K in Modena

Gosh that sounds horrid, I'm so sorry Ballerina. I remember encouraging you to go to the consultorio so I'm sorry it didn't turn out to be any nicer.

Regarding the scans, the first one we had was private (my consultorio didn't offer a 12 week scan, and we wanted the bi test) and it was by far the best. Loads of pics, a really good view, the woman took her time. The second one was fine, the third one was horrible. It was my husband's birthday and we were looking forward to getting another look at the baby to celebrate, but I wasn't even allowed to look at the screen and she didn't explain anything to OH.

I did once have a doctor at the consultorio (not my regular) who just didn't address a word to me. I went in for some issue or other I was having and she didn't even introduce herself, just spoke to the midwife the whole time. They were mostly very good though, as I say. Pity it seems to vary so drastically from region to region.

We found out the sex, and to be fair they did ask if we wanted to know or not, but I found everyone on the street (because everyone comes up and asks you stuff when you're pregnant!) would ask me what the sex was, not whether or not we wanted to know. Not finding out doesn't seem to be a thing they do here.

I have no idea what to suggest about your horrible care experience- any way you can give birth in England after all?

ballerina

Oh don't worry! i would have tried that route anyway as it would have been so expensive to go the private way the whole way, and from my one experience and hearing other people's stories, I really couldn't see much difference, except maybe in hindsight, they organise appointments better!

If it was possible, I'd go to England, I am still a resident there so I could go NHS.. but whether it would be practical or not i don't know. I'd have to stay there for maybe two months after the birth to be sure it's safe to fly home with a newborn, and who knows, it might decide to come early anyway!

I will definitely be doing antenatal classes in England though! When I went to the place here to ask about booking, they showed me the room crammed full of these weird chairs, like armchair-comode things.. covered in filthy stained surgical green fabric .. yuck! I was thinking 'i don't want to give birth in a chair like that! I can barely sit properly in a chair like that for 20 minutes without excrutiating pain in my bum bones!' Also, OH and I were very surprised to hear that they don't allow husbands or birth partners to come along. I was hoping that OH would have some lessons in what was going to happen too, because I won't be in a position to explain what's happening.

I don't think it could be like this all over Italy though. Although there must be something to explain the low birth rate..! i think the problem here is that they did have a very good maternity hospital nearby and it closed down last year. One of OH's colleagues had his first child in Holland and the second in La Spezia (since the maternity hospital closed) and he said that in La Spezia it was dreadful in comparison. He was even told to bring something to wash the baby in because they didn't have baby baths there but he had to take his washing up bowl because there weren't any shops open..

My mum tried to reassure me when she read that the birth mortality rate is much lower in Italy than England, but I reckon half of it is down to obesity in pregnancy and the risks associated.. There is nowhere near as much obesity in Italy as in England.. god, the amount of people who told me 'don't put on too much weight, it's dangerous for the baby!' as the first comment when I said I was pregnant, you don't get a chance to get obese!

LivingHere

Hi Ballerina, sorry to hear that you are not impressed with your choices is Italy. The only thing that ever really made me cry here was the difficulty I had in getting my first ante natal appointments. I never had anything as bad you have experienced though. The only time I was disappointed in a doctor was when a doctor flipped my newborn like a hamburger at his first checkup. We never went back to see him.

Don't let them bully you, I got away with all sorts because I was "that crazy foreigner".

Stellina

Hi Ballerina, sounds like you’ve had a really rotten time so far It’s just crazy how maternity services differ so much depending on what area you’re in. I only have praise for the care I got here in Florence, before and after the birth. In my antenatal classes it was just mums to be and then there was one session when partners came along, maybe that’s the case with the classes you looked at?

gelato

Hi I'm pregnant with #2 and due in November so I guess I also belong in this thread.

