Are you living overseas and pregnant? Anyone interested in starting an international Ante-natal club?

[RubiMama]

I thought it would be fun to have a thread for those of us who are pregnant and living outside UK. As people's experience of ante natal care and birth can be so different abroad I thought it would be nice to our own MN antenatalclub. Where I am (Greece) there are no ante antal goups as such where women get together and all birth preparation is mainly on a one to one basis which I find frustrating. But there are other aspects of the care I get that I really like and in a way glad to be here rather than UK. Also I know it can be daunting giving birth for the first time in a new country where the whole system turns out to be so different from how you expected, so we could support each other and share experiences and stories.
I'm 26 weeks pg with DC2. Due at beginning of May.

Is anybody else in?

[flyingcloud]

I'm in - but due in two weeks so I might not be around for very long ;)

I am 39+4 and coping ok, getting bored but coping. I certainly posted on the LO thread when I first got pregnant, looking for help, and I have found lots of help.

[LaRagazzaInglese]

I'm not quite in - kind of TTC - so hopefully i'll be in soon!

[JeMeSouviens]

I've managed a sticky baby, am 10w+2, due 29 Aug. Living in very rural, small town Canada. We have a lovely new hospital (no midwives in town, relatively new here and the closest is 3hrs away!) but not a lot of experience in the staff which makes me nervous, but obviously hoping it will all be straightforward. This will be DC2.

[WhatSheSaid]

I'm in too, I'm in NZ and am 17 wks pg with my second. Dd is 2. She was born here so I already know the maternity system, it is pretty good. I'll be back to post more later - have to tidy up my pigsty of a house as the in-laws arrive for 5 weeks tomorrow! Thankfully not staying with us for the whole time though

[JeMeSouviens]

I'm from NZ WhatShe, funny where we all end up. My GP here is from Darlington, quite near where we lived in UK, and he'd lived near the town I grew up in, in NZ. Such a small world these days.

Enjoy your inlaws visit!

[WhatSheSaid]

Was your first dc born in NZ, Jemesouviens? There are quite a lot of Kiwis over in Canada, aren't there...well, I know a few who have lived there anyway.

[ArcticFox]

I'm 8w+4 and living in Hong Kong. Feeling very pampered so far - already had two obstetrician appointments and two scans and am practically rattling with all the nutritional supplements I've been given.

Only concern at the moment is that I'm Rhesus negative, and apparently blood stocks are typically low as there are not many Rh-ve Chinese people. Hence have to take nausea-inducing iron supplements for whole of pregnancy to reduce potential need for a transfusion.

[Mmmango]

Ooh, I needed this a few months ago - dd2 is 13 weeks, was born in Thailand. Maybe I'll lurk occasionally.

Arctic, I don't have much experience but gather from mn that different brands of iron supplement can have much better/ worse side effects - probably worth experimenting if you'll be taking them for ages.

[ArcticFox]

Hmm, I think you're right. I'm on Los Cheapos ferrous sulphate at the moment. Seeing by Obs in 2 weeks so think I'll ask her to switch me.

[WhatSheSaid]

Oh I had the same experience with the iron tablets, they made me feel so ill when I already had morning sickness that I just stopped taking them. Now the ms is over I seem to be OK taking them - especially if it's after food and with a big drink of juice or water.

The system here in NZ is that everyone has a Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) who they see all the way through the pg and who also is with you during labour and delivers the baby. Most LMCs are midwives who have clinics in the community, independent of surgeries or hospitals. There are exceptions - there are teams of hospital mws if you can't find a local LMC - and some people pay to have a private obstetrician. If you have any complications or are high-risk you can also see a hospital specialist through the public system - which I am doing as I have high bp.

Of course if you have complications in labour it may not be your LMC who delivers the baby as you may need a dr for the delivery or a surgeon for a c/s - dd was an em c/s for foetal distress.

