Season 1, Episode 10. Ashley, from episode 3, Teaching English Abroad, is back on the show, this time with a special guest: her baby boy! Ashley is eight months pregnant when she sits down to tell The Expat Cast all about what it's like to be pregnant as an expat in Germany. We touch on everything, from the cultural differences to the procedural standards. We learn that midwives are totally normal in Germany, and it's required that mothers-to-be carry around their pregnancy medical records at all times in something called a Mutterpass. Host Nicole is in disbelief when she learns about the maternity and parental leave programs in Germany, especially the six weeks before the due date that mothers are required to take off. We also learn that it's fruitless to search for a baby shower card in Germany, where people might envision infants raining down on you in a tub, and we examine how apartment living can force anyone to be a minimalist, even in preparation for big things like starting a family.

 

RESOURCES

 

Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children by Sara Zaske, which Nicole mentions in the episode. https://sarazaske.com/upcoming-book-achtung-baby/

The Shit No One Tells You: A Guide to Surviving Your Baby's First Year by Don Dais, which Ashley mentions in the episode as the one pregnancy book she did read. This link is to the entire Shit No One Tells You series. https://www.dawndais.com/sht

Local.de's guide to parental leave in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20140113/german-parental-leave-our-guide

How To Germany's guide to having a baby in Germany. There are further pages on this site regarding maternity allowance, parental allowance, maternity leave, and job protection. https://www.howtogermany.com/pages/havingababy.html

Berlin for All the Family's guide to the Mutterpass. http://www.berlinforallthefamily.com/pregnant/the-mutterpass-an-english-explanation-translation

Handbook Germany's site on pregnancy. https://handbookgermany.de/en/live/pregnancy.html

The German Way's super detailed post on prenatal care. https://www.german-way.com/for-expats/living-in-germany/health-care-in-germany/having-a-baby-in-germany-prenatal-care/