May 12, 2010 will be a date I will never forget. That was the birth of my first precious little boy. One of the best days of my life! It was a hard birthing experience. I had to be induced because he was getting so big. I went into the hospital on that Monday and did not have the little man until Wednesday. It was a very long process. If I did not have the support from my husband and other family members I would not have made it. I went into labor around midnight and I had my little boy at 11 am the next day. He weighed 8lbs 14oz. It was such a wonderful experience to see this precious baby come into the world that I had been caring for 9 long months. The doctors and nurses were great. I had someone there monitoring me the whole time and coaching me through every move. It was my first baby and I had no clue what I was doing!
I choose Australia to look into more about the birth. I was surprised to see that they do not make appointments with their doctor until after 12 weeks pregnant. In the U.S it is encouraged to make an appointment as soon as you find out you are pregnant. They have no doctors just midwives at their birth centers. They will not give epidurals. They want you to have as natural birth as possible. If you give birth at the birth center you are to return home 24 hours after, if hospital you will be there 3 days (that is about the same length of stay as here in the US).
There is few similiarties of birth experience as far as the length of hospital stay. I had an epidural and in Australia they do not give epidurals. That in itself is very much different than my experience.
Hello Karen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such a wonderful experience about your personal birthing experience. Certainly, the journey to motherhood is a great experience that should always be treasured. Like you, I am surprised that pregnant women do not make appointment with their doctors until after twelve weeks. Indeed, the perspective of child development varies among countries.
I can't imagine a birthing experience that lasted Monday to Wednesday. I am feeling drained just thinking about it. My longest was 8 hours. For that I was thankful. The birthing center sounds like a very respectful environment to have a baby, both for the baby and the mother. Thank you for the information.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen
ReplyDeleteI can relate to being in the hospital for a while in order to bring our little ones in the world. I could not image where I would have been, if I was not going to the doctors and getting check my blood pressure would have gone undetected. The sad part is that even in the US we have people who take prenatal care for granted.
Hi Karen. It's interesting to hear your birthing story. As I read your blog and others' blogs, I think of how fortunate we are in the United States to have great healthcare.
ReplyDelete