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?

@Lockheart I had a planned section myself and my sister had a traumatic vaginal birth however I often feel like people would say I didn't really give birth or I feel like I have to justify my decision with loads of reasons

Sweden has fees for ambulances??

doadeer that's terrible! Don't feel you have to justify your section ever. It's every bit as valid as vaginal birth. Of course you gave birth! The baby didn't just materialise on the outside. I'll shake my fist at your naysayers in a very british fashion for you!

@damntheman loads of countries have fees for ambulances. switzerland has for example (and you pay several hundreds per month on insurance and still pay the first 1000s yourself- deductible!)

The French probably have the healthiest outlook. They realise there are no medals for refusing pain relief and that it generally makes things easier if you do. It’s so pointless suffering through in 2020 when we have numerous pain relief options. I had an all natural birth twice with quite large babies and I didn’t win any prizes for it. I also didn’t feel like any more of a woman than I did with my elective c-section or my emergency forceps delivery.

Sweden has fees for ambulances??

We have fees for lots of medical services but it's a token amount to stop piss takers. I think the ambulance fee was about £35. Hospital fee was £15 a night. Normal maternity appointments are free whereas regular appointments in my area are around £10. Then there's a cap on fees but I can't remember how much, maybe £150. Once you reach the cap you don't pay any more for that year.

I gave birth to my second in Germany. Its very natural there, but also practical. I was given a homeopathic suppository but if I hadn't told them I'd been to the loo I would have been offered an enema! And I had a drip on me because I'd been given a gbs test which was positive. I was also able to get an epidural quickly, but when it didn't work I was supported to get into a squat and do all sorts of positions to try and get the baby moving. Then they were happy to leave the cord attached until it stopped pulsing (seemed confused I was requesting it as an unusual thing, as it's normal to them) and was not offered injection for 3rd stage either. So a weird but good mix IME!

They do not like you to bath after birth as they worry the lochia is very dirty and will transfer infection up via your nipples into the body. I had to move to the "Kinderklinik" with newborn DS2 as he had a suspected infection, and they had an entirely separate toilet for mothers still experiencing lochia and we weren't allowed to use the normal toilet in case of cross infection. Showers were shared though!

I had to pay for the ambulance transfer for DS. €10 :o

This was my traditional Swedish 'all done' tea tray.

Oh I know @myself2020 :) I was just shocked that a Scandi country does! Particularly that a scandi country would for anything pregnancy related!

We have the cap for egenandel as well @WheresMyChocolate, I like the system :) but anything pregnancy/child related is free.

In Brazil they have ‘c section parties’. 55% of women have electric cars sections and it’s seen as a ‘status symbol’ to have a section there. There was a hospital built there with a function room so you can go and have a party with your family after the section. They also have ‘viewing windows’ so the family can watch the section. Apparently the women also go into the section with full hair and make up done.

I had to have an emergency section after having an induction and I actually feel robbed that I couldn’t have a natural vaginal birth! My recovery from the section was pretty quick but I know lots of mums who have had so many complications after a section. I just can’t get my head around why you’d want to have a one unless it was medically necessary!

Elective c sections not bloody electric car sections!

I don't understand why anyone would want medical intervention unless medically necessary! I had 2 kids naturally, no pain meds and it was fine, I was in far more pain when I broke my elbow. It's just a few hours. I don't take drugs unless I need them

I had both DC in Japan, where they don't believe in pain relief for childbirth unless in extreme circumstances (c-sections etc). No elective epidurals in most hospitals, no gas and air or anything like that. Quiet endurance is a big part of the culture, so you are not expected to make lots of noise either.

There are a few doctors who do good business in the expat community in Tokyo by offering epidurals, but they also tend to have extremely high c-section rates, so I went with a standard Japanese hospital and it was fine.

Women are well looked after post-natally, and it is normal to stay in hospital for five or six days after a normal birth (longer after a c-section), and then to stay home and be looked after by your own mother or mother-in-law for a month post-birth.

You are supposed to have a midwife who will visit you at home after birth and an then be called upon for help with weaning, breastfeeding, sleep and so on but there is a huge shortage in the area I'm in, so I didn't get one in time despite starting to look at 10 weeks pregnant! Same issue for home birth - in theory it's supported, in practice unless you book a midwife when your test is not quite dry, you won't get one. The big city hospital has gas and air here but none of the others do. They all have birth pools though.

OP I am really surprised that you are being judged for having a caesarian. Are you sure it isn't your own thoughts and assumptions? Like when people feel judged for not breastfeeding, even though no one has actually said anything? I know I felt that way when bf didn't work out but in hindsight it was my own worries and insecurities, based on what I assumed was expected of me - if that makes sense

More than a third of women in the UK have a caesarian (up to 40% in the part I live in) so I would be surprised at you getting judged to be honest.

