Suze Returns

Yadda yadda yadda.
Infant mortality per 1000 births:
US 6,37
New Zealand 5,67
UK 5,01
Netherlands 4,88
EU 4,8
Australia 4,57

Jos – Are you a Dutch midwife!!?? You can’t escape the MAFIA, they even manage to find your blog…

All I can say is check out the PERINATAL MORTALITY statistics. That’s death between 28 weeks pregnant and 7 days after birth.

My main point is the lack of choice and huge trauma many women have to go through. Not to mention how barbaric the system is.

Lola granola – there are so many of us here in the same boat… you are right, I moved here thinking it was such an open progressive country but that’s an illusion. On the plus side I appreciate Australia so much more than I did before I left.

Any chance of moving back to Canada?

Three words and another three. It’s your body and it’s your decision. Nobody else has the right to make decisions for you, especially about this.

Wishhing you all the best.
Marianne Lloyd Blaxland NSW Australia

So glad you’re taking charge of YOUR body, suze! The issue is choice…and the fact that each pregnancy is such an individual experience, you CAN’T assign a one-size-fits-all birth plan! Each woman has a different pain threshold, body, medical history…etc etc.

It was 20 years ago for me, but I can remember how sensitive and emotional I was during my pregnancy…and determined to remind the tummy-patting crowd that my body wasn’t public property just because I was sharing it with one other person. Don’t midwives get any training in psychology and bedside manners?

So glad I’m past my child-bearing years now!

I know my American friend had a horrid experience and ended up having a c-section. And an Australian colleague — an athletic, bungee-jumping, fearless woman — flew home for the birth of her first child; no WAY she was having it delivered here, she said.

Good luck in Australia, suze…and I hope you and lola hook up! She’s been a godsend to me while I’ve been getting used to this weird little country…

Gosh Suze, Can’t wait to have you home after reading that!

P.S. – My brother Paul delivered a baby yesterday! He’s a fireman and got called out to a medical assist when the ambo’s weren’t available. Everything went smoothly… although I don’t know how I’d feel about 2 giant firemen in bright yellow standing between my legs telling me when to push!
He was on the news and in the papers and we’re all really proud.

I’ll have him on stand-by for you

Hi Suze,

Well I bet I’m one of the few lucky ones who had a good midwife her in NL. She informed me about all risks and the epidural also that it’s better to have an appointment in advance with the gyneacologist and anestheist as when labour starts at midnight there is no anestheis at teh hospital, but if they know about you in advance (s)he’ll come. It is because anestheists are not paid after working hours that’s why. When you arrange that beforehand it’s ok (s)he’ll come.
If google you’ll find also hospitals who do have anesthist during midnight available for women who are in labor. The writer: Kluun, he wrote: Help ik heb mijn vrouw zwanger gemaakt.’started a website with all this kind of information as he finds it very barbaric practice that here in NL not always an epidural is given.

After 12 hours my son, Lars, was born and it’s not bad from the beginning it’s like having periodpain to which your ‘used’ to. The last centimetres are the hardest, but it all comes down to how can you relax best. in a bath, warm shower, massages of your back. And believe me your so turned/tuned into yourself really your much stronger than you can ever imagine. As said before the pushing part is like pooping pooh.
I never thought I would say it, but I rather give birth again than going to dentist for refilling my teeth (the drilling part aches much more).

CHeers,
Izzy

Now you’ve all got me terrified! I’m moving to the Netherlands in December, and will be having my second baby in April. I’m American, and had my first in the States in a hospital (but with a midwife in attendance) with an epidural. Now I’m all freaked out about the idea of having my baby in the Netherlands! Does anyone know anything about giving birth in the UK? My mother lives there, and I might just take the Eurostar over when it’s time if the pickings are a little better. My mother in law (Dutch) and my partner’s friend’s wife have tried to be very reassuring, but the general thought seems to be that it’s not standard practice and they won’t just give any pregnant woman an epidural because she asks.

oh boy!..I was thinking of moving to Holland for a year or two (have visited loads of times)..you’ve just reminded me what a bunch of moralistic, self-righteous prats the Dutch are! Think I’ll just stay put here in Cape Town and thank my lucky stars that I live in such a fantastic city…

Wish I had the talent to write such posts.

