What is the best/worst country to give birth in?

[foreverastudent]

Anyone who has given birth in 2 or more different countires what have been the pros/cons of different systems?

Anacdotally I've heard that America and France are very medicalised whereas in Holland there is a high home birth rate. Would like to hear about other people's experiences especially if there was anything which surprised you about different systems.

I had my son in the USA and had a wonderful birth experience. So good if I had another baby I would insist on going back to the same birth center!!!
My daughters were born in the UK and DD1's birth was traumatic but wonderful staff- forceps delivery and post partum haemorrhage so not an easy time but felt very supported. Very good post partum care apart from one horrible midwife overnight.

DD2- dead easy hospital birth- 6 hours labour and delivery- lovely midwife, reasonable post natal care.

DS- fabulous birth centre- very supportive labor and delivery nurse who could not do enough and helped me try all sorts of positions and massaged my back with hot towels for hours!!! Definitely best post natal care out of the 3 births- lovely room- all equipment hidden behind pictures on the wall and in pine cupboards!!Fab ensuite bathroom with hotel standard toiletries and jacuzzi! Very homely- once I had delivered delivery bed was swapped for massive King size double bed an dh and I waited on hand and foot and everything from nightie and disposable pants to everything ds could need all provided. Fab food too. Oh and an excellent lactation concultant who you can call day or night for 2 weeks post partum and call into birth centre and see if you are having probs!

And before you ask we did NOT have Maternity rider(ie no maternity insurance) so had to pay for all ante-natal care and delivery and 48 hours post-natal and it only cost $4500 (about £3000).

I was expecting very medicalised birth but they were brilliant!

I've only given birth in Switzerland so no means of comparing except by word of mouth. Can't imagine anything better, except maybe a little more pampering... remember being absolutely starving by 11p.m. and stealing yogurts out of the nurses' fridge. Difficult after a C-section but I was desperate.

DD1 here and DD2 Belgium. Both elective sections, both 'good' births as far as I was concerned. In UK saw different MW on practically every pre-natal visit/check-up (but all nice), in Belgium saw the same ob-gynae I was booked in for birth with, didn't have to wait as long for appointments. Had far more tests in Belgium - toxiwotsit every month (wasn't immune), cystic fibrosis carrier status (actually shocked they don't do this here), GBS at 36 weeks, scan of section scar at 30 weeks to check likelihood of rupture. In hospital I had own room etc, and they would take baby away for a couple of hours if you were v tired. My insurance paid for everything. Post birth care not as systematic - no automatic MW or HV visits although you can sign up for them via mutuelle/Flemish child health organisation.

Only given birth in Italy (south)
Very very medicalised, gynae visits every month wth blood/urine tests/toxo/and lots of other things I can't remember. Scans monthly.
Free amnio because was ancient, everything else has to be paid for. (well, it doesn't, in theory, but everyone goes the semi-private route ie paying for everything except the actual birth and hospital stay, because apparently they lead you to believe you're queueing in a yard just to get seen otherwise) Hgh rate of c-secs (45-60% depending on hospital)No question of homebirth, no question of not breastfeeding, no bf counsellors etc, they just refuse to allow formula in the hospital. Lots of episiotomies. No pain relief whatsoever unless it's an epidural, not available in all hospitals, has to be booked and paid for in advance. Last week or so of pg, you have to go every day to the hospital to have that band thing round your bump to measure contractions. Once you get to 40 wks (I didn't, but doc was talking about it)you are admitted and started off. No HV/Midwife aftercare, I wasn't even examined down there once my job was done.

All very clean, but you are treated like a piece of meat they are experimenting on. They also tend to talk to your husband (even with you lying there with your muff to the stars)

I have only ever given birth in England, but my son's friend who is Indian thinks that the UK has wonderful materntity care.

She gave birth to a stillborn in India and was hysterical during labour because she knew the baby had died. The midwife slapped her round the face!

Reallytired, that's awful. I suppose there are horror stories wherever you go (thousands of births, bound to be a few bad experiences, etc), but I can't imagine a midwife here slapping anyone.

I gave birth in Italy nearly 8 yrs ago and in England nearly 6 yrs ago.

In Italy I gave birth in a very busy University hospital. The place you want to be if anything goes wrong. But not very good if you are having a straightforward labour and want some peace... It is in fact quite medicalised and doctors of older generations have really bad bedside manners.

In England I had a quick and easy labour and birth in our local maternity ward, with a super lovely midwife.

So, in my small experience giving birth in the UK was better. But ante natal care was better and more reassuring in Italy.

Bucharest, I didn't pay for anything when pg in Italy

Franca, lol, which is why I carefully specified the arse end south!

Sorry I missed that bit. Yes, the health system sucks in southern italy. It is so b* depressing and

I had DC1 in the Uk, and DCs 2 and 3 in Australia. My first was a precipitate labour in a large teaching hospital where the staff were trying to send me home, telling me I had hours to go when I was in fact crowning. The hospital was filthy, the care next to nonexistant and BF support was lousy. When I came out of hospital, the community midwife support was wonderful.

The Aussie hospital was a small cottagey type public hospital, lovely midwives who knew your name and your baby's name, clean, small rooms and the best BF support. It was rumoured that on the last night of your stay (5 to 7 days was normal for a vaginal birth) you could leave your baby in the nursery and go out for dinner with your partner. Don't know it was true or not!

I think in Oz, standards of care vary a lot state by state. This was in NSW.

I'm back in the UK for my 4th, and I really want a homebirth. I so don't want to go back to British hospital again.

I've only given birth here, but I'm portuguese so lots of friends have told me their stories.

