Are we ready for this?

“Add to these common concerns the extra consideration of having your first born in a foreign country and it can quickly add up to sheer terror! Will the medical facilities be as good as they are at home? Will I be able to understand what people are saying in the delivery room if things start to go wrong? Will they do things to my body that wouldn’t be done at home – and can I stop them if I don’t want it?

Birth is an important time for couples – they made the baby together, and they need each others’ support when the time comes to bring it into the world.

So imagine a couple like us – young, inexperienced, excited about our first child but not always confident in Czech institutions’ way of doing things. I, the mother, don’t care for medical procedures in general (at least not where a natural process like birth is concerned and would rather have a water birth at home any day.) The father is a man who wants the best possible care in any situation, wants to be informed of every detail, and wants to be in control. Could there be two people more apprehensive of getting sucked into a big communist-era hospital with old equipment, domineering nurses, long empty corridors, depressing color schemes and terrible food? At a time that should be the backdrop for a precious memories to last a lifetime?”
If you wan to read more.

I came across this article in the expats site, and somehow I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. I know we all have similar if not the same questions and worries when being parents for the first time. But sometimes, I can’t help feeling so lost, like I’m alone in this one.

Sometimes is hard to communicate in an equal level with my doctor, although she speaks English; so I’m scared to find out how it will be when the D day is here. She won’t be in the hospital with me, so I’m really considering looking for another obstetrician that will be with us throughout labour, delivering our baby and then continuing our care during the postnatal period. Is it too late to change now? Not that I’m not happy with her really, but i need more… I was also considering a midwife, but I don’t know if I can find one that speaks English in the maternity I’ve chosen, and if I’ll get an opportunity to meet her beforehand.

Further down the article, and to my relief I find out that compared to other “western” countries, things are sometimes even more progressive here in CZ. “much more willingness to let a woman try a drug-free birth is she wants, doctors won’t let you “schedule” a non-necessary c-sections, and the rooms themselves are equipped with the latest “goodies” like physio-balls, showers, and multi-position birthing chairs including the squat-bar “monkey bar” support for childbirth in a squatting position. Routine episiotomies are not performed, only when absolutely necessary...”

This sounds good to me, but still I’m scared. It will be fine in the end, I know, but I just wish I could find someone who could comfort me, and give me the confidence I need.

I’m calling Stephanie this evening; I think this is exactly what I’m seeking for.

Here i am with Mouss&Mel in Mozaika last week. So good to have them around...