Selecting our Hebamme...

Of the many differences between having a baby here in Germany, and back home in the States, one of the major ones is that the baby will be delivered by a mid-wife or "Hebamme," as opposed to the OB/Gyn who has been taking care of me during my pregnancy.  There is always of course a doctor on duty for emergency situations and procedures, but the bulk of most deliveries are handled by the mid-wives.  Thus the "Mutterpass" which tracks information as care changes hands, about which I posted previously.

Depending on where you deliver, and what the mid-wives there offer, you may also choose to have your mid-wife, or a separate one, provide in home care after the pregnancy, as well as prenatal care related to preparing for birth.  The Hebamme will come to your home and provide childbirth instruction or holistic remedies for prenatal situations (like if the baby still hasn't turned).  They also come after the birth, as often as required, to help with nursing, and postnatal check-ups for Mom and for baby.

Here is a great article on what it's like to give birth here in Germany: LINK

This is the list that our Doctor gave us with all of the Hebammes in our area, all in German of course! We just picked the first one close to us who spoke English!

After some confusion on who does what, we finally met with a lady last week who will provide our care at home.  Since we have chosen a hospital somewhat out of our area to deliver, we will use a hospital mid-wife for the birth, and this other lady will come afterwards to check up on us.  She was very nice and friendly, her English was perfect, and I think I might even describe her as a little "unGerman!"  (Forgive my stereotyping here, I know everyone is different and we shouldn't lump all Germans together - but she seemed very open minded, whereas I think a lot of Germans can come across as rather set in their ways?)

So stay tuned to our little adventure... this weekend we will go visit the hospital!