I am so glad someone is thinking the way I am!! I gave birth in Australia in 2006. My pregnancy was from 32 weeks at high risk so I ended up in hospital and had my own obstetrician. He delivered my premature baby at 35.5 weeks. She is now healthy and well. I am planning on a 2nd baby, but after the stories I’ve heard about Holland, it makes me want to fly back home just to give birth. My sister also lives here and she had a miscarriage last year. When she called the midwife to say she thinks she is having a miscarriage the midwife said, there is nothing I can do, just stay at home and eventually it will all come out by itself. My sister waited and waited and weeks passed with her having pains. She went again to see the midwife and she said she was spot bleeding and the midwife again said, there is nothing I can do, it will all come out by itself when the time comes. After 4 weeks of hell my sister finally had a full on miscarriage and found out that the baby was already dead in her for the past 4 weeks. I cannot believe the system over here and am having nightmares thinking about having a baby here. I am so thinking of flying back to Australia to get it done as for some reason there are no doctors here and midwifes do all the work. It is totally ridiculous!! They still live in the stone age over here and we get nothing for all that money we spend on insurance.

im sorry you feel this way. it seems you are very misinformed. though im guessing youve already had your baby in austrailia now i feel i must reply to a few of the points you have made above as i would hate for others to be mislead by what you have said.
the infant mortality rate is not the highest in the netherlands. the homebirth rates are also more favorable than hospital in holland. early administratioj of an epidural is shown in numorous clinical trials to increase the risk of instrumental delivery (forceps or vacume extraction) by up to 10 times and is shown to increase your risk of c section by 5 times. pain in childbirth is a way for your body to to prepear by getting into a safe supportive environment and sets of a cascade of hormones and natural opiates to assist your healthy active birthing and to encorouge bonding between you and your baby. im sorry so many women including yourself are so disempowered about your bodiesnatural ability to give birth and are so fearfull of such a natural beautiful process, it means you miss out on a very empowering experience and a right of passage that qualifies mothers and prepears them for the challanges ahead. the more you interfear with birth by using drugs and being treated like a patient as apose to a woman giving birth (which is A natural and not a new thing) the higher the risks of a traumatic birth for you and your baby. medicine is there to help when things need help. when used frivolously it causes more harm than good. i think you missed out on a very special experience by leaving holland to return to australia to have your baby. being reduced to a passive patient on your back with no sense of the power your body has in the process of giving birth is an incredible sad phenomenon. maybe with your next child you could take responsibilty and read and learn about your bodies own power and have a natural birth that will benifit you and your baby.

To Johanna,
In regards to your post about natural birth and it being safer for the baby without medication, I agree, but I think you misunderstand.

I’m an aussie and I gave birth in Australia 7 weeks before coming to the Netherlands. I’m glad I gave birth there first. I absolutely wanted a natural birth without painkillers, but I was glad to know and understand all the options. In pre-natal classes they explained the risks and advantages of all the pain killers. It made me feel secure knowing that although I didn’t want painkillers, I knew what they were about. I did end up having an epidural, but that is another story I won’t go into, and I kinda wish I didn’t. Turned out I was closer to giving birth than we realised, and if I had have known I would have gone natural.

But that said, since coming to the Netherlands the support network after you have a baby is very lacking. Sure, my son gets all his injections, and a check over by the doctor, but that’s it. In Australia the support for everything (if you want it) is tremendous. There is much more support for breastfeeding, looking after your baby, pre-natal depression. Having a baby in hospital is not just about the drugs…..I was in hospital for 4 days after a trouble free birth, but those 4 days were about teaching you how to look after the baby, breastfeeding, taking your baby from you for a couple of hours so you can get some sleep. Having that support does NOT make you wussy, despite what the Dutch people will make you think.

And on another note, for a country that so strongly advocates “natural child birth”, why do so many women bottle feed?

I agree that The Netherlands approach is very old fashioned, although I also understand why the Dutch “think” they are doing it the good “natural way”. To someone from aussie it feels more like: push it out, go home and deal with it.

I’ve been here over a year now, and hating it. Looking forward to going home soon hopefully.

this article is spot on. i had given birth to my son in 2001 without any pain relief, but it was in france, where 1) it was considered a brave choice, which means people were looking after me and telling me how good i was doing, 2) i knew if anything went wrong or i couldn’t stand it any longer something would be done.
then 6 months ago i gave birth to my little girl, in the netherlands. but it was an unassisted birth. in the hospital. alone with a bored daddy who couldn’t wait to go home because he was “tired” (he’s dutch, which implies selfish). i ended up in total panick , but remained alone until the end, when suddently someone popped up to give me an episiotomy (aparently everyone was getting bored and wanted to get this over with). i think if you give birth in holland, it’s safer to do it at home. less stressful. anyway i will never set foot in a hospital or doctor’s office here. they’re underqualified and scarily careless.