Cultural Norms Giving Birth

[doadeer]

I'm fascinated by the different attitudes to pregnancy and childbirth in different cultures.

I would say in UK we are you going through a very pro "natural" phase - huge rise in hypnobirthing and midwife led birth suites. Strong vbac emphasis. Can be quite judgemental on elective c sections.

Colleagues from France were surprised when I said I hadn't thought about having an epidural as they said this is very common there.

A friend was talking about giving birth in Thailand where c sections are the norm with many hospitals not trained to deliver vaginallg. Another friend said it's similar in Cyprus.

It's so interesting. What are the childbirth norms where you are from?

Sorry meant to post this in chat not AIBU

Where I live the women stay at home for 3 months, preferably in bed, with hot coals burning under the bed. You can imagine my partners face when I took our newborn son out for a walk the day after we got home from the hospital. Babies should also stay home for this amount of time with the mother so he was very worried about him getting sick. There's also some tales about ghosts who possess women as they give birth and preventive measures to stop this from happening. I chose not to give birth here!! Ha!

Oh, i read a super interesting book on this and for the life of me cant remember what it was called.

Essentially it was a book about home births in an unbiased view, it spoke alot about peoples perceptions/opinions on birth and how a country/person is heavily influenced based on that even though the facts show otherwise.

So essentially most countries follow a trend based on what the media and older generation are portraying and not actual facts or recent studies.

Id agree with you that as a country (uk) we are generally researching options and realizing that we have a choice where and how we birth.

Oh I'd like that book can you remember what it's called?

Sorry should say I understand my friends don't speak for an entire country and there can be variations of opinion!

I am in the US and gave birth here in September. I was worried because everything I had seen looked to be very clinical with lots of epidurals and c sections. While that is still true, I feel like they are definitely making moves to get away from it and were happy for me to have a drug free labour if thats what I wanted on the day. They like you to stay in 2 days after a straightforward birth where I am which I was dreading. I managed to get out after 36 hours (would have been earlier but I had a middle of the night baby and they like to do some checks after 24 hours) which I actually think helped me get confident with breastfeeding with their support before we went home.

Where I am CS is very much the norm, along with great postnatal support. Breastfeeding support and physio after a CS etc. I only know 3 people who went the natural route with horrific stories to tell.

The French system very much has a "no medals for being a martyr" mentality, and a much more involved approach to getting you up and back to normal afterwards.

I know it's a daily mail article, but from how my French friends talk about it all it seems quite accurate: www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7334257/amp/If-woman-able-birth-like-French.html

Personally I think it sounds great!

I am in Norway and have given birth here twice. The norm is very much giving birth in the hospital where you are attended by midwives (who study 3 years of university for the role). Only if things take a down turn do doctors get called in. Epidurals are encouraged because "why suffer pain when you don't have to?", vaginal is expected but you don't have to actively fight if you want a section. It's very hands off during pregnancy; in a normal pregnancy you'll have one ultrasound at 18 weeks (higher risk pregnancies you'll be given more hands on care).

After the birth you're moved to what's called a 'barselhotell' which looks just like a hotel but with medical showering attachments and a proper baby change station. You also have an alert cord to pull which will bring you a midwive within minutes. You get to stay here for 3 nights for free including food (dad needs to pay a small charge though if he wants to stay too. It's not much). I don't know what the routine is for a section or if it's any different, both of mine were uncomplicated vaginal births.

After that you get 10 months to a year of parental leave, 12 weeks for the dad (this may have changed in the last 3 years it's difficult to keep up when it's not relevant anymore) and 15 weeks for the mum, the rest can be split between you as you like. 10 months will be at 100% pay, or you can choose to take the full year at 80% pay. All children will be eligable for barnehage (nursery I guess?) from 12 months but if you choose to keep your child under 3 home then you get a small monthly stipend from the government.

