pregnant in Sweden!

April 23, 2012

pregnant in Sweden!

A momma at the Ålidhem playgroup looked up the phone number for the Ålidhem hälsocentral for me.  She explained that I should call between 8:30 and 9:30 and leave a message on the voice mail and a midwife would call me back. 

            After I listened to a bunch of Swedish I thought I got to the point where I was supposed to leave a message.  I must have been successful, a midwife called me back.  I told her that I was pregnant and wanted to schedule an appointment. 

            “What’s your personnummer?”  With that she has all my information.  “You have been assigned to the downtown health center but you are welcome to come here.” 

            I went to a 10 week appointment at the nearby health center and met Ann-Cathrine, the midwife that will be seeing me for my prenatal care.  She’ll care for me during my pregnancy but when it’s time for labor and delivery I’ll go to the hospital and be in the care of a midwife (whom I’ve never met) that happens to be working that day, or a doctor if there are complications.  That’s the standard way for pregnancy and birth.  Everything seems fine so far with me and Iggy Piggy (our baby’s name so far).  Unfortunately, I’ve experienced more pregnancy symptoms this time around.  I was able to ask Ann-Cathrine more about Sweden’s system, most of which I had already learned about prior to this visit. 

            There is a Home Birth Group in Sweden.  They are mostly active in a few cities further south, although there are a couple of people here in Umeå.  There are only a few home-births a year in Umeå and only 1 in 1000 in Sweden.  Water births are illegal in Sweden.  A baby died in a water birth at home about 20 years ago and they have been illegal since.  I did talk to the one midwife in town that will do home births.  She works at the hospital and is very proud of the space they have there.  She said that they have ONE water tub that is available for laboring in with candles and music… and if the baby is born in the water, accidents happen.  However, there is just one, so there is no guarantee that it will be available.  She suggested that I visit the hospital in August or September and decide if I want to labor and deliver there.  If not she’ll meet us at our apartment in the fall.  I’ll likely decide on the hospital.  We live in a tiny apartment with no tub.  The thing that I think is odd is that you have a different midwife for the prenatal care and the labor and delivery.  I was so comforted when Stacy (midwife for Amelia) arrived at our home.  I’ve talked to one other local, who is part of the Home Birth Group, who also thinks it’s odd.  Overall, pregnancy and birth are taken more lightly here than in the US, which does have its pros.  Although I am looking forward to my next appointment (May 28^th) which is at 18 weeks – TWO MONTHS – from my last, where we’ll have an ultrasound and use the doppler for the first time to hear the baby’s heart beat.  I’m feeling great now at 13 weeks pregnant, nearing the end of the first trimester.  I’m looking more pregnant but Chris says that people wouldn’t assume that I’m pregnant because I’m in that in between phase of looking pregnant and looking like I have a big tummy.  ;)

            I’m thankful for the health care coverage here.  There was a typo in my immigration paperwork so it took longer than normal for me to get into the system.  However, I did get into the system just in time to schedule a 10 week pregnancy appointment.  Apparently as soon as a woman becomes part of the system they also get scheduled for a womanly check-up.  I also received a letter from the downtown health clinic stating a day and time for an appointment.  It was scheduled a couple of weeks after my visit to Ålidhem hälsocentral.  Ann-Cathrine asked me if I had received mail regarding an appointment since she knew that I had just recently entered the Swedish health care system.  I told her that I did from the downtown clinic and it was scheduled in the next couple of weeks.  I didn’t need to go to it since I was seeing her.  She had me sign some papers that I was switching to Ålidhem.  I kind of assumed that took care of my downtown appointment and I kind of dropped the ball by not calling and canceling my appointment downtown.  I received mail from the downtown clinic a few days after my proposed appointment.  It was a bill of 150 kroner ($22) for NOT SHOWING UP.  This got me to call and explain (and they dropped the charge).  People don’t slip through the cracks here, especially if they are frugal like me.  I was told that I won’t have to call for an appointment for Amelia’s annual check-up.  She’s in the system so we’ll get a letter with a day and time for her appointment… at the downtown clinic…unless I fill out some paperwork.

 Amelia got the chicken pox!  I thought the outfit she picked out was kind of funny.   At first she wasn’t phased by them but then spent a day an a half with a fever.  We had lots of snuggle and reading time.  She quickly got back to her silly self.