I thought the care I had with dd was great, all on the public system, hospital was busy but staff all great, had my own room and bathroom (lovely, espec as I had read so many horror stories on MN about poor postnatal care, bathrooms covered in blood etc!).

Anyway, the whole experience was positive for me adn things seem to be going OK this time, at some point I will be deciding about whether to go for elective c/s or not (quite probable - aged 39, previous c/s, high risk pg due to high blood pressure...)

[Roan]

Hello ladies,

may I join you? I am 6w5d and feeling hungover like a dog from all the nausea and running around after my dd1 (nearly 2 yrs). We live in Dubai and I'm scared of the medical facilities here because of friends' cases and the state of health care is not so great anyways. I had my last one abroad by ELCS and will have this one in the same manner I think.

[JeMeSouviens]

WhatShe, just to complicate things, DS was born in the UK (DH is English). I found the NHS superb, and my midwife really great. She was in tears one day recalling the birth of her son, needless to say, she stopped at one, but LOVED her job.

There are a lot of kiwis in Canada generally, but I am the only one in our little town, there are a few english here though.

You have to opt in to have a midwife here, and go to a midwife centre for the birth, but they're unable to administer epi's etc... so it's pretty much all natural if you go that route, with transfer to hospital if things go pear shaped.

Do they still have Plunket Nurses in NZ?

[Ozziegirly]

Hello,

I'm 11+2 with my first and am in Adelaide.

Very impressed with the care here so far. We have private healthcare which is very cheap, and yet covers me for a private birth in a lovely looking hospital with one to one care with an obstetrician throughout the pregnancy.

I have had one scan already and have my nuchal and blood test tomorrow (eek).

[WhatSheSaid]

JMS yes we still have the Plunket nurses here and their little clinics in every community where you take the baby for check ups etc.

Ozziegirly good luck with the scan and blood test. My chance of Downs based on my age alone was 1 in 117...the scan changed that to 1 in 595 then I got the blood test results yesterday which changed it again to 1 in 27000 - huge change just from a blood test

[Ozziegirly]

That must be incredibly reassuring Whatshesaid - I am very nervous about mine, I've been having anxiety dreams all week!

I am 32 and the Dr said "oh nice and young" whereas when my Mum had me, she was told she was an "elderly mother". She was 30

Just goes to show how things can change in one generation....

[WhatSheSaid]

I actually wasn't concerned with the 1 in 595 original result, thought it was pretty good odds, especially at my age (38).

32 is nothing, your risks are very low

[RubiMama]

Hello all, sorry I've been tardy in my posting, didn't check thread for 3 days since starting it as have been stressed out with DS's 2nd bithday! Glad we've got a little group going!
I'm going to start with a head count and see how far flung we are.....and I'll do it in order of how soon we've got until we pop!

Mmmango Thailand, popped , dd2 13 wks, Congatulations!
FlyingCloud (where are you?), 40 weeks.
Rubimama Athens, 27 weeks.
WhatSheSaid NZ, 17 weeks.
Ozziegilie, Adelaide, 11 weeks.
JeMeSouviens Canada, 10 weeks.
ActicFox Hong Kong, 9 weeks.
Roan Dubai, 7 weeks.
LaRagazzaInglese Italy?! ttc, good luck

I rounded up to the next number of weeks for anything above +4 days, so I hope I've got it all right.

Ozziegirly I hope your scan and nuchal test went well today, and you get to sleep better afterwards! I know it can be really nerve wracking.

Roan poor you, I so sympathise about feeling sick and looking after a toddler. It nearly killed me this time, and I was lucky because DH's parents live round the corner and they would take him off my hands after four in the afternoon and deliver him home packaged up for bed 4 hours later so I could mope about and groan all by myself! When I was pg with DS I had the morning sickness stage in the middle of a 45 degree heatwave, and that was unbearable. I was completely housebound, is it the same for you?

