First Ultrasound/ Blood Tests

December 11, 2012. My second check-up and ultrasound schedule.Trans-V ultrasound is P2,130.00. You have to be early though because there's always a long queue in the ultrasound room. We "got in-line" at 11am, were scheduled at 2:00pm, but had my procedure at 3:30pm. Ultrasound results were available after a minute.

Seeing your baby for the first time, alive, moving, and active on the screen is absolutely priceless. Babies are really life's miracles. Nurturing a life inside you is amazing. Hearing her heartbeat made us speechless.

We went to my new OB's clinic to have the results interpreted. As discussed in the forums and blogs, Dra. Mae Syki-Young is really charming, kind, and accommodating. No wonder, she has lots of patients patiently waiting outside her clinic. Her consultation fee is P800.00 (inclusive of VAT) on your first consultation and P600.00 on succeeding consultations.

She prescribed for additional Folic Acid - Maxifol 5000 brand - P5.75/tablet in Mercury Drug, which is cheaper by P3.00 compared to Folart. It also made me less nauseous somehow.

She also ordered for the following blood tests:
* HBSAG - P1,350.00
* Anti-HBS (Chem)- P1,350.00
If I recall correctly, HBSAG and anti-HBS are tests for the existence of the Hepatitis B virus, and the corresponding antibody, respectively.

* Complete Blood Count (CBC) - P465.00
* VDRL (Quali) - P550.00. As per the internet, it is a blood test for venereal diseases - quite scary.
* ABO Typing (Blood Type) - P600.00
* Rubella IGG - P2,000.00. This is to evaluate the immunity to Rubella (German measles).

Some of this tests will be done only on your first pregnancy or if you were not able to provide medical records of prior tests done.

You do the math.

Maybe the more important question is, have you had all your shots? And should you really wait until you're pregnant? Cost-benefit wise, I would say, just save yourself the worry and have them all before you are pregnant.

Also, and as per Dra. Syki-Young's advice: if you're reading the results from the blood tests yourself - stop. Leave that to the experts. Some results are supposed to show a "positive". You'd be unduly stressing yourself if you self-diagnose.

Disclaimer: The interpretation/opinion presented is based only on the my understanding. It should not replace your doctor's findings.

My baby.

Quite a joy to behold. :)

First Check-Up

I got married last October 20, 2012. During the "toast to the newlyweds", where the guests will give their messages to the new couple, one wish stood out - "more apo".

Exactly after a month after the wedding, to my disappointment, I was negative. Pero hindi naman kami agad nag give-up, kasi sabi naman sa Urine Pregnancy Test: "detects pregnancy as early as the first day of missed period" and I was expecting mine on the 24th.

And so on November 27, I got the Positive result. We went to Makati Medical Center to have the result confirmed. Nagpa-pregnancy test muna ako para may concrete result muna kami bago dumeretso sa OB. Pregnancy Test is P450.00 for a urine test. Hindi ko lang alam kung same din lang ang cost kapag blood sample ang gagamitin sa test.

Since wala kaming kilalang OB sa MMC, nagtanong kami sa information kung sinong Doctor ang available that afternoon. Consultation fee of the OB is P1,120.00 (P1,000 + 12%VAT) on the first consultation and P896.00 (P800.00 + 12%VAT) on the next. Part daw ng pre-natal procedure ang pap-smear and it costs P1,680.00 (P1,500 + VAT), all in na yun - professional fee + lab fee (they will also get the result from the lab for you). We paid a total of P2,800.00 (P2,500.00 Professional Fee + P300.00 12% VAT). They gave us an Official Receipt so they have to declare their income from us. Mommies, always ask for a receipt.

I was prescribed to have Urinalysis (another pre-natal procedure) - cost: P395.00 and Ultrasound. I also was given the following medicines: Folic Acid (Folart brand) - P8.75/capsule; Duphaston ("pampakapit") - P58.75/tablet and Isoxilan (anti-contraction) - P18.50/tablet (Mercury Drug price).

For some reason, hindi namin nagustuhan yung OB na narefer sa amin at gusto ko ring malaman kung magkano ang cost ng ultrasound and so I consulted Mr. Internet. Despite the limited updated  information available, malaking tulong ang blogs and forums para mahanap ko ang bago kong OB na si Dra. Mae C. Syki-Young who's very well recommended sa interwebs. Look her up, she even has a fb page. I also got a lot of information on the cost of laboratory tests and delivery packages from the webs.

I believe, marami ring soon-to-be-moms diyan na gustong i-consider ang financial aspect of expanding a family. I hope this will help. :)

Next, I'll blog about my meeting with Dra. Syki-Young. :)