My Two Beautiful Daughters

My Two Beautiful Daughters-

I remember when I was pregnant with my first daughter. It seemed that every mom I talked with had a personal birthing story to share.  Some stories were very detailed, some were hilarious, and some scared me.  Nevertheless, my husband was my rock in comforting me, easing my worries, and always knew the right thing to say.  When I became pregnant for the second time, I had more confidence in myself and worried less since I knew what to expect.  From personal experience, I am able to share similarities and differences to another part of the world since my first daughter was born in the Netherlands, and my other daughter was born in Germany.  During both prenatal doctor visits, none of the doctors encouraged me to take a daily vitamin containing folic acid.  I didn’t think it was important, and since my doctor didn’t mention anything I thought I would be fine.  Everything worked out, but after reading the Berger text, “the entire 6 weeks of the embryonic stage can be called a critical period for physical structure and form, with the specifics varying somewhat week by week” (Berger, 2009 pg. 104 ).  I feel that folic acid is highly recommended (and should be) within the U.S. and in 1996 a new law required folic acid to be added to foods such as cereals and bread (Berger, 2009 pg. 107).  However, I feel that the European countries do not place as large of an importance in taking a multivitamin (folic acid) as in the United States.  Taking proper precautions during pregnancy will highly impact childhood development as they grow.      

        The actual birthing experiences for both my daughters were great.  Great people, support, and very knowledgeable.  However, the individuals who delivered my daughters were different.  I had a doctor deliver my first child, and a doula or a midwife to deliver my second.  If I were to have another child, I would choose to have a midwife, or doula deliver my child.  The only persons in the room were my husband, midwife, and I.  She tried various techniques such as lying in bed, trying an exercise ball, or sitting in the whirlpool when easing my pain.  My midwife was a great coach, and I felt safe with her.  She also continued to remind me that if I wanted to breastfeed my daughter that I needed to ensure that I ask the nurses to help me.  This is something that I didn’t do with my first child, and I had no clue what I was doing.  There didn’t have a lactation consultant…every nurse gave a bit of their advice which was a bit frustrating.  The after-care was what was also very different for me with each of my daughters.  In Holland, you deliver your child, and go home the same day.  However, they feel that the best place to care for your child or bond with your child is at home.  Therefore, you are assigned a midwife within the area that you live and a midwife comes to your home.  Each pregnancy is different, therefore the midwife may come anywhere from one to four weeks after birth.   

In Germany, they recommend that you stay in the hospital for 3-5 days for normal delivery, and longer depending on the delivery of your child.  During this time, I feel that this allowed me time to bond with my daughter, yet ask the questions I needed to in order to feel confident when caring for my newborn.  I know for me, this was very important in bonding with my child, and raising my self-confidence as a mother. 

In conclusion, during both my pregnancies I had similar experiences in that my doctors did not recommend or discuss taking a folic acid supplement.  My actual deliveries were both very unique and special, however, I feel that during my second stay at the hospital, I was able to build a greater confidence, which led to a happier mother who could relax and actually enjoy the time with my infant. 

Resources:

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood. (5 ed.). Worth Publishers.