Anastasia’s pregnancy diary - weeks 32-34

I felt like a fraud entering the labour ward, expecting it to be mayhem after reading that Chelsea & Westminster Hospital delivers over 4,000 babies every year (that’s a dozen a day). But it was surprisingly quiet. We were ushered into a labour room, and left alone. The room was dismal and empty, but for one ancient saggy chair, the most uncomfortable ‘bed’ I have ever sat on, and a pillow that could have doubled for a toddler nappy. Ten minutes later a midwife came in and asked some questions. She then hooked me up to a baby monitor and we spent an exhilarating 20 minutes listening to a strong heartbeat, reassured that no matter what might happen, our baby was fine and, so far, there was no damage done. Whew!

Finally, an obstetrician came in, a young woman (and I hate it when accomplished people are younger than I am), and asked me a million questions. She seemed concerned, but not overly so. She ordered a series of blood tests and had a nurse draw the blood from my arm. We were told we’d get most of the test results that evening, and some would take a few days. But the main test, a liver function screen, would strongly indicate whether I had this disease or not, and if that came back clear, it was very likely that everything was fine.