Childbirth in My Life and in Switzerland

Although I am a proud mother of two children, in this blog I chose to highlight the birth story of my youngest as she made a more dramatic entrance.

I had an epidural with the first birth and a smooth delivery so my birthing plan did not significantly change this time around. However, I did feel like I had a better idea of what to expect, and therefore had zero intention of sitting in a hospital room all day on some labor inducing medications! Instead, my husband, son, and I attended a birthday party for a friend of the family. After all, labor takes a while, right? We ate, chatted, and watched our son play while quietly timing contractions until they were 4-5 minutes apart and I felt like the pain/nausea was intensifying. Unfortunately we had to miss the gift opening and pinata to make our way to the hospital. In that 20 minute drive I remember thinking two things- this pain did not feel the same as last time, and why won't he drive faster!

Its funny how fast things go from in control to panic mode. We got to the hospital and I refused to let my husband drop me off, fearing he would take too long to park the car and get in there with me. So round and round the parking garage we went, only to have to still walk across a sky bridge, down an elevator, and across the hospital to the main lobby (where he would have dropped me off in the first place). This was a matter of hanging on to walls through contractions, then quick stepping it as far as possible until the next contraction. In the lobby I literally tossed my license and insurance card to the intake woman, who yelled to grab a wheelchair on our way to the elevator. She didn't want any part of this baby being born in her lobby either. Upstairs, the nurses called for any doctor available in the hallway, got me in a bed, and discovered my daughters hair could already be seen arriving. Then the worst words ever came out, there was no time for that epidural. In my panic, I did not realize that would be a possibility, and was completely unprepared mentally for a natural childbirth. It was not a quiet few minutes. Long story short Anastasia Grace was born 20 minutes from the time I walked into the lobby of the hospital.

She was healthy and perfect, and I had no complications outside a few stitches. In about 24 hours we were both on our way home to rejoin her brother.

The reason I chose to highlight my daughter's birth story is how struck I was at the drama we made for ourselves, when in other parts of the country and world, a natural birth is status quo. We were so worried about clinical interventions (medicine, the right doctor, being at the hospital) and panicked when those were no longer available, but mothers all over the world deliver just fine at home or with a midwife. I recognize now my privilege in being afforded so many options. The readings this week now have me questioning how this child has developed in life as compared to my first born. Being pregnant with a toddler undoubtedly introduced more stress hormones into the womb, as did the birth itself. The Berger (2016) text highlighted the research that stress could have on development, although more research is necessary. Also the lack of medical chemicals in my system may continue to impact my daughter in ways different than her brother who was born with many medical interventions.

My great grandparents immigrated to the United States as children so I chose their country of origin, Switzerland, to compare birth experiences. Swiss women are getting pregnant later more often in their 30s and 40s while teen pregnancy is declining. Similar to my own experience, they have many choices for prenatal treatment including midwives, natural birth, and hospital intervention. Of significant difference in the information I found was the way women are treated in Switzerland when giving birth. Mothers may stay multiple days up to a week in the hospital while they and their infants are care for by midwives or staff. Importantly, the birth process is not treated as an illness with IVs, labor inducing drugs, and constant monitoring. Of course those options are available, and used when necessary but the control is much more in the hands of the women, not the doctors. The price of health insurance is high, but it covers all prenatal treatment, birth, and any complications. Most hospitals are public, and in the Swiss healthcare system, satisfaction seems to be high while infant mortality is low. I believe these factors aid healthy development with less stress on the part of the mother in an already family centered culture, and possibly more consistent prenatal care as even the most basic insurance still provides many choices.

References:

Berger, K. S. (2016). The developing person through childhood (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Gulia, J. (2015, April 19). International Birth Story- Switzerland. Retrieved from http://thebestofbaby.com
McLean, M. (2017, January 23). The Pros and Cons of Having Kids in Switzerland. Retrieved from https://www.thelocal.ch
Stephens, T. (2016, November 22). A Swiss Girl Born Today Can Expect to Live Into the 22nd Century. Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch