Giving birth in Germany
It's been 10 days since I gave birth to my baby. One healthy girl. I would say little but she came out at 8lbs 7oz. I know that isn't the biggest baby ever but it is a healthy good sized one. My labor only lasted 7 hours and it was intense pain wise. I wanted to make a post about giving birth in Germany as an American because I wish I had someone to ask questions about it or had read someone else's experience. I can't say that every single hospital in the entire country does things the same but hopefully this will give you an idea. Let's go.
I gave birth at a University hospital in Mainz. I had an OB that monitored my health and the babies health, such as, blood work, ultrasounds, weight gain, etc. The OB that you have is not present for your labor. Who is present for your labor is a midwife at the hospital and the Physician on shift though if I understand correctly your OB can be called at any point during labor if something were to come up but for the most part they are not involved. The hospital I went to had midwives and doctors who spoke English (Sprechen sie Englisch?) which made me feel a lot better as to be able to communicate my needs. When I arrived my contraction were 5-6 minutes apart and we were sure if they would accept me. They put a monitor on and did an ultrasound and said they would keep me to see if I would progress (which I did). The labor room is a single person room for obvious cross contamination reasons and it looks just like the labor rooms I saw in the U.S. They had the bed, an exercise ball, chairs, the cloth rope that hangs from the ceiling for those who want to use it. The midwife did all of the checking on me periodically and was the one who coached me and administered the medication to make my contraction last longer. She also was the one to administer a pain killer, though it didn't work a bit. She checked the dilation, and the babies stress levels.
Midwives in the hospitals in Germany do it all and I feel extremely lucky to have had the one I did.
The doctor on shift did come in once though I'm not sure if that was routine or not. When I was preparing myself in the U.S for giving birth in Germany I was under the impression that they did not like giving epidurals. Maybe a few years ago it was like that or at some hospitals it still is but the one I was at asked me if I wanted an epidural. So if you want to get an epidural just ask for one they are much more used now days.
After the delivery I was rolled to the maternity ward and shared a room with another woman because that is what my insurance covered. There were options for a family room, so one bed to the room and your spouse can stay overnight, but it would've cost us out of pocket. In the shared room any visitors, including spouses, can only stay for the visiting hours. My time in the ward was three days and it was terrifying but that's only because I was so anxious and scared to be alone, it had nothing to do with the hospital or midwives. Everyday the next shifts midwives and nurse would come by and every morning a doctor or sometimes a group of doctors would come by to make sure your body was healing properly or if you had any questions in regards to the healing process, etc.
Overall the birthing process is what I assume is like in the U.S and that I worked myself up for nothing when coming here.
If you have any questions let me know and I will try to help answer what I can because I know that coming to a new country and doing something huge like giving birth is nerve wrecking and terrifying.
I gave birth at a University hospital in Mainz. I had an OB that monitored my health and the babies health, such as, blood work, ultrasounds, weight gain, etc. The OB that you have is not present for your labor. Who is present for your labor is a midwife at the hospital and the Physician on shift though if I understand correctly your OB can be called at any point during labor if something were to come up but for the most part they are not involved. The hospital I went to had midwives and doctors who spoke English (Sprechen sie Englisch?) which made me feel a lot better as to be able to communicate my needs. When I arrived my contraction were 5-6 minutes apart and we were sure if they would accept me. They put a monitor on and did an ultrasound and said they would keep me to see if I would progress (which I did). The labor room is a single person room for obvious cross contamination reasons and it looks just like the labor rooms I saw in the U.S. They had the bed, an exercise ball, chairs, the cloth rope that hangs from the ceiling for those who want to use it. The midwife did all of the checking on me periodically and was the one who coached me and administered the medication to make my contraction last longer. She also was the one to administer a pain killer, though it didn't work a bit. She checked the dilation, and the babies stress levels.
Midwives in the hospitals in Germany do it all and I feel extremely lucky to have had the one I did.
The doctor on shift did come in once though I'm not sure if that was routine or not. When I was preparing myself in the U.S for giving birth in Germany I was under the impression that they did not like giving epidurals. Maybe a few years ago it was like that or at some hospitals it still is but the one I was at asked me if I wanted an epidural. So if you want to get an epidural just ask for one they are much more used now days.
After the delivery I was rolled to the maternity ward and shared a room with another woman because that is what my insurance covered. There were options for a family room, so one bed to the room and your spouse can stay overnight, but it would've cost us out of pocket. In the shared room any visitors, including spouses, can only stay for the visiting hours. My time in the ward was three days and it was terrifying but that's only because I was so anxious and scared to be alone, it had nothing to do with the hospital or midwives. Everyday the next shifts midwives and nurse would come by and every morning a doctor or sometimes a group of doctors would come by to make sure your body was healing properly or if you had any questions in regards to the healing process, etc.
Overall the birthing process is what I assume is like in the U.S and that I worked myself up for nothing when coming here.
If you have any questions let me know and I will try to help answer what I can because I know that coming to a new country and doing something huge like giving birth is nerve wrecking and terrifying.
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