Discussion by Topic

Breastfeeding:

I discovered that the clinic catered to the well-to-do women…who do NOT breastfeed or care for their children. I was beside myself wanting to see my baby and feed him! They wanted to give pills and shots for pain and for drying up milk. I didn't trust the nurses for anything and upset them by getting out of bed and looking for my baby! – Patti, Peru

There is also a strong philosophy here of supplementing breast milk with formula, which results in very fat, fat babies and I think is a detriment to the mother having sufficient milk.  So if someone is serious about only breast milk, they may have a bit of a battle in the hospital right after birth, and subsequent check-ups when the baby is "underweight" according to their growth charts.—Terri, Japan

Circumcision:

We found it nearly impossible to find someone who would perform circumcision on our son. The previous son came early while we were at meetings in the capital city, and there circumcision was at least known. Here in the boonies, doctors we talked to thought it was barbaric. Finally one consented to do it, but we really had our doubts afterwards. That was probably the only circumcision he had ever performed. It was our third son, and we wondered if there would be anything left! (He's fine and normal in the end!) – Patti, Peru

Another consideration is circumcision of newborn male babies.  When living in Tokyo I was able to go to one of two hospitals who had a doctor trained to do circumcision.  We had to travel into Tokyo by subway (lots of stairs and train transfers and walks from the station to the hospital) shortly after birth (1-3) weeks when our boys were born.  It was really difficult to do so early after birth.  I realize there is a lot of controversy even in the US about circumcision, but if parents decide to have their sons circumcised abroad, they should be very careful to get recommendations for a doctor from previous patients.—Lori, Japan

Complications:

I have had two pregnancies overseas, the first of which was a tubal pregnancy. The tubal pregnancy was impossible to diagnose…because they have no blood test for HCG, only urine tests, thus, the HCG level is impossible to determine. Though I asked my doctors about the possibility of a tubal pregnancy early on because I suspected I was pregnant and had pain on one side, but they dismissed my concerns. A pregnancy test they sent home with me was positive, and the subsequent ultrasound revealed nothing in the uterus. Still the gynecologist did not send  me out of the country but said perhaps the test was falsely positive…Finally after a strange late period and a second period that drug on and on, I was sent to Nairobi on an emergency flight …There they gave me an ultrasound that the doctor thought revealed an ovarian cyst. He took blood for a pregnancy test, did a D&C, and sent me "home" to the place I was staying in Nairobi. Three days later, I called his office to report increased pain. He reported that he had been trying to get ahold of me the previous day all day, because lo and behold, the pregnancy test had come back positive… So back I went to the hospital where they did another ultrasound and this time found blood in the cavity behind the uterus. So they did major surgery and removed the ruptured tube.—Suzanne, Ethiopia

After a small amount of spotting each week for several weeks at home I was advised to come to the hospital by the doctor. The trip required a 2 hour trip by air in a small Cessna. As there was no functioning ultrasound I remained near the hospital on bedrest for a week under observation by the doctor. The amount of bleeding increased & a pregnancy test was done & as the result was negative a D&C was performed under a spinal anesthetic. A day later I developed malaria & several days later began bleeding heavily. Another D&C was performed & retained tissue found. –Carolyn, Congo

Upon the advise of experienced parents and those familiar with the customs of the country and because my pregnancy was picture perfect, I desired to have my child naturally.  Due to the limitations of the private hospital I chose, complications arose during the birth process. My uterus burst and the doctor had to perform an emergency c-section.  My fallopian tube on one side was sewn into the uterus which brought complications to my health for almost a month.  To this day, that tube is swollen shut. – Cindy, Turkey

Cultural differences:

Aside from all the medical considerations, the cultural attitude towards childbirth is something to take into consideration.  In our [local] culture, after the child is born, it is taken from its mother and wrapped tightly in linens.  The mother must stay in the hospital for 2 weeks, and may only see the baby when it must be nursed (on schedule). The baby spends the rest of the time wrapped in linens in a sterile environment.  The father is NOT allowed to hold the child until it is released from the hospital.—Anne, Kazakhstan

We have found it interesting how different the philosophies are, re post-natal recovery, between Monaco and Haiti.  In Haiti, they wanted me walking ASAP and eating.  In Monaco, I wasn't allowed to get up for close to a week and wasn't allowed to eat until I'd had a bowel movement (I finally did, after 3 days, with a little "help"). – Mary, Haiti

