Testimonials They Gave Birth Abroad

Testimonials They Gave Birth Abroad with practices very different from one country to another, whether for pregnancy monitoring or birthing techniques, these mothers tell us about their delivery outside our borders.

SONIA, MAMA OF ALBERTINE, BORN IN BALI.

"In 2008, my husband found a job in Bali, Indonesia. We already had a 3 year old boy, born at home. I knew I was pregnant at the same time as he had this expatriation opportunity.
What made me decide to give birth there was the meeting of an American midwife, who had set up a center, a kind of birth house, where the Balinese women could come to give birth free of charge. I had two follow-ups: one in France, at the maternity ward, and another with her in Bali, where I went every 6 or 7 weeks. When my maternity leave arrived, I joined my husband. A week before the end, we settled in a bed and breakfast to be closer to the structure. The day of the term, I lost the waters at the end of the afternoon. Since my first delivery was very long and I had no contraction, the midwife told me to continue my activities and come at the end of the day. We went for a walk in the middle of the rice fields with our little boy. In the evening, we went

At the restaurant and out, we stopped at the center. I still had no contraction, but the midwife decided to keep me. The acupuncturist, who was present, resumed a session to speed up the work. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I felt very clearly that the baby had already gone down and that the expulsion was starting! I was surprised by the violent contractions. Fortunately, I had a hot bath and the pain became more bearable. Two hours after our arrival, my daughter Albertine was born in the water. I can see her calm face, in the middle of white frangipani flowers. It was magical ! She had the umbilical cord around her neck.

In Indonesia, it's a sign of great luck, so everyone congratulated us! During the whole time of the birth, my eldest son had fallen asleep in a corner of the room. He only woke up after the birth of his little sister. In Bali, you do not cut the umbilical cord. We keep the placenta in a basket, surrounded in a cloth, covered with spices and flowers, connected to the baby until he falls off himself. For more than a week, we did not move from home. It was very relaxing. Neighbors often spent putting flowers and spices on the placenta. The day the bead fell, they made cakes and gave a big party. Normally, we bury the placenta where we live. But as my husband's work did not work out as he wanted, we chose to return to France after my maternity leave. On the advice of the Balinese, we brought the placenta with us. It made me feel stressed at the airport, between the customs and the dogs, but they did not see anything! We planted it under a tree in our Parisian garden! "

• "My daughter was born in the water, surrounded by white frangipani flowers. "
•  In Bali, the placenta is placed in a basket, covered with spices and flowers. It   remains connected to the baby until he falls off himself.

 CALTOUMI, MOM OF TOM, BORN IN GERMANY

• "Midwives helped me find all kinds of positions. "

 "I gave birth to Tom at the maternity hospital in Filderstadt, near Stuttgart. I live in Germany for almost ten years, with my companion Frank who is German. At the very beginning of pregnancy, I felt uninformed, I had to wait until the ninth week to see my gynecologist. So I had to educate myself about the precautions to take. Apart from that, I found the follow-up very competent. From childbirth, I draw a posteriori a positive balance, since I recovered very quickly and everything went without complications. It was triggered and it's a decision I made with the chief of staff. Obviously, it was not a vital emergency, but there was a little uncertainty following the monitoring and I was involved in the decision. During the contractions, the midwives were very present and helped me to try all kinds of positions. Indeed, here, the position lying on the back does not win the majority of votes. In Germany, the laying of the epidural is much less systematic than in France. When I asked for it, it pissed me off that the midwife waited so long to ask it! I only understood that it was in my interest and that of the baby. My cervix opened very slowly and the epidural would have further slowed down the process. The risk was to end with a delivery with spatulas. So with a high risk of episiotomy or other injury. Moreover, if you "feel" things during childbirth, you are less tempted to put yourself in positions that may be bad for the baby or the mother. But all that had not been explained to me clearly. So, at the time, I did not like it! In Germany, the human aspect is better taken into account, not just the medical aspect. For example, for childbirth, we do not systematically trigger, even beyond D + 6. If all goes well, we wait for the work to start naturally. On the side of respect for women's bodies too, it's very different. Midwives are generally concerned to accompany the baby's exit so as to avoid as much as possible a tear or an episiotomy. In France, this is not always taken into account by teams. I have many girlfriends who still felt pain several weeks after giving birth, while I jumped like a kid three days later! "

SOPHIE, MAMA OF PABLO, BORN IN SPAIN

• "He leaned on my stomach with his elbow"

 "I had asked for a transfer abroad and I was offered Madrid. I arrived in Spain with my eldest son of 8 months and my companion, who works in the same company. Less than a year after I arrived, I was expecting a new baby. During my pregnancy, nothing was too much trouble. But when we said we did not want to know the sex of the baby, people did not understand why! Here, it's quite frowned upon: a little as if we did not consider the baby as a person ... The day of delivery, as it did not go out quickly enough, a midwife has signaled to a nurse to come . He sat on the bed and pressed his elbow with all his strength on my belly. This practice, common in Spain, is however very criticized. So, I found the delivery quite barbaric, even my companion was shocked. Fortunately, the work was fast. I arrived at 6 am at the maternity ward and Pablo was born at 8:20 am After the birth, here too, it's very different from France. In Spanish maternities, for visits, there are no limits, neither in number nor in time! I heard entire families disembark until midnight! Finally, Pablo had only one dose of vitamin K at birth and no vitamin D. Is it because here there is so much sun that babies do not need it? "

• "After the birth, I was offered to ligate the tubes! "

 HÉLÈNE, MUM OF MARCEL, BORN IN CHILE

"I moved to Chile in late 2009 with my companion, who is Chilean. When I knew that I was pregnant, I chose the public system. President Michelle Bachelet, during her first term, has set up a program to monitor pregnant women "Chile crece contigo" ("Chile grows up with you"). I went to the "consultorio" (neighborhood health center) for appointments with the "matrona" (the nurse-midwife). For ultrasound, you had to go to the hospital. In terms of daily life, Chileans love children and pregnant women. What I disliked was rather the caresses on my belly by people I hardly knew! In parallel with the health center, I also went to see a gynecologist and I paid the consultation, while in the public everything is free. A few hours before leaving for the hospital to give birth in November, we were on the Pacific with sea lions and pelicans, just to discover Valparaiso to friends passing. We arrived at the hospital at 8 o'clock, 5 cm dilatation, and refused to pierce the water pocket to speed delivery. Here, it's almost systematic. The midwife in training who accompanied us was great. She lent us a huge ball on which I sat. We took our time and opted for a birth without epidurals. I had only 15 minutes of push at the end of work, and what a magic moment to take Marcel in the arms! After delivery, you have to stay 48 hours in follow-up at the hospital. The room was full: 8 moms and 8 babies! In other words, I did not sleep! During the day, when I wanted to rest, the nurse announced to the township: "The pediatrician arrives, undress your babies". There is also the passage of the nutritionist, midwives, doctor, etc. Little anecdote: a nurse asked me very naturally if I wanted to be tied tubal. "Because of your age," she told me (I was 31 years old!). In fact, some moms take advantage of their stay at the maternity ward to "shut down the factory". It was the case of my neighbor of 26, already mother of four children! "