doctors say, “Yeah, baby’s okay, baby’s heart beats fine, baby looks healthy,” you are happy because you’re doing the right thing. You can feel your child.
It’s important for your unborn baby to be checked, to know the measurements are right and everything else is okay. I did it for all of them, but one—my daughter I had last year. That was the only one I didn’t do my antenatal care with. I ended up in hospital in Tennant Creek with severe dehydration, and yeah, she was the only one I didn’t go to get antenatal checkups for, which I should have. It turned out bad for me.
Not just going, I regret that for not going, because you need to get it done. It’s the most important thing to make sure that you’re safe and the baby’s safe, especially the baby.
And just seeing him, I’m not willing that he’ll… And again, I’m just looking at him on the TV, and I’m like, “Look at you, you’re just getting bigger,” and bigger… I look on my front phone in my phone like he’s not even here. And I just… I just… I’ve gone to him, especially the harvest by Israel strongly… I’m thinking, “Yes, I mean big healthy baby when he comes back.”

Good experience for the father to see, just knowing that it’s really healthy. You know, you should have a strong baby when it comes out. Just listen to his heart. You know it’s healthy. You can hear it. It’s a good feeling. You know that you feel loved, and you say… you don’t have to think the only way out is to do something stupid to yourself.
I think pregnant women need lots of support because it’s such a difficult time during your life, you know, if you have other children. But it’s just in yourself, because your body’s changing. You’ve got to think about another life inside of you, all the physical changes that happen, and the hormonal side of it all.
But I definitely think you need support just to have a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. It was good to have a little support from the midwives, the NFP, and, you know, my family, my partner… everyone always offered, “We’re here to talk to you if you need somebody to talk to.” And that made me feel better inside.
But if I didn’t have that type of support, I don’t know, I guess it would have been a lot more scarier, a bit more harder on me.
Yeah, just… it’s very important to have secure support.
Yeah, I don’t know how I was going to get the support, but everyone…

I think, yeah, getting an STI check when you’re pregnant is important because having that thought in the back of your head that, you know, the baby could get that infection or disease… you know, it’s a scary thought. When the midwife offered me an STI screen, I was open to it because I know that you have to have all these tests done to make sure that you’re healthy and that your baby stays healthy as well.
It’s very important to do all this stuff before you have Bubba.
I’ve had three. My third bottle… your Monday because it’s… it musters because it’s good tonight. Yes, oh yeah, make sure I do.
I know there’s been a few deaths recently, and there’s an outbreak of syphilis going around. So, I know it is bad if women do have syphilis and they give birth, because there’s complications with the baby, which is really unfortunate.

Yes.
It’s not a matter of just jumping in bed and popping babies everywhere. You’ve got to talk about responsibility too, and babies can get sick from this disease—very sick. They can pass away, you know, if this thing is not treated. Don’t be scared. It’s not going to hurt your baby. Just get it done, alright? If it comes back positive, they can always help. If it doesn’t, you’re fine. Then, yeah, make sure you get it done.

I would say to other pregnant women who don’t want to go or are scared to, just do it. You’ll get all the info and all the support that you need from the midwife, and you’ll feel so much better knowing that everything is going well. And if you need any support or you need help with stuff, they’ll be there to listen and give you the support that you need, and also keep you in your book, healthy during your pregnancy.
Even though you get them little butterflies, just push them aside and keep on going. That’s what I do every time I see the doctor. I get nervous that they’re going to say something bad or tell me something’s happened, but I just put that aside and keep on moving.

Video by  youngdeadlyfree.org.au