Comments on: Having Babies in Tajikistan and the U.S.A.

by: Bill Day

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 02:52:35 +0000

I am little wistful reading your comparison of childbirth experiences. Our first was a footling breach presentation who was delivered in the USA by C-section, and we opted for a C-section for the second to minimize the risk of a ruptured uterus. I am happy that your experience was rewarding and apparently straightforward (never easy!), but I am not sorry that the surgeons were there when we needed them.

by: Asiyah

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 08:54:29 +0000

I’ll ask him to email you, he’s not Afghan - he’s Anglo-American. I don’t want to out him w/o his permission. Shannon’s story sounds very frightening.

Thanks for the info re midwives, it sounds like a more appealing solution though I worry about complicatons. Flora’s solution sounds the most comfortable. Of course, in an Afghan case, there’s a waiting room full of Afghans waiting outside and drinking tea..

by: Shannon

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:56:30 +0000

For years I’ve heard horror stories about giving birth in hospitals, from young mothers (like 19) being prevented from breastfeeding and being too young and insecure to advocate for themselves to a baby of a co-worker’s sister dying because the doctors delayed in giving her medical attention as the baby strangled on its umbilical cord. I’m so glad that there is an alternative out there! I read that here in Vegas one of the private hospitals is starting an alternative birthing center. Hopefully, this is one step closer to reaching that balance between a natural, joyous birth and medical attentiveness.

by: Administrator

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 04:48:25 +0000

Flora- Oh, brava Italia indeed. Here I paid about $1,000 including all tests, but that doesn’t include my health insurance payments. To have the baby in the hospital is about $10,000.

by: Flora

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:57:03 +0000

Dear Elizabeth, thank you for taking the time to write that, when you could be with your baby!
I can add in something to your comparisons of global OB-GYN practives, for Italy: there too, like in the US, the C-section rate is high (but not as high), and most people opt for masses of painkillers. However, most (regular, state-run) hospitals do offer an alternative ‘natural birth’ set up, which is what I chose for my baby. Although my son was born in a hospital, he was born in a cozy, serene room with a double bed and no hopital trimmings, where I was assisted only by a midwife who knocked on the door before entering. I was admitted into that room - which also had a tub for water births, on the understanding that no artificial medication would be available to me. If anything went wrong, I could move to a ’standard’ western delivery room - a terrifying place to me. Luckily no need for that! I left believing midwives to be among the most amazing people on earth. And, the whole experience was completely free: all the check ups, the pre-natal classes, the birth, the followup, regardless of nationality, residency or visa status. Brava Italia!

by: Administrator

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:03:59 +0000

Asiyah- I have a number of friends and the initials don’t ring a bell- is he Afghan? As for the midwives, in our state they are allowed to provide responsive (as opposed to preventative / proactive) medical care in the form of oxygen, oxytocin (a labour stimulant that also helps stop excessive uterine bleeding after birth), forceps, etc. Surgery (like a c-section) or other riskier procedures (like vacuum extraction) require hospital settings because of the risks involved. I think some midwives use vacuums but generally midwives consider their expertise in getting babies out the natural way, so they generally use other ways of getting babies unstuck. Usually that means changing the woman’s position, or pressing on her hips, or using counselling to help women relax and/or push correctly so that baby can come out.

Sylvia- Unfortunately in the formerly communist countries, many of the best doctors have left. The state system was not always crappy, and in fact is not so horrible at present. If I could get good care in Tajikistan from a Tajik (not Russian) doctor, and Tajikistan is the poorest country of all the formerly communist countries, I’m sure reasonably good regular care can be obtained in most others.

Surgery, however, is another question.

by: Sylvia

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:53:32 +0000

Wow, thanks for sharing! I once asked one of my colleagues, who’d worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa, how she found life in Macedonia. (This was in 2000.) She said the biggest adjustment was the medical care, which surprised me given how much more “developed” E. Europe/ex-USSR countries are. She said that in Africa, when you go to a doctor, either the doctor is a foreigner or a national who trained overseas, so the medical care (at least for expats) is up to Western standars. Whereas in Macedonia and other places, there is no one like that, everyone was trained in the crappy state system, and the care reflected that.

by: Asiyah

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:46:26 +0000

Yay! I was waiting for your post, glad to hear that you and your family are doing well, shukur. It sounds like the Tajik model is the best, if only they had enough funding (this seems to be my mantra these days). Many of my friends have gone through this decision-making process and it seems so complicated.

do the midwives provide the real medical care that you mentioned or is it someone else? I’ve always wondered how the birth process with midwives worked.

Oh, and we have a mutual friend. I don’t know if he wants his name in the blog but his initials are J.G., he said he’d mention it to you.