Oh yes, you can't have gas and air here. They stopped allowing it the year before I gave birth for the first time (so 7 years ago now) due to effects noticed on the fertility of the midwives who worked with it. So it's epidural or nothing..

Oh yes, and of course the breast feeding support. There's an entire clinic in each hospital dedicated to breastfeeding so you can drop in to get support whenever you need, or phone. You can also phone the barselhotell at any time of night for the following two weeks after leaving for midwife advice (I did this because the aftercramps from my second had me terrified there was another baby in there and I was in active labour again. So that was fun!)

@Damntheman sounds more or less like Denmark so quite the nordic way of doing it.

Interesting that there are places where an epidural is pretty much the norm, I have a problem with my spine and spinal cord that makes an epidural very risky for me so I'd be a bit worried.

The Nordic way = det ordner seg :o I was not very chill about waiting til 18 weeks for my first ultrasound the time time around I can tell you that!

No need to be worried Motacilla, consent is also the norm ;) So you'd just have to say "I don't want an epidural" and they'd say, "okay!"

I've only watched tv shows so no proper experience but I always think American births are very medical-seeming. Everyone seems to get an epidural, doctors involved in the most average low risk pregnancies.

Oh I don't think they'd give me an epidural without my consent, I'd be more worried that they wouldn't offer alternatives (G&A, birthing pool, hypnobirthing, massage etc) and understand how and have skills to support me in labour.

I'm well beyond babies now anyway so not a direct concern.

That's facinating about Norway.

I've heard that many Jewish women check into these special baby hotels post birth where they are looked after and supported with bang - my physio was telling me. It sounds amazing!

Another friend who's French said all women see a women's health physio after who supports with pelvic floor work etc and assesses for damage. That sounds very sensible

In the UK we have health visitors who come to your home straight after birth - does this happen elsewhere?

My French friends were shocked I'd had gas and air, it's not allowed there either apparently. My Brazilian friends tell me CS is the norm there, more than 80%.

Why is c section now the norm in so many countries? I think there are a lot of anti c section opinions in the UK

No gas and air Mot, but water births, massage, accupuncture etc all offered.

OP Baby hotel is the shizz! I loved it. When I wasn't coping at all they took my baby and walked with her for 3 hours so I could sleep before bringing her back. Amaaazing.

And yes we have health visitors too :) They come to visit a week after the birth. It's all about the mother with them, they want to make sure you have adequate support, a decent social network so you don't lose yourself, and have a eagle eye out for PND. They also invite you to join a baby group of mothers who gave birth in your area in the same month. That's voluntary though. These baby groups hang out for the first year at cafes and go for walks with the babies and things, it's quite cosy!

We also get the physio but that's a group meeting so perhaps not so ideal for those who aren't into discussing their pelvic floor in public.

Interesting view about epidurals- don't suffer if you don't have to.

My view would be don't have an injection your spine if you don't have to...

@doadeer (planned) c-sections are generally a less stressful and painful experience than a vaginal delivery. I stress generally because obviously everyone's experience will differ, and certainly in the UK the quality of aftercare and therefore the recovery time will vary hugely.

IMO my preferred birth experiences in order would be planned section, then vaginal birth, then emergency section. Mind you I think you want to avoid anything emergency if possible!

The dutch have kramzorg - somebody comes home to you for the first 8-10 days every day and actually helps (including doing the dishes!), but also with medical aftercare, feeding support etc. Basics the useful version of a health visitor

I'm in Sweden. I needed an ambulance when DS arrived. It didn't arrive in time and DS was born in the street. I still had to pay the fee for the ambulance.

Once everything was sorted at the hospital I was served with 'fin fika' which is like high tea, served on a tray with a little Swedish flag on. Then we went up to the ward where only partners are allowed. No other visitors are allowed on the ward so it is very quiet. The hospital provided carseat for going home, which we were allowed to keep until he out grew it, then it went back.

Apart from the birth itself, which was a bit manic, it was all very calm and chilled.