Well from reading this thread so far I'm jealous of the healthcare in Austalia and NZ. Here in Greece the public healthcare system is a bit rough and ready, general anaesthetic is standad practice for C-section (of which there are maaaany), husbands not allowed to attend birth for actual moment of delivery, and many other seemingly archaic practices. Most people go private and then you experience really depends on what what kind of doctor you have although there is a general trend: Obs led care - with midwives more in the role of glorified nurse, a 50-60% C-section rate and surprisingly the majority of babies seem to be born before 2 o'clock in the afternoon . This miraculously enables the doctors to arrange their day in order to eat lunch and perhaps have a little siesta before keeping their evening clinic appointments...
I'm wondering if this is similar to how things wok in Dubai Roan?

Basically, discovering how different the system here was to NHS freaked me out alot last time, and I felt really lucky when I found a midwife led natural birth centre. But, even though our Midwife and the whole environment was lovely, the 3 day saga of DS's 'natural and in his own time arrival' is not something I wish to relive. I can't bear the thought of going back into the same room with the same midwife - too many flashbacks! So will be gladly accepting all the pain relief on tap in the private hosp this time and hope it doesn't feel too much like staying in a baby factory! Found a Uk trained Obs and a scottish midwife husband and wife team who work more along along NHS guidelines so feel I'm in safe hands and hopefully might get the best of both worlds, even though it stings that we're having to pay for it.

This has been a mammoth post . Goodnight all, and hope the various kicking/sickness/anxiety (delete as appropriate) doesn't prevent much longed for sleep x

[WhatSheSaid]

Just checking in, been away at a bach (holiday home) for 5 days with sil, bil, mil and step fil, yep, all dh's realtives are visiting at mo! Then had appt at hospital with dr today, all he did was take my bp, check my medication amounts should stay the same and then make another appt for 8 weeks time.

Have anatomy scan on Friday (20 wk one, though I will be 18 wks) so fining out if girl or boy.

Ozziegirly how did the scan and blood test go?

[mummygirl]

Hi Rubimama

where about in Greece are you? Haven't read the whoel thread, but I thought I'd put your mind at rest, since I ahd my DS1 in greece and it was a wonderful experience.

After a horrible time with the NHS in England with my DD, where I received basically no care (I'd have been better off having the baby in public toilets on my own) and no aftercare, baby and I got very poorly because noone came to see us and breastfeeding went tits up, I was very scared about having DC2 in Greece.

I was very pleasantly surprised. The hospital was lovely, no more than two people in the room, you have the baby with you, unless you feel exhausted and then they're happy to take it away so you can have some sleep. Lots of breastfeeding support, but none of the constant drumming and guilt-tripping. The midwives supported me as well as my husband all the way through (until it was obvious that it had to be a crush CS due to prolapse cord under GA so he waited outside, but he was given the baby as soon as he was born and they had special cuddles).

I've had babies in three countries now(UK, Greece and Italy), and I can say that despite DC2 being a GA CS it was the most pleasant experience. I've found greeks to be very sweet around new babies and their mothers, and the same goes with midwives depsite delivering so many of them every day. We move a lot because of work, but I've told DH that if we're ever to have another baby, we're having it in greece, end of!

Hope this helps a bit, I hope your pregnancy goes smoothly

[RubiMama]

Hi mummygirl that is really reassuring. I'm glad you had such a positive experience. I'm in Athens. Were you? If so can you remember which hospital were you in? From what you say I'm guessing it was maybe Elena? I suppose I've heard so many different stories from friends since I've been here, and many of them horror stories(!) that I've gone a bit cynical. I am really pleased with the doctor and midwife we've found this time but as we're going private to be with them I'm going into a six person room to keep the cost down. I'm hoping this will be ok, Greek tradition is to have loads of visitors flocking to your bedside the week you are in and I don't much feel like being surounded by a whole village! So planning to buck the trend and leave asap, fingers crossed everything will be ok with baby and they will let us go!

