Being pregnant in Finland has been a wild and wonderful ride. The reserved Finnish culture allows me to go about my daily business with very limited comments and advice from random strangers--which would be totally different if we were living in the U.S.
But, that is not the only difference, here are a few others:
1.) Midwives: The maternity system here in Finland is midwife-centric. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was matched up with a lovely midwife who I/we (Charlie accompanied me to every visit) meet with a few times every month. Each visit I take the glucose/protein pee test, get my blood pressure and hemoglobin level monitored, check my weight gain and the fetal heart rate and we discuss anything and everything related to pregnancy (it usually goes like this: we ask 20 questions and she answers them ever so eloquently and knowledgeably). It has been so nice to have this support system throughout the roller-coaster ride of pregnancy. Bonus: our midwife ROCKS! She is so patient with us, answers all of our questions, and goes out of her way to explain the Finnish maternity system and cultural norms around pregnancy and parenthood. No question we ask is dumb and she has certainly educated us about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum issues.
Additionally, midwives (who are specially trained), not doctors, deliver babies. Only in medical emergencies are doctors called in (more on this after the delivery).
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2.) Doula: When we were on the train headed home from Italy, we got stuck in Jämsä (a small town just 57 kilos/35 miles Southwest of Jyväskylä). There was a train accident earlier in the day and no trains were able to travel on the tracks between the two cities. As we waited, with 50 other passengers, for our ride home luck would have it we met our future Finnish doula. Her name is Kanerva and she was nice enough to translate the situation for us and then she proceeded to ask me how I was feeling. This led to a conversation about my pregnancy whereby she disclosed that she was a doula. She serves as a doula for a new organization, Baby Blues, established about one year ago. Of course, when she shared this information I could not contain my excitement as I was hoping to find a doula in Finland (primarily to help us navigate the Finnish birthing culture and to translate the language). We exchanged information and the next thing you know Kanerva (and her back-up doula) came to visit us. During the visit, we talked about their role, our expectations, and how we would work together. I have a lot of emotions (fear, anxiety, etc.) about the labor, so having a doula has helped downplay a lot of those emotions.
3.) Baby box: Expecting parents receive a box of items for their baby, complements of the Finnish government. This year the box was designed to go along with the "World Design Capital " designation that Helsinki proudly embraced in 2012. We received our box and it was like Christmas as we opened it and ooohhhhed and awwwwwed over the abundance of items. Everything from a snow suit, blankets, neutral color clothes to socks, toiletries, and even condoms were included in the box. The box, itself, is specially engineered to serve as a baby bed. See video!
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| The waiting room in the Central Hospital. |
But, that is not the only difference, here are a few others:
1.) Midwives: The maternity system here in Finland is midwife-centric. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was matched up with a lovely midwife who I/we (Charlie accompanied me to every visit) meet with a few times every month. Each visit I take the glucose/protein pee test, get my blood pressure and hemoglobin level monitored, check my weight gain and the fetal heart rate and we discuss anything and everything related to pregnancy (it usually goes like this: we ask 20 questions and she answers them ever so eloquently and knowledgeably). It has been so nice to have this support system throughout the roller-coaster ride of pregnancy. Bonus: our midwife ROCKS! She is so patient with us, answers all of our questions, and goes out of her way to explain the Finnish maternity system and cultural norms around pregnancy and parenthood. No question we ask is dumb and she has certainly educated us about pregnancy, labor, and postpartum issues.
Additionally, midwives (who are specially trained), not doctors, deliver babies. Only in medical emergencies are doctors called in (more on this after the delivery).
.gif)
2.) Doula: When we were on the train headed home from Italy, we got stuck in Jämsä (a small town just 57 kilos/35 miles Southwest of Jyväskylä). There was a train accident earlier in the day and no trains were able to travel on the tracks between the two cities. As we waited, with 50 other passengers, for our ride home luck would have it we met our future Finnish doula. Her name is Kanerva and she was nice enough to translate the situation for us and then she proceeded to ask me how I was feeling. This led to a conversation about my pregnancy whereby she disclosed that she was a doula. She serves as a doula for a new organization, Baby Blues, established about one year ago. Of course, when she shared this information I could not contain my excitement as I was hoping to find a doula in Finland (primarily to help us navigate the Finnish birthing culture and to translate the language). We exchanged information and the next thing you know Kanerva (and her back-up doula) came to visit us. During the visit, we talked about their role, our expectations, and how we would work together. I have a lot of emotions (fear, anxiety, etc.) about the labor, so having a doula has helped downplay a lot of those emotions.
3.) Baby box: Expecting parents receive a box of items for their baby, complements of the Finnish government. This year the box was designed to go along with the "World Design Capital " designation that Helsinki proudly embraced in 2012. We received our box and it was like Christmas as we opened it and ooohhhhed and awwwwwed over the abundance of items. Everything from a snow suit, blankets, neutral color clothes to socks, toiletries, and even condoms were included in the box. The box, itself, is specially engineered to serve as a baby bed. See video!
1 comment:
Wow, what a "haul"! Great that you had a midwife to help you along the way. First parenting is a conundrum to wreck-in with and it seems you have been helped much along the way. Next time it will be easier.?!
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