Again, it's over medicalised, lots of scans throughout and you always see a gyn, there's no such thing as mw care.

During labour epidural is always offered, episiotomy is standard, there's no walking around, trying different positions and all that nonsense! - you have to be in bed, on your back. Partner is not allowed in during labour, only for the actual delivery and after birth baby can be taken away for 1 hour or 2 and you don't know why or where...

A few other things make me very about the things there and very glad that I'm here:

• there's no such thing as bf counseling. Everyone wants to do it, but if it's not going well the paediatrician will say that you don't have enough milk and recommend a formula top up.
• it's not unusual to be induced just because your consultant is going to be away that weekend or is going on holidays
• babies are recommended to start solids at random stages depending on how up to date the paed is.... I'm yet to talk to a friend who has heard about the exclusive bf until 6 months!

In general, people are misinformed, they don't mn and they don't look things up on the web. They simply trust their gyn / paed without questioning them at all.

And of course, home births are unheard of!

Have only given birth here (first time awful, second absolutely brilliant... And both in same hospital!) but am south African. Almost everyone on private medical aid is routinely sent down c section route. Cousin pg at the moment and already knows will have boy by c section on 13 July ... Even though both this pg and previous ( also c section) were healthy straight fwd pgs. Constant scans and gynae visits, no mention of MWs...

I've only given birth in France, very very medicalised, gynae visits every month wth blood/urine tests/toxo/and lots of other things I can't remember. Scans monthly.

Would go back to france if I were to have another, living in the UK now.

Belgium is probably one of the best countries to give birth in. Hospital births can be very medicalised - induction, epidural and c-section rates are high but the hospital care you receive afterwards is very good. A five day hospital stay for a normal birth or a seven day hospital stay for a c-section - mostly in a private room, your own fridge and phone, and hospital food is very good. Everyone has a basic level of insurance.

Alternatively there are several groups of highly trained independent midwives working in Flanders providing home births, water births and I know one birthing house which is a converted barn.

I have had two miscarriages and the care I received was very good.

First birth- US, in a v. good hospital- induced against will as water had broken few hours before, not great bedside manner, but v.professional, high-tech etc. Stayed 2 or 3 days, shared room but good food and pain killers that made me high.
Second- France- same story- high-tech, have to lay down on my back, strapped to all the monitors etc, but lovely midwives, v. efficient, food horrible, stay- 5 days ( after uncomplicated birth)- they were appalled at the idea of me discharging myself.
And lousy paracetamol for afterpains.
Overall, France better as staff much ore supportive.
Surprising, though, in the sense that in the US people are generally much nicer, but with my births I experienced the opposite.

Hey thanks for all the stories.

Keep them coming.

It's making me feel kind of guilty for complaining about the over-medicalisation of childbirth in the UK when we seem to have it better then most.

SIL has elective CS in Hong Kong and it sounded amazing!!! like a hotel room, views aross the water, amazing care, maids on tap and one bell for nurse and one for maid!!!

I'm in the North of Italy - haven't given birth yet but will be in a couple of months!
Can confirm that there is no pain relief at all other than epidural, but it's only available in some hospitals and subject to a check up with the anesthetist 1 month before - where i'm going it's free but you sometimes have to pay a couple of hundred euros I think.
"Birth suites" and pools etc are few and far between, and like me, most people see a private gynaecologist but go public for the actual birth (and for the endless blood/urine tests etc).

My gynaecologist just laughed when I asked about gas & air...she also told us that episiotomies are necessary in "almost every case"
She also mentioned the possibility of inducing at 39 weeks to stop the baby from getting "too big" but I have a feeling this might have something to do with the due date being Easter weekend .
The good thing is that each time I see her, she does a quick ultrasound with the equipment she has right there.

I'm going to antenatal classes at an "alternative" place run by Swedish midwives, which is great and helping to keep me informed (and sane); also, the hospital where I'll be giving birth is one of the best in the area and they have decent post-natal care and help getting started with bf. They make you stay in for 2 or 3 nights (longer for CS); only 2 people to a room, with ensuite bathroom, so I guess it's not all bad!

Hey, Spaghettina, do come and join us over here for a chat and a moan!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/other_subjects/909100-MN-Little-Italy-21

anyone else?

thanks Bucharest, will head on over there and take a look!

Have heard great things about Hong Kong but the issue is that what you hear from other westerners/ well off locals is not necessarily typical because a westerner nearly always gives birth at a private hospital (which are like hotels) and pays for it or has insurance. However, if you compared a HK government hospital with the UK you might have a rather different point of comparison.

Pre-natal, a HK expat is having bi-weekly/monthly appointments with their obstetrician with a scan thrown in as standard, a full suite of nutritional supplements to eliminate any slight blip on the blood test, the OSCAR, and everything else under the sun.

It's very reassuring/unstressful for first timers but the bills do stack up if you don't have insurance (most people have to top up themselves as most policies wont cover everything)

I don't know anyone who's had a home birth here (not sure if they're even legal)but natural births are fairly common and many obs encourage them. It is well known in expat circles who are the pro-NB's and who will have you prepped for surgery before you can blink so people tend to pick their obs based on their preferences.

I've only given birth in the UK, but have a couple of norwegian friends who have had babies in Norway. They have a sort of hotel with private room, en suite, double bed where partner can stay for three nights afterwards, canteen open all the time, so decent food etc. I was a bit when I heard all that, although they have no postnatal care from community midwives once they leave, and one of my friends had a terrible time getting anyone to give her some BF advice once she'd left hospital so on balance, I think I'll stick to the UK!