I'm sorry about the bad experience in LaSpezia, ballerina. I'm onto baby #2 here so I feel I've become something of an expert in giving birth here. Basically the bureaucracy is really bad and you waste a ton of time running back and forth to various clinics for tests and results (why can't they just email the results to you like they do in Australia - they probably don't even have email...), going to the medico di base for the various impegnative. The bedside manner of a lot of doctors (and especially nurses ) is really bad. They have no problem at all being terribly rude to patients. And I waited 3.5 hours the other day for a scan. But at the end of the day the medical care you get here in Rome is quite good. They're extremely thorough - probably too thorough because it can verge on interventionist. But mine is a high risk pregnancy so I'm glad to get all the extra attention from various doctors.

Last time around I did a prenatal course with a private group of midwives. It was very Italian (unorganised!), very hippy dippy and a total waste of time IMO apart from bonding with the other pregnant women and comparing experiences. I remember that the only pain management they discussed was some weird foot massage technique and a bit of yoga type breathing. When I was actually in labour I realised how useless all of that was. I found reading various books about the staged of labour and pain management techniques a lot more useful.

I'd also recommend reading some books on breastfeeding (I had the Nursing Mother's Companion which was good) before you go to the hospital as they are useless here with breastfeeding help. Luckily, I'd read up and I didn't have any problems but they didn't seem to have any lactation consulatants or anything to help out for women who had problems and a huge number of Italian women don't breastfeed beyond a few weeks. I wonder why.

I have a British friend who gave birth here who said that she found the system here better than the British NHS. Apparently here in Italy the drug she needed to keep her baby alive and gestating was covered by the system whereas the NHS would not have covered it. I have no idea, though. I know that in Australia, at least, the hospital facilities are a lot nicer and things are more efficient. But I'm not sure if the medical care is actually better.

navydove71

Hi all! Sorry to post in the BritishExpats but there isn't much on the American side (as I'm American). I have been here in Liguria now for a year and I'm expecting my second daughter in July 2011. I also have heard a lot and mostly not good. Many Europeans think American's have to many c-sections but from what I can tell there are FAR more here than in the states. My 1st daughter was born vaginally with an epi and all went beautifully. I went into the hospital and was diagnosed with preeclampsia (totally fine before going into the hospital). My doctor here at Gaslini in Genova said that in Italy I would have had a c-section... I was horrified when I heard that. In my opinion there is no.. I mean NO.. reason to cut a woman if she can push and the baby is fine. I also had no episiotomy because the doctors in the states massage the perineum so you don't tear.. or not much. I had some minor tearing which is far better than being cut. I have an appt with the anesthesiologist so I hope that I will get one when the time comes. But according to the posts I've read its not guaranteed. I am very much afraid of being told that I will need a c-section when in the states I would be given every opportunity to deliver vaginally and only at a last resort would a c-section be given. Any comforting words from a mom in my situation. I have 6 weeks to delivery. Many thanks!

navydove71

I should also mention that after having one terrible appt with a private doctor who did not tell me anything (weight, no internal exam, no info at all) I switched to another private doc who is fantastic... he used to deliver at Gaslini but doesn't anymore. I agree with a prior post that the moms to be are not informed of ANYTHING. I ask a million questions because I want to know and I'm another one of those "crazy foreigners" I also found out from my neighbor that has had 2 children (1st was a c-section) that the 2nd child would most likely be a c-section because if you come into the hospital in the middle of the night to deliver and there is no anesthesiologist on staff (quite common in smaller towns) you will have to wait and there could be complications, therefore, they schedule a c-section even if it's not needed. In the states they always have an anesthesiologist on staff and they do many VBAC's (vaginal birth after c-section). There is too much cutting in this country!!!!!!

