Help for a friend in Europe

[mandy122901]

I would greatly appreciate any and all help for my friend who is currently living in Bucharest, Romania. She tried for a natural birth with her first and after days with a posterior labor, she had a c/s. She desperately wants a VBAC with her second; however, she cannot seem to find any care providers over there. She is not yet pregnant, but looking to TTC very soon. She would like to have a homebirth, but would like to know that there is a quality hospital/OB nearby for backup in case of emergency. I can understand this fear as I needed the reassurance of a backup plan for my HBAC and I am trying to help her in any way I can. The OBs and hospitals in Bucharest don't have good reputations and the c/s rate is something like 80%! VBACs are not even an option there. She is really fearful of the quality of medical care over there and would even be willing to travel to another European country if necessary. Any and all information and help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much!!!

[wbg]

I have heard somewhere about traveling midwives who will fly to you. Depends on the expense. Perhaps someone else knows of an actual real life traveling midwife. I read about one somewhere, but cant for the life of me recall where. Good luck.

[meganmarie]

Wow, that sounds like a tough situation. Is there a "finding your tribe" section on Mothering for that area of Europe? That's probably where I would post to get geographic-specific advice and suggestions.

You are very kind to reach out on behalf of your friend. I hope you find some ideas.

[AutumnAir]

I would strongly suggest that she not even consider giving birth in Romania if she wants to have anything resembling a natural birth. (I had a terrible experience in the Czech Republic, and from what I've heard Romania is even worse.)

If I could go back in time I would have simply come over to the UK or Ireland when I was 35-6 weeks and booked myself in for a homebirth here rather than trying to have a natural birth in a country that seems vehemently opposed to it.

In the UK you can book a homebirth through the NHS so if you qualify for NHS you get it for free. Or alternatively you can pay a private midwife - I think about £2-3000. Because homebirth is reasonably normal here you don't run quite the same risk of being treated horrifically and 'punished' by doctors/nurses if you do have to transfer.

Homebirth is becoming more popular in Ireland too and technically you should be able to get it through the public health system, though I think in practice most people who do have a homebirth book a private midwife.

The Netherlands is a great place to go for homebirth, with a homebirth rate of about 30%. If your friend is Romanian she is an EU member and shouldn't have too much trouble getting access in any of these countries, especially if she speaks some English/ does a bit of research ahead of time / knows someone living there.

I hope she can have a peaceful natural birth this time around.

[mandy122901]

Thanks for the reply! I do have contact with several traveling midwives that might be an option for her.

Originally Posted by wbg

I have heard somewhere about traveling midwives who will fly to you. Depends on the expense. Perhaps someone else knows of an actual real life traveling midwife. I read about one somewhere, but cant for the life of me recall where. Good luck.

[mandy122901]

I did post in that area too and I have gotten some replies. Thanks so much for the encouragement!

Originally Posted by meganmarie

Wow, that sounds like a tough situation. Is there a "finding your tribe" section on Mothering for that area of Europe? That's probably where I would post to get geographic-specific advice and suggestions.

You are very kind to reach out on behalf of your friend. I hope you find some ideas.

[mandy122901]

Thank you SO much for the information and for sharing your experience. Do you have any idea about how difficult it would be to plan a "traveling" birth like you described? She is definitely open to going to another European country....so any info/advice is greatly appreciated. Oh....and she is actually American and only speaks English.

Thanks again,
Mandy

Originally Posted by AutumnAir

I would strongly suggest that she not even consider giving birth in Romania if she wants to have anything resembling a natural birth. (I had a terrible experience in the Czech Republic, and from what I've heard Romania is even worse.)

If I could go back in time I would have simply come over to the UK or Ireland when I was 35-6 weeks and booked myself in for a homebirth here rather than trying to have a natural birth in a country that seems vehemently opposed to it.

In the UK you can book a homebirth through the NHS so if you qualify for NHS you get it for free. Or alternatively you can pay a private midwife - I think about £2-3000. Because homebirth is reasonably normal here you don't run quite the same risk of being treated horrifically and 'punished' by doctors/nurses if you do have to transfer.

