Giving birth in Warsaw.

ChipmunkThreads: 19 Posts: 73 Joined: Aug 15, 09	Edited by: Chipmunk Dec 6, 09, 13:37 / #
I've read in a few posts some experiences with the local hospitals. However, I'm particularly interested more in any information about hiring a midwife for a home birth. Can anyone provide me with anything in that regard. Perhaps recommendations of a midwife or a practice. Also any information or recommendations for a doula. Or even a birthing center that is staffed by midwives and is not a medical facility. Typically they like to send expectant mothers out 6 weeks prior to birth and then they return 6 weeks after the birth, here at the embassy. Personally, I think that's insane. Who wants to go readjust their life for 12 weeks some place that is not currently your home and do it all over again when you do return, with a newborn! Especially when you have other children. Also it doesn't help that my husband would not be able to accompany me and our 4 year old for all but 2 weeks of those 12 weeks and we all know babies come when they want for the most part! So I'm pretty much refusing to leave, which is an option. However I'd like to birth at home. Just trying to find the right resources to make it happen! ETA: Also I'm not sure whether or not the insurance will cover a home birth as I know ours in the States would not. We have the same insurance here just a international policy. So if anyone has a rough estimate generally on how much a home birth costs, that would be helpful as well. Thanks.

Wroclaw BoyThreads: 57 Posts: 5,467 Joined: Jul 3, 09 MEMBER	Dec 6, 09, 13:53 / #
Chipmunk: Or even a birthing center that is staffed by midwives and is not a medical facility. They exist, im not sure about Warsaw but we found one around 2 hours drive away but decided to go with the NFZ (state) system and had no complaints at all. In fact the service excellent from start to finish, private rooms before and after birth for the whole time. There were two main reasons we opted for the NFZ birth, one the distance to the private centre was too far should labour be on the short side and 2: if there were any compilcations the private birth centre did not have the facilities and we would have been taken to a NFZ hospital anyway. We were also lucky in the fact that the hospital we decided to use was new and very clean, we had actually scoped it out months before the due date and brought in cakes and such for the staff. I should think you'll find it very difficult to source a mid wife that is willing to carry out a home birth. I would suggest visiting several hospitals to try and find one your comfortable with, perhaps bring in the usual bottles of Whiskey for the Doctors and such, it really does go a long way. Best of luck anyway.

SzwedwPolsceThreads: 13 Posts: 1,915 Joined: Feb 21, 09	Edited by: SzwedwPolsce Dec 6, 09, 13:58 / #
I am pretty sure that you can arrange this if you pay with your own money. Use Google. But you should be aware that the mortality rate, both for the mother and the child, is higher when giving birth at home.

ChrisPolandThreads: 3 Posts: 143 Joined: Oct 15, 09	Dec 6, 09, 15:34 / #
I know about the home birth mid-wives in the Lower Silesia area but not in Warsaw, sorry. They have a special certification of some sort. Ask your doctor to help you out. I've given birth twice in Wrocław where you cannot get anything as far as pain relief is concerned and it wasn't so bad. Why do they insist on sending you out? You are right to put your foot down. It's not like there are not modern hospitals in Poland (although after seeing the bathroom in the hospital I can question my own statement.) I suggest learning a very useful phrase of "push" in Polish. "Kneel" was also useful. Good luck! kielbasastories.blogspot.com