giodafa

"too much cutting in this country" saved my life! I had my first c section because of an emergency but my second one was planned . My doctor explained that there were too many risks of giving birth naturally after a c section. He explained that he couldn't really plan it because of all the hassle the regione give them because of the high costs of a c section, so I was told to go in through A&E where there would be a colleague of his waiting to admit me and later on he would perform the c section This was all planned for the 8 march which upset me aabit because it would have been la festa della donna and I was having a boy. Anyway to cut along story short, my doctor rang me the day before and told me he was starting his 24 hr shift now and that he preferred operating at the beginning of the shift Everythig went ok until he started cutting me open my old scar had started to come apart! Moral of the story, if I had waited to give birth naturally I certainly wouldn't have been here to tell my tale. I don't want in anyway frighten anybody but sometimes doctors have to deal with costs pressure Luckily mine didn't and I have two beautiful scars that I love to bits.I wish all you pregnant ladies the best

navydove71

Hi giodafa, thanks for replying... I am glad your situation went well. I am aware of times when a c-section is necessary but I also know of 3 people (one a good friend of mine) who had her first child as an emergency c-section but the other 3 children were all natural.. and she was perfectly fine. There are many times when going for a VBAC is worth it and not worth the risk of major surgery like a c-section. My sister-in-law had twins about 1.5 yrs ago and had one and to this day she says that there are times she still has pain along her cut. Me personally... I'm against cutting unless the mother or child is in danger then of course it is necessary Thanks for posting!

Lorna at Vicenza

To cut or not to cut?
I know more people in my neck of the woods who have had natural births rather than c-sections.
One friend recently had a natural birth after her first child was a c-section. 7 years had pased bewteen the two births though.
The number of c-sections could very well depend on the region and according to this article it does ............

- IN TESTA IL SUD, MAGLIA NERA A CAMPANIA. Si registra un'ampia
variabilità regionale. Le Regioni che hanno una maggiore frequenza di tagli cesarei sono Campania (61,80%), Sicilia (52,91%), Molise (52%), Puglia (50,60%) e Basilicata (48,19%).
Al Nord la situazione migliora a partire da Friuli, Toscana e Lombardia, attestandosi tra il 24 e il 28%. Solo Bolzano (20%) si avvicina ai valori raccomandati dall'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità.

http://www.ilgiornale.it/interni/par...e=0-comments=1

gelato

I agree completely, navydove. Obviously there are situations in which the mother or baby's life is in danger and a caesarean is absolutely necessary. The usual estimates are that this is the case in around 12% of births. But I find here in Rome at least that many doctors really pressure women into having unnecessary caesareans. This is especially the case at private hospitals. Caesarean rates here in Rome are around 50% and at private hospitals up to 85%. That's just not right.

IMO this is a human rights issue - especially in the South.

navydove71

Wow! This is very scary... but I guess I'll have to be the "crazy foreigner" and DEMAND that I'm not cut unless me or my baby are in imminent danger. Believe me I will put up quite a stink if they want to cut me unnecessarily. This is about what's best for me and my baby not their wallets!!!!! I've contemplated hiring a midwife to do the delivery here in our home and if there are complications we move to a local hospital. I have almost 5 weeks left and so far I am doing great. The baby is very low and head down so unless something comes up there really shouldn't be any reason to do a c-section (fingers crossed). I should mention that I'm 40 and on my 2nd. My 1st was delivered when I was almost 38 yrs old. My 1st delivery was amazing aside from the preeclampsia, which was managed and under control in the hospital that's why I was able to deliver vaginally with no complications. I guess I am also considered high risk due to my age and previously having preeclampsia. Thank you all for sharing your stories and passing along information. Best of luck to you all in your upcoming births

37100

Navydove. A family member had full-blown eclampsia (her fault for not getting checked out) and had an emergancy c-section the minute the docs laid eyes on her. She spent several days in I.C. and was lucky to survive. The 2nd time round the docs insisted on another c-section. No question. So maybe that is Gaslini's policy too. Hope you can make what ever YOU think is best for you work. A dear friend had an emergancy verticle c-section at Gaslini and had nothing but praise for the hospital even though the baby did not survive. She later went on to have 3 natural births in 6 yrs at another hospital. Although she was understandably, hysterical for the first 9mnths.

duffer

Guess what? I've only gone and got the OH pregnant! Well this is what the home test is telling me. Let's see what the doctor says later.

K in Modena