I am now sitting in the waiting area in the hospital with my girlfriend. We came here a bit too early so we have to wait for the doctors and nurses to finish their lunch break. This is the third time that I have taken my girlfriend to the hospital to have a check up. I didn’t know before that a pregnant woman has to come to check her body so often. This time, I hope that it will be cheaper than the last two times.

The first time we came here I was feeling nervous because I didn’t know what to do. I have never come to see a doctor with a pregnant woman before. We had to wait for a long time before the nurse called out my girlfriend’s name. She got up and walked into the examination room. At that time, I didn’t know that I could go in or not, so I kept walking up and down outside.

A few minutes later a nurse came out and saw me there. Then, before I could ask her the question, she said to me that I could go inside if I wanted to. God, how could she answer my question before I said anything? Maybe she has seen other people do the same thing as me?

After I said thank you to that nurse, I quickly went into the room. My girlfriend was sitting on a chair facing the doctor. She was answering questions that he was asking. She turned around and looked at me angrily. She stared at me for a few seconds and then she turned her face back to the doctor.

Since my girlfriend got pregnant, she has got angry with me so easily. It has happened lots of times when she would make a big thing out of something small. I noticed that she has been acting very strange like this for several weeks now. One minute she looked happy and was laughing, then another minute she was crying. I felt like she had changed to be a different person.

Also, for a few weeks now she keeps telephoning me and saying that she is hungry. Every time she rings I have to stop what I am doing to go out to buy her some food. Then, about five minutes after I get back she rings and says that she is hungry again! I am afraid I won’t be able to concentrate on my work at all when she keeps doing that. Also, I no longer have any free time for myself.

But, after the first time we went to see the doctor, he told me that every pregnant woman is like this. It is because of the hormones inside her body. He said he would give her some medicine and that would help her. I said thank you and then went to pay the money. I was a bit shocked when I arrived at the cashier because it was very expensive. It cost me more than one thousand baht!

Nearly a week later, she felt ill and sick more than before so I had to take her back to the hospital. The doctor gave her some more medicine to take and gave her some injections. This time it was about seven hundred baht. Even though it cost me less than last time, it was still expensive for me.

The lunch break has now finished and I hear a nurse call out my girlfriend’s name. We go in to see the doctor together. Now everything is easier as I understand more about what is happening. However, I must learn to be more patient with my girlfriend and not get angry when she does something silly. Like last night when she said she wanted to put make-up on my face. I have no choice. I have to remember that she is pregnant and I have to keep her calm and happy. It is hard to do but I am hoping that everything will be back to normal after the baby is born. I hope.

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"Living with a Pregant Woman" was originally published in the Learning Post, a supplement of the Bangkok Post. It is used here with their kind permission.

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