This is a great thread, thanks for starting it!

As far as I know in Australia, you take the baby to the health clinic for weighing etc, no one comes to the house to do it like health visitors do in the UK.

A friends MIL was African, and suggested to tie a tight piece of material around the babies stomach to help release wind!

Some cultures (some Middle Eastern I believe) encourage screaming during birth and its considered the norm, whereas in others, its expected to be completely silent!

they had an entirely separate toilet for mothers still experiencing lochia and we weren't allowed to use the normal toilet in case of cross infection

What the fuck? That seems bonkers!!!

Is there any clinical evidence for this? Have we all been taking our lives in our hands by sharing public toilets with women still experiencing post parting bleeding?

Some people need or want the painkillers @okiedokieme and there should be no shame in that. None at all. Your experience isn't a universal one, some births are a few hours, some are days. I know for one I experienced more pain giving birth than I ever did breaking a bone and I have broken MANY bones (osteoporosis in my thirties and a martial artist). Don't judge people who want the intervention, the important part is that mother and child/ren are safe.

Interesting subject. I've given birth in NZ and France - probably opposite ends of the spectrum!

NZ
Very pro natural birth, pools readily available in public hospital, gas and air on tap. No pressure to have an epidural.
Same MW does all pre and ante natal care, as well as delivering the baby. She does 6 weeks visits after, daily to begin with then weekly. I loved my MW, she was a like a big sister by the end.
Great BF support - lactation consultant on the ward.

France
Very pro epidural - it's that or nothing basically. No pools etc. A consultation with an anaesthesiologist is obligatory. When I told him I'd already given birth once without an epidural and hoped to do so again, he sneered and said "you Anglo-Saxons, you think that you are so tough".
Gynaes or MW do the pre-natal care (monthly appointments only), but don't generally come to the hospital or deliver the baby. I had a male MW who delivered DS2, but I was in a hippy dippy hospital (by French standards)
No pools. No home births (except under the radar). No follow up at home. No health visitors. BF support not great and very quick to open a pre-made formula packet if the mother is at all concerned. BF rates in France are dire.

And something that took me totally by surprise in France: my brand-new baby was given a packet of homeopathic "remedy" for something straight after he was born! So basically a packet of sugar poured into his mouth. I didn't realise what was happening until it had been done: the MWs clearly felt this was so normal they didn't even ask my consent .

In both countries, I stayed in the hospital for 5 nights after giving birth, which was great for recovering well.

@okiedokieme my labour lasted for 36 hours, definitely not "a few". I definitely needed an epidural or I wouldn't have slept for any those 36 hours. Just because you had an easy birth doesn't mean everybody does.

@WheresMyChocolate in the UK we have the standard "tea and toast" after giving birth!

As far as I know in Australia, you take the baby to the health clinic for weighing etc, no one comes to the house to do it like health visitors do in the UK.

I don't know anywhere in the UK where you don't take the baby to the clinic to be weighed!
Are you in a very rural area or something?

They didn't have separate ones for visitors or near the nicu, so I used plenty of normal ones at the hospital as well. I suppose it was just because the Kinderklinik is where you get sent after nicu (and in nicu you'd still be on maternity ward, but I'd come from another hospital) so there would be a much higher rate of use by postpartum mothers and that's why they separated it.

WheresMyChocolate in the UK we have the standard "tea and toast" after giving birth!

What? My DD was born there. I got fuck all. I even just missed lunch when I was taken up to the ward. My mum asked the ward midwife for some food for me as I hadn't eaten since going into labour. She huffed and puffed and came back with some manky sandwiches out of a vending machine and threw them on the end of the bed and walked off.

I've only given birth in the UK so this is based on a friend's experience:
In Madagascar it's not allowed to make noise in labour as it might be traumatic for listening men. Hospitals aren't accessible for many people so lots of women home birth attended by other women.
In an emergency in a rural area it's grim - I heard about a woman who died after the baby got stuck and she was transported to hospital by zebu cart.
After labour women have 28 days where they are supposed to stay in bed and only go out to the toilet. Their female relatives assist them.
Formula is not readily available. Although contraception is cheap and can be bought in most shops, often men don't accept it. My friend was 26 and had had ten pregnancies resulting in three living children.

My daughter has had two home births in Germany. Both, happily, quite straightforward. Midwives who attend home births do not carry gas and air so she did them both with nothing more than a couple of paracetamol