The Birth Abroad Podcast

Today we hear Mariam's (IG: @⁠andthenwemovedto⁠) Part 2 of her stories of pregnancies and births literally all over the world :D

In today's Part 2, Mariam shares falling pregnant by surprise in Singapore, and then moving to the United Arab Emirates where she gave birth. We discuss a variety of topics such as special considerations for prenatal care, legal discussions about being pregnant in an Arab country, breastfeeding, postpartum and even exercising choice over circumcision despite socio-cultural pressures.

Mariam recently published a book called This Messy Mobile Life which can be found on Amazon here: ⁠www.amazon.com/This-Messy-Mobile…lly/dp/1999304012⁠

She can be found also on the following channels:

IG: ⁠www.instagram.com/andthenwemovedto/?hl=en⁠

Website: ⁠andthenwemovedto.com/⁠

Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/pg/andthenwemove…ef=page_internal⁠

Twitter: ⁠#andthenwemovedto⁠

⁠⁠Intro and outro music credit: "Reverie" by Ikson

We have a world tour of an episode here this week! This is Part 1 of Mariam's (IG: @andthenwemovedto) 2-part story where she takes us on a global adventure through her pregnancies and births.

Mariam - who grew up in Pakistan, Bahrain and the US - met her German-Italian husband while living in the UK. In today's episode, Mariam shares her fertility journey which resulted in a conceiving via IVF in Denmark, an international move, and birth / postpartum in Singapore.

In Part 2, she continues her story which included a naturally conceived 2nd pregnancy in Singapore, an international move, and a delivery and postpartum in the United Arab Emirates!

It's an adventure of a story and I invite you all to come join us and take a listen to all the interesting comparisons and contrasts Mariam was able to convey between Scandinavian, Asian and Arab birth cultures and models of care!

Mariam recently published a book called This Messy Mobile Life which can be found on Amazon here: www.amazon.com/This-Messy-Mobile…lly/dp/1999304012

She can be found also on the following channels:
IG: www.instagram.com/andthenwemovedto/?hl=en
Website: andthenwemovedto.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/andthenwemove…ef=page_internal
Twitter: #andthenwemovedto

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Miscarriage, IVF

Welcome back to another episode on the Podcast!

This week we have one heck of an episode ;D Erin comes on the show and tells us of her 3 extremely different births in Australia... one that might be considered somewhat traumatic with various interventions during delivery, one that came as a total surprise at home, and another that... well... you'll just have to listen to get the story :D

Erin gives us fabulous insight also into the Australian model of care including pros and cons of public versus private insurance and hospitals as well as great advice on tandem breastfeeding.

Erin can be reached by Instagram @twoplustwinpirates.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Twin birth, forceps delivery, vacuum-assisted delivery, accidental home birth, transient tachypnea of the newborn, postpartum bleeding, surprise pregnancy

In this episode we kick off a new series to be run parallel to the the "expats abroad" series, where we explore pregnancy and birth in all countries of the world from the expert perspective of a native in their own home country.

Today we talk to Sofi - a Bulgarian - moved to the UK when she was 19 where she met her husband and was settled in. Their first pregnancy was a small surprise but still very much full of excitement! Unfortunately, it ended in an early loss.. but it made it very clear to Sofi and her husband that they were ready and wanted to start trying to expand their family.

You can find Sofi on Instagram at @the.sofi.amor or on Facebook as Sofi Ben Amor - Skinner.

Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Sofi!

Simone followed her heart and desire to travel several years ago and moved to Spain to be an au pair and see where the adventure would take her. The family she worked introduced her to some locals so that she could begin developing her friends network... which later led to her meeting her future husband!

Although experiencing an early miscarriage in the beginning of her TTC journey, Simone and her husband conceived their son shortly after. Although she had hoped for an unmedicated water birth, circumstances involving her water breaking without contractions following led her to require an induction which she found challenging to cope through. But after contracting a fever and receiving a minor episiotomy, her baby boy made his grand entrance into the world.

You can find Simone on Instagram at @mommyinspain, on YouTube at Mommy in Spain, on Facebook at the group The Heart-Centered Moms Group, and at http://www.simoneclement.com.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Immigration story, early miscarriage, induction, episiotomy

Sarah and Alan got married in 2016, and from there it kicked off a whirlwind of travel with the US Military that found them stationed in Germany where they decided to grow their family. As Sarah explains, she spent the first 2 trimesters of her pregnancy seriously on the move - both literally and figuratively. She was running 50 miles a week and traveled to 30 different countries just in her first 2 trimesters! She also relocated with her husband to the country of Georgia in her 3rd trimester, and shares how she established herself there to have the confident and well-supported birth that she envisioned.

