new to Germany, looking for advice. Karlruhe

[rebecca]

Hello, I have been a member here for quite some time but rarely post ... as I am more comfortable in my native English so over the years I have been more regular on thebabywearer.com rather than here...

But now I find myself in Germany (Karlsruhe), 33 weeks pregnant, and trying to figure out what my options are mostly in terms of childbirth. But I also have some general baby/child related questions in regards to where I can get certain things.

My most important thoughts right now is where I should have the baby and what is standard practice here. And what, if anything I can request change from standard practice.... for example internal exams - is this something German Obs are willing to not do? I visited one doctor and she insisted on an internal exam. I hate internals and I would prefer to skip them. My pregnancies and births have all been quite normal and predictable and all to over 40 weeks. I know of 2 hospitals that are quite close to where I am living but I would like to know a little more about these places.... wondering if I can find that information here. I am also considering birthing at home. I have already contacted a midwife who could do this. I am not a first time home-birther but as a parent of 3 small children, I do see the benefit of NOT being at home for birth/recovery (!!) so I am not sure which way I will go yet.

If anyone on this forum could point me in the right direction, I would be so grateful. Even if you just link me to some threads at this site, I would appreciate it. I am trying to search, but I am a slow reader in German and it is taking me forever!!

Thanks!!!

[Lola85]

Hi!

Im from Karlsruhe
You want your Baby to be born at home? Or in hospital?

You now,you can do all the examinations with a midwife, dont have to go to the doc.
Are you in KA-City or in a suburb. Whe you write me where you live i can tell you some midwives

So, its late, i really need to go to bed
Sorry for being short!

[Tobis Mama]

Sorry, can't help you with the Karlsruhe question. I'm living in Kaiserslautern - almost an hour away. In your German post one of the girls here told you about the anthroposophic clinic in Germersheim. I think that giving birth there would be a good option for you. There are some girls here in this forum who went there and if you look up Germersheim I'm sure, you'll find some posts. And there are even al lot of SuT girls in the Karlsruhe region.

Otherwise, if you need any help with all the German stuff I'll be glad to help, maybe by phone? (I hope, my English is up to it... )

Good luck to you! Enjoy the last weeks of your pregnancy! And - of course - I'm curious: How did you end up here in Germany? Only if you want to tell...

[rebecca]

We are in Nordweststadt.

My husband is German. He hasn't lived here in 15 years so we decided it was time to be closer to his family for a while - so here we are. It's been a very stressful move. Just about NOTHING has gone smoothly. But whatever. We are together and here now and working on getting the kids all settled into school/kindy, getting comfortable in our house, getting things like doctors and other resources lined up.

Thanks for the advice.

[Ania]

Hello!
I am new to Germany as well, and pregnant 20 weeks.
I understand in Germany there are 3 options: hospital birth, where I guess they do all the routine procedures more or less. Birth at home with a midwife where you can have everything natural and suiting your needs. 3. Birth at a birthing center (geburt haus) - which in your case might be the best option... because things go the way you want to, no routine procedures, only what you agree on, and you can still stay there to recover a little.
Hope that helps!
I want to have a home birth. My first was a hospital birth and after the dr. came, I was already 8 cm dilated, everything fell to pieces, they put pitocin, although I refused it, they made me lie on my back and push as hard as I can and for as long as I can, I also got a cut... didn't receive the baby for breastfeeding until the second day... so I wasn't pleased with how things went.
This time I want to be at home, I have a midwife who speaks English so we can understand each other pretty well. I don't know German very well yet, so at the hospital it would be next to impossible to know what is going on and to negotiate what I want in terms of birth.
I am not choosing a birth center because I find my home more comfortable and I've always dreamt of having my baby at home, being able to lie in my bed after everything ends and just having all my family around me all the time.
Good luck!
And if it's not too much trouble I would be interested in what decisions you take or what other infos you get... maybe something can help me too.

[rebecca]

Ania,

Thank you for sharing that information. I did not know there are also Geburtsheuser.

My first 2 children were born in Japan in private OB clinics, maybe more like a Geburtshaus?? In these Japanese clinics usually there are 1 or 2 OBs in the practice and a complete staff of midwives and nurses. For the birth, the midwifes do everything. The doctor only comes if something goes wrong. The doctor is usually there for the actual birth, but only to observe. The recovery in these small clinics is very nice. My 3rd child was born at home. I chose this option because I didn't want to have to go anywhere during labor and I wanted to be in my own bed for recovery. In retrospect it might have been more relaxing for me to have gone to a clinic again because everyone (my husband...) was so busy taking care of the other 2 kids, there wasn't really much help for me. I felt very forgotten!!! And of course my kids kept coming to me and waking me up. <3 They were so excited about their new baby sister. That is why this time I am leaning toward not delivering at home. I think the recovery time might be nicer for me if I am AWAY from the madness of my house In regards to the birth, I would probably rather stay home though. So I'm really on the fence and must urgently discuss it with a midwife I think.

I want to reassure you, in case something happens that makes homebirth impossible for you, you can get by without being able to verbally communicate with your caretakers. It is nice if at least one doctor or midwife can speak English (which is much more common in Germany than in Japan). But my experience in Japan was that if the staff is knowledgable, you don't really have to communicate with words. Showing, hand signals, etc. work just fine. And people have been having babies for a verrrrrrry long time. If they are experienced, they know exactly what to do!

[Lola85]

Unfortunately there's so Geburtshaus in KA

You can ask in Diakonissen Krankenhaus, they have contracts with external midwives, so you cancall your midwife whe you think birth is going to happen now and than she comes to that hospital to be with you. So, if that's an option for you, you can ask them, the'll tell you the midwives...after birth the midwife comes to your home a few times to check if everything's allright with you and the baby, to see if you need help or not...

Some Contacts:

Hebammenpraxis Geburt und Leben
Here you can find midwives in KA that speak englisch




P.S. are your Kids going to european school ?

[rebecca]

Thank you for the resources.

My kids are not at the European school. 1 child is in 1st grade at the local public school. The other 2 are in a kindergarten nearby.

[Lola85]

You're wellcome


I asked bout schools cause i was on ESKA

[anonym]

Hi,
I am living in Heidelberg and I'm no member of this forum, but I want to recommend the Asklepios Südpfalzklinik in Germersheim for giving birth.
They really provide a supportive environment.
http://www.asklepios.com/klinik/default ... ermersheim

best wishes
anonyma