One day in Ramadan this year, we experienced to see and hear the most relieving heartbeat ever when an empty sac in my belly turned into a sac with tiny creature inside. SubhanAllah wal hamdulillah! I went through uneasy time before that day. Physically, I had the nausea, back pain, stiff legs, and migraine alternately during the day. Mentally, I had less appetite to do anything and often questioned: am I suffering all these aches for ‘something’? with the baby wasn’t showing up yet, it was hard time to bear the pregnancy symptoms patiently. I spent the days to read many articles about empty sac and got prepared to receive any bad fate such as blighted ovum (涸死卵) or miscarried (流産)! Here I’d like to tell you that…

Facing all the possibilities in pregnancy may be not always easy to accept, but keep believe in The Creator who never makes anything reason-less. Be thankful to be trusted to get pregnant instead.

It was not the first super-anxious-two-weeks for me. Back to the past I had:

• [2014] Two weeks waiting for the next check up at OBGYN while expecting the bleeding to stop in my first pregnancy –> ended up in miscarriage at 6-7 weeks T_T
• [2015] Two weeks waiting from week 24 to week 26 for additional ultrasound to make sure whether the fetus in my womb normal or having problem since the ultrasound showed the bright color in the bowel area which could be chance for down syndrome (can you imagine how I felt?), cystic fibrosis, or nothing –> ended up healthy baby Musa 🙂

And still, we never know what’s going to happen later… so, for my self reminder and to the fellow expecting mothers out there, please be positive thinking. Our body is ourselves.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH said

يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي

Allah the Exalted says: I am as my servant expects me and I am with him as he remembers me. (Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 6970)

Based on resources I read and a little explanation from the doctor, invisible fetus in my case was probably caused by late ovulation (I have 40-days-cycle period) or the embryo was too small to be visible. Sometimes they do the ultrasound check too early , right?

In Japan, we require an ultrasound in every check-up from the first prenatal visit (even though you’re just four weeks pregnant!!!) to officially claim the pregnancy until the last visit before delivery. It’s much different compared to US standard which only requires at least ONE compulsory ultrasound to check gender (around 15-20 weeks). I’m going to write the next passages in Bahasa, so please check these references if you need some guides about being pregnant in Japan:

1. 1. 1. Savvy Tokyo – 10 Must-Read Articles If You Are Pregnant in Japan (this covers many aspects you need to know from first prenatal visit, administration procedures, cost, to birth
      2. Pregnant In Japan: 15 Things They Do Differently (successfully made me giggled a lot! :D)
      3. Pregnant in Japan: Resources (tells you where to ask helps and buy baby/mom essentials)
      4. Last but not least, don’t forget to check your city’s homepage first before going to the clinic or hospital. There should be a lot of important information to read by newbie.

And if possible, choose the medical institution whose English-speaking staff to support your visit. A number of hospitals in Tokyo even have provided reading materials in English.

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