Sarah's story is a smart and well-thought out one of making educated and informed choices coupled with a bit of luck :) She kept herself very informed and well-connected with a local mommy tribe so that she could advocate for herself, and as a result, she had a very positive experience. Even still though, Sarah points out various scenarios where she was so thankful to have had a midwife-doula on her side that could serve as a translator during her labor and delivery, and other moments immediately postpartum where she didn't have that support and felt lost in the confusion of language barriers.

This is a great episode with a powerful and positive story and a lot of great takeaway advice for other mommies birthing abroad!

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Military insurance, positive birth, unmedicated birth, waterbirth, midwife-supported birth, informed consent, hypnobirthing.

After living in New York and London for several years with her English husband, Eileen and Andy were ready to start a family. They had a beautiful pregnancy with their son in the UK but a challenging delivery, with baby being admitted to the NICU and facing challenges with breastfeeding [Episode 13].

But nothing quite prepared them for the long fertility storm they would face in their quest to have one more baby to complete their family. After suffering 7 miscarriages divided between two countries, Eileen and Andy pursued IVF in Switzerland. They had only one opportunity - only one round of IVF, that resulted in only one embryo that survived the thaw.... [Episode 14]

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Immigration story, long labor, heart decels, infant dehydration and NICU stay, chronic miscarriage, unexplained infertility, IVF.

⁠Intro and outro music credit: "Reverie" by Ikson⁠

After living in New York and London for several years with her English husband, Eileen and Andy were ready to start a family. They had a beautiful pregnancy with their son in the UK but a challenging delivery, with baby being admitted to the NICU and facing challenges with breastfeeding [Episode 13].

But nothing quite prepared them for the long fertility storm they would face in their quest to have one more baby to complete their family. After suffering 7 miscarriages divided between two countries, Eileen and Andy pursued IVF in Switzerland. They had only one opportunity - only one round of IVF, that resulted in only one embryo that survived the thaw.... [Episode 14]

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Immigration story, long labor, heart decels, infant dehydration and NICU stay, chronic miscarriage, unexplained infertility, IVF.

Emily met her Swedish husband in The United States while they were both studying abroad for a year. After returning to their respective countries and finishing their degrees, they got married and settled down in The Netherlands where each of their 3 children were born.

In her previous two births, Emily reached a point where asking for an epidural was definitely crossing her mind. And with her second birth, she found herself so present and analytically aware of how her labor was progressing that it made the process more difficult to bear than it probably should have. So with her third birth, by using hypnobirthing and being deliberate about certain aspects, such as not being told how far she was dilated during checks, she found that it allowed her to find a deeper, primal, more confident and relaxed space to move through labor in.

After immigrating with her family to her husband's home country of Sweden shortly after her third birth, Emily pursued becoming a doula where she now practices in Stockholm. If you would like to connect with her, you can reach her on Instagram @yourdoulaemilystockholm, on twitter @yourdoulaemily, or online at http://www.yourdoula.se. Thank you for your candidness and willingness to share your shories with us, Emily!

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Immigration story, positive births, unmedicated births, waterbirth, postpartum hemorrhage, postpartum depression/baby blues, hypnobirthing

Sarah was the adventurous type that always sort of knew deep down that she wanted to see what the world had to offer; though not impulsive, when she set her mind to something, she would follow through with it, no matter how ambitious it might be. So it didn't come as much of a shock to her parents when she said that she was moving to Costa Rica... without ever even having stepped foot in the country before! Sarah's story is one that takes us on an journey through the true meaning of following one's heart, listening to one's gut, and letting present life itself be the best healer of yester-year's wounds. Beyond just a birth story, it is one which examines the outcome of facing challenges head on, checking in with the soul for proper guidance, and trusting that knowledge that all things work out in the end.

A little while into her stay, a new relationship resulted in a surprise pregnancy that Sarah felt in her heart was an adventure she was willing to take on. The experience was very casual, very relaxed, and quite self-healing. Because one aspect of Sarah's story that really came full-circle was that she, herself, was the daughter to a younger, unwed woman in Russia. Sarah was able to experience her own story in a different dimension by going through many of the same things with her own pregnancy, but was able to close lingering wounds by breaking the cycle and chosing whole-heartedly to embrace the new challenge of motherhood with an "Ok, let's do this!" attitude.

Sarah had an active, healthy pregnancy which culminated with her waters breaking in a "flood gates opened" fashion. Upon arrival to the hospital, it was noted that she had hardly any amniotic fluid at all, and her doctors chose the route of cesarean delivery to ensure a safe delivery of baby. It was an unexpected yet positive experience for Sarah, and she went on to make many empowering decisions for herself, her daughter, and their future to ensure they stayed on a path that felt right and true to heart heart and gut.

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Immigration story, unplanned pregnancy, healthy pregnancy, oligohydramnios, cesarean birth, single motherhood, adoption story, a journey to self-healing.