Last Friday I had my first “real” midwife appointment of this pregnancy. We had the paperwork appointment in June, then the ultrasound the first week of August, but until last week we hadn’t had any sort of regular checkup, despite the fact that I’m well into my sixth month now. I’m not bothered by that, really, especially considering how much experience I’ve got with this whole business, but sometimes I’m struck by what a different beast prenatal care in Sweden is from prenatal care in the States.
In any case, everything checks out fine. I can’t say that I was concerned, given the steady thump, thump, thump that my insides have been getting from tiny hands and feet for the past several weeks, but it’s nice to hear the heartbeat all the same. We’re all hoping for a boy this time around — though, to be honest, I’m feeling girl — so I’m choosing to interpret the slower rate of 132 beats per minute as an XY-indicator.
My own vitals were good as well, though I do have a urinary tract infection and extremely low iron levels, neither of which would have been a surprise for someone who had browsed through my earlier charts. Anyway, the upshot is that I’m waiting on a prescription for another round of antibiotics and I’ve been instructed to get going on the iron supplements. I don’t expect either to do much good, but I’m willing to play along for form’s sake.
I also thought it was a bit strange that I wouldn’t come back until week 21 or so after the first appointment in week 9. But then again I had the two scans in between the appointments. Now I will go every four weeks. But I assume if something had felt weird I would have been able to get another appointment. I’m been emailing them with questions a few time so I still feel like I have support. At the first appointment I had lots of blood test taken and they discovered already then that I needed to take iron supplements so I have taken those since week 9. The iron tablets have really helped me and I now have normal levels.
Try to get your mitts on some Floradix. It tastes a bit like fruit juice and rusty nail, but it does work. Glad to hear you’re well!
It definitely took some getting used to here, the nonchalance that they treat pregnancy with… but in the end, I decided I really liked it. I liked the fact that they let you do what you do best, and that is incubate that baby, without all the interventions and appointments and everything else. I ended up liking that they didn’t do the internals to check on effacement and such, and I loved the birth itself, with only Micke, the midwives and I in there, so peaceful and quiet, and how they just let me and my body do the work it needed to do with so little intervention! Heja Sverige!
How does it work in the US by the way? Do you go very regularly already from the start? And do you do more than the one or two scans? I mean, even if the pregnancy is proceeding super normal?
Anna ~ In the States, generally speaking, you go to the doctor/midwife every four weeks for the first two trimesters, then every two or three weeks for months 7 and 8, then every week for the last month. Most people don’t have more than the one or two scans (I’m actually a little surprised that you’ve had two — I’ve never had more than one here).
One of the things I miss from U.S. prenatal care is that you get to hear the heartbeat from 9 or 10 weeks, instead of waiting until after you’ve had the big scan and already started to feel movement. It feels a little anti-climactic to me at that point.
I also miss the level of choice that’s available in the States. While you hear a lot about the “medicalization” of birth over there (and I’m as horrified by it as the next person), you also have many more options as far as midwifery and natural birth options than are available here in Sweden (at least outside the major cities).
Swedish barnmorskor aren’t really “midwives” in the sense that English speakers usually think of them — rather, they’re obstetrical nurses, and in my experience they’ve been every bit as intervention-happy as any health care provider I’ve encountered in the States (Naomi, you must have a very special BB where you are — every single time I’ve given birth here I’ve had to fight to be left alone and not hooked up to IVs and monitors. And “peaceful” is one of the last words I’d think to use for the stark hospital environment.)
All things considered, I’d choose a homebirth if that were an option available to me here, but alas, it’ll be off to the hospital with me again come January.
I had two scans because I asked to do an early one, the KUB/NUPP (can’t remember the English name?), a I have a brother with a handicap and I have been extra worried. They offer it automatically from age 35 but before you have to request it.
I agree that the heartbeat was a bit anti-climactic as I had already seen the heart beat at the two scans. On the second scan we even zoomed in on the heart and saw the two chambers and two”förmak”.
I don’t mind having any alternatives in terms of birth. For me, the hospital is the only option I’d want. But I think you can have a natural birth if you want, but maybe Stockholm is better on that than Skellefteå? You can do homebirths in Sweden too but again, maybe there’s more choice in bigger cities? Not that common though.