The language barrier made things difficult, even with some of the language

myself and a friend for an interpreter. – Cindy, Turkey

I think the emotional/stress factor needs to be taken into consideration for women who are experiencing pregnancy abroad, especially if it's their first. For women it's a time of great uncertainty and fear of the unknown, and it's so important to have support/family nearby. The feeling of isolation is very overwhelming. Also for missionaries and volunteer workers there may be added stress due to difficult living conditions and food that suddenly becomes disagreeable. All these things can develop into physical symptoms as well as depression.—Cheryl, Thailand

Having my first child overseas was a very scary experience.  I think that it is very important to get as much information as possible in one's native language to help calm fears and shed light on the many unknowns of the birth experience.—Lori, Japan

Delivery away from home:

The baby was presenting face up.  Eventually I was allowed to get on my hands and knees...but this was a foreign idea for the Filipino doctor that was attending me so he resisted for a long time.  When I finally did get up on my hands and knees, the baby turned almost immediately. – Roslyn, Philippines

Finding a medical provider:

Our situation in Africa had been fairly remote. As an R.N. I did my own  checks on BP, urine, fundal height, etc.  We arrived back in the US during the 6th month of the pregnancy, and travelled to various locations within the US. We finally settled in one place at the beginning of the 7th month. I began calling the obstetricians' offices in the city. I could not even book an appointment through any of the receptionists. None of the offices would take me on, since I was already in the 7th month! (Obviously someone's afraid of litigation. ) I wondered if the only option was to show up at the ER in labor. In the end, a doctor from our church who had just qualified in family practice agreed to do the delivery. Mine may have been his first delivery, but a qualified obstetrician was required to be in attendance, and there were no problems.—Lenore, Sudan

Flying:

I have never felt any direct effects while flying.  My sicknesses seem to be related to my fear of flying which is getting worse with age and responsibility of now 6 children.  In other words, I have been sick before or during flights even when I wasn't pregnant. --  Vicky, Portugal

Home delivery:

I had three pregnancies and had each of them with a mid wife at home in an Indian village of southern Mexico.  They were wonderful experiences, each very unique.—Denise, Mexico

Illnesses:

One colleague in Mali died of complications due to Chicken Pox (she was also asthmatic) while she was 8 months pregnant. – Sue, Cote D’Ivoire

Insurance:

I really don't know how things will go for private traveling patients, because we have German insurance - and that covers almost all costs that we have. For the children - it covers practically everything they need. For adults - we pay a minimum for a hospital stay (about $14 a day) and only a percentage on any medicine for adults. We had more problems when we just had American insurance. – Kathy, Germany

Malaria:

Many of us use Halfan as a malaria treatment here. I do know of 2 ladies who miscarried after taking Halfan in the first 3 months of pregnancy (it is contraindicated, but neither of them knew they were pregnant at the time). – Sue, Cote D’Ivoire

I agree that most of the problems with malaria in pregnancy we bring on ourselves. It simply is not worth the risk. Mefloquine worked great for me as prophylaxis during pregnancy.—Arlita, Papua New Guinea

I have experienced three overseas pregnancies:  the first ending in a miscarriage; secondly, a complete pregnancy and birth, and finally, a part overseas/part US pregnancy culminating in a 30-week birth, possibly the result of a severe breakthrough of malaria two weeks prior to that birth.  This third pregnancy, our daughter, also has a diagnosis of  spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. I also had a malaria breakthrough during the first trimester of the second pregnancy, with no known effects on the pregnancy.—Pamela, Irian Jaya    

Antimalarials in all 3 pregnancies.  Contracted malaria twice in 2nd trimester of 1st pregnancy—Cathy, Burkina FASO

Rh disease:

Rh negative blood type is very unusual in Japan.  The doctors were concerned during BOTH of my pregnancies (Different Hospitals) They checked my blood early in the pregnancy and about 2 months before the delivery date both pregnancies, but detected nothing unusual.  Both of my sons are also rh negative and my husband is positive.—Lori, Japan

Twins:

The OBGYN in France thought I was very large so he had an ultrasound taken which showed only one baby.  I saw another Dr. in Paris and another American Dr. on arrival in Africa at a Baptist Mission Hospital.  Neither of these Drs. discovered I was carrying twins. –Karen, Burkina FASO