Giving birth is one of the most important and memorable day of a women's life. They finally get to meet their little bundle of joy. I have not had this moment of joy or been a part of someone else moment of joy. I will be sharing about my birth. I obviously do not remember this wonderful day but my mother has shared the moments with me. Most of my sibling before me were born by c-section. Once a C-Section is done that is how all births have to be done. The doctors wanted to schedule my mom on December 23 1987 for the surgery. My mother did not want to have surgery this close to Christmas since she had five other children at home to celebrate with. The doctors schedule the C-Section for December 18th. On December 16th the doctors were doing a Amniocentesis Test. The needle they were using hit my mothers abdomen. My mother told me that I did not agree this the needle. I caused her to go into labor, they sent my mom in to emergency C-Section. That was the day I was born. The best day of the year. ;)
Birth happens in every country. Though every country does it differently. I choose to research the birthing experience in Germany. I am going to start from when the mother goes to check-up appointments. Here in the United States the appointments are some what private. In Germany you go behind a screen that is not very private and undress you self. Then you go out and sit in a chair for the doctor to examine you. Here in the United States you normally lay down. This chair has a slight recline but you are still face to face with the doctor and you can see everything they are doing. In the United States they prescribe medicines for women who need it for morning sickness. In Germany they recommend tea for any issues you are having. One of the most important things to do when having a baby is to pick a name. Here in the United States that parents choose and have the final say. In Germany you have to get it approve my the local register office. In Germany it is more common to have a mid-wife. Though this is not very common anymore in the United States they are becoming more common with in the recent years. For delivering women in Germany you can either have the baby in the hospital, birth homes, or in-home. In-home births are harder to find a mid-wife that will come to your home to deliver the baby.
My brother and sister-in-law was living in Germany when she was pregnant. Though they had the child in the United States when they moved back she had to go for check-ups in Germany. Her German doctor worked and shared information with her doctor in the United States. Since she live in Germany she told me about her experience while in Germany. "The biggest difference is they ultrasound at every appointment. They never listened to the heartbeat,just saw it on the ultrasound"(Dine,2014). One thing she mention that I did not find on the website was that they do not have nurses all you see are doctors and the administrator in the office. One thing I thought was interesting was that the doctor you see for prenatal care is not the same one you would birth your child. Though she did not give birth in Germany she was told she would of had a different doctor at the hospital. She did confirm that they prenatal vitamins are different then ours in the United States. She mostly bought her vitamins in the United States when she came back here to visit family. When she did have to buy them in Germany she had to get them behind the counter, not over the counter. The reason for this is because they do not put as much folic acid in their vitamins as the United States does.
The only similarity that I found that connected to my birth was having the baby in the hospital. I think part of that is because I do not know all the details of my birth. An insight that I have learned from this was that every country is different on the birthing process, there are not many similarities.
Dine, A. M. (2014, 5 8). (C. LaBonville, Interviewer)
Freeze, D. R. (2010,
11 6). Stand and Deliver. Retrieved 5 8, 2014, from
http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/
Cheryl, I enjoyed reading your post. It was very interesting and reminded me much of my own birth in Germany. Yes Germany is very different in many ways birthing a child. As Americans having children in Germany, the most important thing parents have to remember is not to forget to report the child's birth to the American Consulate, but that depends on whether the child was born in the American hospital or an actual German hospital. In my case, I was born in a German hospital, I was German for 45 days even though my parents were Americans. They had to apply for American citizenship for me. Yes, babies are born differently all over the world and sometimes, because off where they live, giving birth to a child can sometimes impact their developmental growth due to complications at birth. Gaby (nycgaby91.wordpress.com)
ReplyDeleteHey Cheryl!!! I also enjoyed reading your post. I haven't had the chance to experience giving birth neither being with someone else as they gave birth. When reading your post, I was shock at some of the things that you mentioned. I don't think I would won't to give birth in German, because I'm a very secretive person. I would want the same doctor that I had check-ups with to deliver my child. I nerved knew that giving birth in another country would have so many differences, but I see otherwise. Your post was very informative!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
DeleteCheryl,
ReplyDeleteI found your birth to be very interesting. It least your moms Christmas was not spoiled because of your birth. From my understanding at least she got chance to go home because if you are doing ok, you are able to go home in a couple of days. As for as giving birth in another country rather it is Germany or anywhere else has to be very scary. I think we are so custom to our own country until others are difficult to even imagine of giving birth in.