Homebirth is becoming more popular in Ireland too and technically you should be able to get it through the public health system, though I think in practice most people who do have a homebirth book a private midwife.

The Netherlands is a great place to go for homebirth, with a homebirth rate of about 30%. If your friend is Romanian she is an EU member and shouldn't have too much trouble getting access in any of these countries, especially if she speaks some English/ does a bit of research ahead of time / knows someone living there.

I hope she can have a peaceful natural birth this time around.

[MittensKittens]

Hey Lisa,

Do you remember the name of the MDC mama who wanted to UC but then ended up birthing in a Romanian hospital? I can't recall her username now, nut I am sure she has some good info.

Originally Posted by AutumnAir

I would strongly suggest that she not even consider giving birth in Romania if she wants to have anything resembling a natural birth. (I had a terrible experience in the Czech Republic, and from what I've heard Romania is even worse.)

If I could go back in time I would have simply come over to the UK or Ireland when I was 35-6 weeks and booked myself in for a homebirth here rather than trying to have a natural birth in a country that seems vehemently opposed to it.

In the UK you can book a homebirth through the NHS so if you qualify for NHS you get it for free. Or alternatively you can pay a private midwife - I think about £2-3000. Because homebirth is reasonably normal here you don't run quite the same risk of being treated horrifically and 'punished' by doctors/nurses if you do have to transfer.

Homebirth is becoming more popular in Ireland too and technically you should be able to get it through the public health system, though I think in practice most people who do have a homebirth book a private midwife.

The Netherlands is a great place to go for homebirth, with a homebirth rate of about 30%. If your friend is Romanian she is an EU member and shouldn't have too much trouble getting access in any of these countries, especially if she speaks some English/ does a bit of research ahead of time / knows someone living there.

I hope she can have a peaceful natural birth this time around.

[fazer6]

If you have made social security payments in a european country (basically if you are entitled to healthcare in your current country) then you can apply for a form which will cover you for up to 2 years in another european country. I can't remember which number the form is but I can find out if you need info.

If she only speaks english then obviously England or Ireland is probably the most advisable place. I'm in Spain and have already given birth once. My local hospital was and is wonderful. Very naturally minded. No 'routine' interventions and you're basically left on your own. It's like a homebirth as in no one bothers you, but you are in a hospital environment.

I've always found dutch people to be very good at speaking english. I doubt there will be many problems for healthcare there. Dutch is such a small language that any medical professionals will read english journals as I doubt there's much available in English. Even down to street sweepers you will find a lot of people with excellent english.

I'd advise your friend to check out the stats of the local hospitals though. Ask around other people in the area. National statistics of what is the norm may not actually reflect her local hospital. I've always found there's a lot of chinese whispers, especially when people don't speak the language. Apparantly at my local hospital there's no gas and air, strange as I remember having a bottle next to my bed. Are there any online forums for other english speakers in Romania. Actually I've just remembered my friends boyfriend is Romanian so I'll ask her to have a word with him and ask his family.

[dirtyhipegirl]

I live in Italy near the Slovenian border. There is an American military base here, so many people in the local hospitals speak English. From what I've heard the Italian hospitals here are good and many people have natural births. I know they charge a lot for Epidurals so many people opt not to get it. That's a bit far to travel but it might be worth looking into.

[AutumnAir]

MittensKittens - I remember who you're talking about, but can't remember her screen-name either. I'll try to do a search later when I have a bit more time.

I think the form is the E111 for medical cover - it shouldn't be a problem. I'd advise coming to the UK over Ireland, as the set-up for public health care homebirths is a lot better. She should check out this site - lots of useful info; I think they even have a summary of the better and worse areas in the UK for homebirth, and you can email the lady in charge - I'm sure she'd be more than happy to help your friend figure out the best strategy to get a homebirth in the UK.

I would imagine London or that general area would probably be her best bet, as there's just so much more choice available there. She could rent a small flat for the couple of months she'd be there, pop down to the local doctors and register herself for a homebirth. It shouldn't be too much more difficult than that, especially if she does the research and calls around ahead of time to make sure she finds a supportive NHS group of midwives, or if she can afford to go private that might be a bit easier.