A Better Birth By Joana M . -O .
American TV shows and movies raise the expectation that your personal OB-GYN will be present when you give birth . This is not the case in Germany . If you choose to give birth in a hospital , you will most likely be surrounded by doctors and nurses ( Hebamme ) who are complete strangers . The longer your birth takes , the more new people you may have to adjust to while you are in a vulnerable state . If you want to have the security of a hospital setting and a professional you know and trust , working with a Beleghebamme is great option . A Beleghebamme is a professional midwife who has a working relationship with a certain hospital or clinic and will personally attend you during your birth .
My first birth experience in Hamburg was not the greatest and ended in an emergency c-section . When I got pregnant the second time , I immediately called the Fundus Hebammen to sign up . ( Call the Beleghebamme as soon as you can . They book up quickly !) The Fundus Hebammen is a small group of midwives that works together with the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf ( UKE ). You are not assigned to one midwife in particular but rather get to know the entire team during your regular check-ups . You alternate these checkups between your OB-GYN and the
Beleghebamme . I did actually have to change OB-GYNs during this pregnancy because my then-doctor did not approve of working with a Beleghebamme . Was he going to be there during my birth ? No ! Did I appreciate him speaking disparagingly of nurse midwives ? Definitely not ! It was an easy choice to leave , and I found a new ( female ) OB-GYN I am much happier with .
I had both of my children at the UKE , but my two birth experiences were like night and day . I felt so much better the second time having a trusted person by my side . The birth was difficult , but in the end ,
( Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko / Unsplash )
I had a successful VBAC , a healthy baby , and a rather amazing feeling of empowerment .
Please note that the costs for a Beleghebamme are wholly or mainly out-of-pocket . My German husband grumbled about the costs beforehand , but having also been at both births , even he says it was worth every Euro .
You can find more information in German here :
www . geburt-in-hamburg . de / geburtin-hamburg-2 / hebammen / beleghebammen /