Childbirth In My Life and Iceland

On June 7 at about 3 a.m. I thought my water broke.  I wasn’t exactly sure because this was my first pregnancy and it wasn’t much water.  I was exactly 40 weeks pregnant with my first child and it was my due date!  At about 6 a.m. we decided to go to the hospital.  At that time I was hardly having any contractions, but my water had broke so they had to keep me.  I started walking the halls of the hospital with my husband.  At about 11:00 I was only dilated to a 3 so they decided to give me Pitocin.  Things really started to change at that point.  I started having harder contractions and a lot of back labor.  At 2:00 they checked me again but I was only dilated to a 4.  I decided then to get an epidural and it was the best thing ever!! My husband and I relaxed and watched a playoff basketball game on TV.  Finally at about 9:30 p.m. I was fully dilated and able to start pushing.  Our son was born at 10:24 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 7 ounces.  They had to use forceps on him because when he came out he was face up instead of face down which is a harder birth.  Our son had a very big head and it was very misshapen after delivery. At about four months old he had to go to the Denver Children’s Hospital because they were afraid the platelets in his head were fusing to quickly.  They decided they were not fusing to quickly but he did have extra fluid in his ventricles.  They watched this for a few years but everything turned out fine.  He still has a big head and his head is still a little misshaped.   My daughter was born four and half years later and it was a much easier delivery.  I got to the hospital at around 1:30 p.m. and she was born at 6:43 p.m. after only two pushes!!

I chose this example because it was my first experience with childbirth.  It was an amazing experience and also a stressful experience.  His birth was difficult on both of us.  I was amazed at the difference between my two childbirth experiences.

I chose to look at births in Iceland.  In Iceland pre-natal car is free to legal residents who have lived there for at least six months.  If it is their first baby they will receive ten visits and if they have already had a baby they will receive seven visits with a midwife and doctor.  Most women have their baby in a hospital and they have a 17% C-section rate.  Hospital births are free with health insurance.  Iceland does provide for midwife home births for mothers who have favorable pregnancies.  In Iceland you must pick your baby’s name from the National Register of Persons.  If you want a name that is not on that list you have to appeal for a new name to be added to the list.  The name must not be embarrassing and must conform to the Icelandic language and customs. 

The birthing experience in Iceland sounds similar to my experience except for in Iceland you can have a baby for free!  Their C-section rate is a lot lower than in the U.S. and they use midwifes more often.  

References:

http://en.island.is/family/having_a_baby/pregnancy_and_childbirth

http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/blog/the-10-best-countries-for-maternity-care/