Did you give birth overseas? Share your stories - Page 2

[Banana731]

I gave birth unassisted by choice in Japan. It was very nice. 2 people from the government office came to my house to interview us, basically to make sure I actually gave birth to the baby and didn't steal it or something, so we could get the proper paper work for the birth report. They were typically Japanese and were super polite and didn't want to take up much of our time. They just asked me to summarize the birth and why I chose to birth the way I did, and then said congratulations and left.

I also attended a couple of hb with Japanese midwives. It was fairly similar to a US hb, the mw's were a little hands on, and they were hot to trot to get the placenta out right away. With PP care you get a massage though!

[AuroraPolaris]

Well, as I am Norwegian, I`ve never given birth anywhere else, so I don`t have anything to compare to, other than births I watched on the TV.

Homebirths are not common at all here, but some off course choose to.
Usually you give birth at a hospital near you.
They try to make everything as natural as possible.
It is the mothers choise to use any drugs/ epidural, the last years acupuncture is also used a lot. But it`s your choise.

If the birth goes forward without any complications you are free to move, use different positions, take a shower, no IV.
The midwife will not stay with you all the time, but check on your progress every now and then, and off course comes if you need her.
You give birth with the midwife only, doctors are called if complications.
When your baby arrives, he/she will get a shot of vitamin K, and the mother a shot that helps the uterus contract. (oxytocin?) The baby will not be given any eye drops. Immediately after birth you`ll have your baby on your tummy for a little while. They weigh and measure the baby, put on diapers and clothes, and you`ll get your baby back. They quickly put on the id on both leg and arm on the baby, and show it to you so you can check that the info is correct.

After an hour you are transferred to the after birth room, where your partner can stay with you. You can stay at the hospital as long as needed, usually not any longer than 3-4 days. If everything is OK, it`s usually not a problem to leave earlier, but they would prefer that you stay for about 4 hours/and the baby is seen by a doctor. You keep your baby with you all the time, and the staff are helpful with breastfeeding, and check how your uterus contract the first day or two if you stay that long. All women are really encouraged to breastfeed, about 80% of all norwegians breastfeed at least 6 months.
They advice not to bath the baby before most of the vernix is absorbed, and it is recommended to just use pure water and maybe some olive oil or baby oil. The umbilical cord is left alone if dry, if it is wet you are told to wash gently around the bottom with some antibacterial fluid and leave to dry.
We don`t cover it with anything, just leave it alone to heal and fall off.


And, both prenatal care, birth and beyond is totally free.
After birth your local health center follow up on breastfeeding, helps the new mother with any questions, measure and weigh your baby.
Most people I know of is happy with the prenatal care, the birth itself, and the care afterwards.


(Sorry for any wrong words here, it takes just sooo long to search on a translating site, so I`m just doing my best with the complicated words. )