Giving birth in different countries?

[MrsFabuloso]

Is it really very different to how so many women birth in Australia? Do women/families have similar options? Do most birth in hospitals/hospy-like environments? With an OB/doctor/midwife...?
Lately I have read a few little things about birthing in different countries and how it is different or the same to birthing in Aus. This is just a curiosity thread. I want to learn more. I don't want any big debates over how much worse or more wonderful things may have been in a different country or here in Aus.
Have you birthed in a different country? Or know about it? What was the experience like?

[beckoes]

i have a few friends in the uk who have just had kids, to me it sounds a little more medicalised, more hospital stay seems the norm. and less check ups before birth. i was having scans every other day from 40 weeks and daily from 41 weeks, my uk friends thought that was amazing as they just had one a week in those last two weeks. and they were amazed that i was 'allowed' to go 12 days over....apparently 8 is the norm there....
i dont know if thats the norm inthe medical system or just that group of friends and the way they think and plan thier own births.
interested to hear what others say...

[Artechim]

Here in NZ 90% of pregnancies are under the care of a midwife. You don't see an Ob unless you are high risk or something has gone wrong.

Our midwives are provided free of charge. If you get in early you can get an independent midwife who operates out of a practice with several other midwives and you would usually have the same person caring for you throughout, with a partner from the practice covering when your lead midwife is away. Otherwise you can go through the hospital midwives, but that is luck of the draw who is there for appointments and birth. The independent midwives usually do all the visits at your home.

For the birth, you are free to choose homebirth, birth centre or hospital birth depending on what midwife you have chosen and what services they offer. You can also go through an independent midwife for the pregnancy and then choose to go to a hospital for the birth, then return to your midwife for the after care where they visit for 6 weeks.

For my last birth I had a midwife who had worked for a homebirthing practice for 20+ years. They were very flexible and left it up to me on the day if I wanted to stay home or go to the birth center.

Compared to my first pregnancy and birth in Australia which was an endless parade of waiting rooms and random doctors, I really do prefer the NZ system.

[Traveller]

I had the twins in the UK. There were a lot more options available to me there than I would have had here, because in the UK the hospitals offer homebirth services and women have the right to choose a midwife supported homebirth (free of charge) even against medical advice. This meant I had something to bargain with and was able to choose a low risk midwife unit birth with no doctors. In Australia I would have had the choice of medically managed in a regular labour ward, or at home with a private midwife. In Scotland I had wonderful midwives, no intervention, but within a hospital building which was a lovely compromise for me. And all that free of charge

However postnatally there is not as much support in the UK as they are so short of midwives. The hospital itself was lovely but I am aware I was lucky and sadly that unit is now closed Also because they are so short staffed I felt intensely guilty every time I had to ring for help after the twins were born, which was not something I ever worried about in Australia.

[Boo Boo]

Hi,
I gave birth to DD in Namibia (same hospital where Angelina Jolie gave birth to Shiloh four months earlier, and I was in the same recovery room as her and had same midwife looking after me). It was a private hospital and I saw a local GP throughout who was also present at the birth. At every appointment she tested my urine and weighed me (never had that here with subsequent pregnancies). I ended up with high blood pressure so was induced five days early. There were no antenatal classes to attend, I had no idea about anything and it was a basically 'learn on the job' - I birthed on my back as that as what I was instructed to do. The stay was for three nights. All babies see a paediatrician before they leave the hospital, high risk or not and continue to see a paediatrician for all the check ups - not a MCHN. There are no mothers groups or anything like that. It wasn't a positive experience for me, very limited options and help after. No lactation consultations, no help with sleep, no PND help, no nothing. In all seriousness I don't know how I got through it, I had no family and no friends with kids there and DH was working 7 am till 7 pm everyday, it was a very lonely experience for me and not one of joy that it should have been. When I gave birth to DS1 here in Australia, I was amazed at the support networks there are and realised that we are a very very lucky country indeed, in terms of the birth options and support that we do have here.

[beckoes]

interesting to read other countries systems etc, interesting to read about the uk as that wasnt the impression i got!!

[Feijoa Mum]

I had three of my boys in NZ with the same independant midwife for all of them. She was really lovely and mother like I really developed a great bond with her.
She looked after us for the 6 weeks post birth too and loved being able to see the how the older boys were growing.

I had my last two babies here and although I can fault the care the continuity just wasnt there. I did choose to do the midwife programme with Peppar and I saw the same midwife for my visits, but come labour time it was whoever was on shift.
I even had a shift change when I was in labour with Scout and I was transitioning with my legs in the air when a new midwife came in to introduce herself!!!

I prefer NZ pregnancy care and the after care is awesome. I fully believe Australia should stop the baby bonus and put the money into something like Plunket in NZ. Health care nurses that take over from your midwives at 6 weeks and follow your childs wellbeing with free checks until they are five. I miss plunket

[Traveller]

interesting to read other countries systems etc, interesting to read about the uk as that wasnt the impression i got!!

There's a huge variance between hospitals in the UK, with England having a slightly different system to Scotland. Lots of UK units are very medicalised as your friends indicated, but the fact that the NHS state that all women will have a choice of where to give birth just gives those women who know the system the tools to manipulate the system.