[frakkinaround]

flyingcloud is France. I'm in Reunion trying to persuade DH to TTC - does that make me TTTTC?! He's not so keen because we may be moved again soon (Forces) despite the fact we only just got here.

I'm loving all the ante-natal stories. Care here is supposed to be quite good, but it's French so quite medicalised, and no question of HB or anything of the sort! One acquaintance here wasn't even given the change for a natural birth because her DD was breech. It was just an automatic CS.

[flyingcloud]

Sorry - I did write a really long post the other day but it got lost in the ether.

Yes, I am in France and so far having a good experience. I find information is given a little on a need to know basis, which is starting to annoy me, now that I am 40+4 and I have no idea what is going on.

My gynae and midwife are both on holiday this week and I can't get through to the hospital. I will probably be admitted on my EDD of 41+3 for monitoring (if the baby hasn't arrived) but have no idea when I will be induced...

Can you tell I've had enough of being pregnant?!

[mummygirl]

Rubimama I used to live in a town up North called Naoussa, Imanthia county. Very pretty, had a fantastic time there, great for the kids, so much to do, I'd go back in a heartbeat if we had the opportunity.

The hospital I was in was the local public hospital. As it's a small town it's all very personal and they're happy to accomodate your wishes. They also always seemed to have the time to listen to you and discuss things. And yes, the toher lady did have a lot of visitors, but it helped keep DC1 with me all day wihtout worrying about all the chaos she was creating. And the midwives were loving it and playing with her and letting her run around the maternity unit Although I don't know if that would be the case in a private clinic.

I'm glad you found someone you're happy with. You know I often think it's probably a town vs city thing. After my horrific experience in london I loved greece. Had DC3 in Rome and although not as nad as england, it was still quite impersonal iykwim.

All I can say is don't listen to horror stories. They happen in every country and I'm sure if you were having this baby back home ther would be several "well meaning" friends to inform you how inadequate the NHS is in looking after new mothers. Focus on your current situation and its positives (all the cheeky extra ultrasounds :-)). But i have to say that you sound to me quite sorted and calm, and that's good.

Keep well sweets, it seems that you have all the info you need, but if you think there's something I can help with give me a shout over here, I check in every couple of days.

[RubiMama]

Ooh, it is interesting how different people's experiences are. mummygirl I think you'e right about the small town thing. In Athens they don't let any child under 12 into the hospitals and most people stay in for 5 days after the birth. I can't bear the thought of not seeing DS for that long and then arriving home with another baby, that's why I'm hoping to go against the grain and check out early. But I have been told by my doctor that ater 2 pm on the labour ward (when all the other biths have been wrapped up!) things usually get a bit more intimate and relaxed with the other staff more friendly and genuinely interested in you ather than managing the baby facoty they seem to run in the morning. So hopefully my babe will be born ater in the day and I'll get the country hospital vibe!

Welcome frakkinaround and good luck TTTTC! I wonder where you will eventually have you baby then?

[JeMeSouviens]

So interesting hearing of different scenarios around the world. How do you stop yourself freaking out with trying to work out how the system goes? I'm trying hard not to worry, but it's very difficult. I have a load of Canadian friends having babies this year, but they're all in another province, I would really like to be back with them, so they can help me through the hoops!

I've just found out that the regular GP is the one that sees you through the birth (if no problems, and somewhere with no midwife unit). I had to change mine quickly as he is in the social circle of our work, and that could be a bit awkward next time we're all over for dinner .

As I said we live in a very small, very isolated town. One of our chaps had a heart attack before we came here, the hospital really had no clue, the nurses panicked when his heart stopped in hospital, work had someone sit with him around the clock to make sure he was ok and ended up getting a helicopter in to fly him out to get proper care.

The next town is 45mins away, which has more services at their hospital, this is a little reassuring, but I'm glad I'm not due in winter, when the road between is often closed.

And then they tell me this isn't a hardship location .