Birth Experience

Lately a few people have asked my what it was like having 2 kids overseas. So I have decided to blog a little (well it will probably end up being a lot- because a lot happened) about my experiences. So I might divide it into parts.

Firstly to make it clear I had complications with both pregnancies and spent time in hospital during my pregnancy.

First son - 2005 - Frankfurt, Germany (Private and Public patients - no difference)
I went to 2 different hospitals. The first hospital was when I went into premature labour and the second was for the actual birth.

Second son - 2008 - Muscat, Oman This is a little more complicated. Firstly if you are an expat and do not work for the Omani government you can only attend the private hospital. However, if they cannot cater for your needs then you will be transferred or admitted to an Omani hospital. I went to 2 of the Omani hospitals during pregnancy and then the private hospital to give birth.

I will start with my second pregnancy as it is easier to remember...

Having a baby overseas is a challenge I can tell you that now. Not only are you away from family, in an unfamiliar environment, unsure of cultural differences, different procedures, rules, regulations and hospital policies BUT you are also PREGNANT! I was fortunate enough to have my mother around after the birth of my first and for my second she was here for the time I was in hospital until I had my baby - over 10 weeks. My Dad also dropped everything for me and came as soon as I was admitted to hospital and stayed for 4 weeks. For that I will be forever grateful. But it still isn't the same.

PLUS to make things more difficult for myself the only people that came to visit me (aside from a couple of friends before the holiday) was my husband, my mum, my dad and my son at times (although this is another whole story in itself - one I will address at a later stage). This was mainly because everyone was busy with end of school year stuff and then everyone left for summer break which was 8 weeks and the hospital I was in for the majority of the time was about 30 minutes away.

So here I was stuck in a hospital bed facing the scary possibility of delivering a premi-baby, infection and doctors wanting to deliver baby straight away...

BUT I managed to stay as positive as I could and hang in there...

Will continue when I get a chance...