Being pregnant in Norway
I am here! Just a little busy these days with the adorable, chubby person I fell in love with from the time she was the size of a rice grain. Some days can be overwhelming and frustrating. The vast majority of days are exciting and I really look forward to waking up to my daughter smiling at me when I'm too tired to hold my eyes open. I learn a lot from Pia, she teaches me something new every day. Many days I am taught patience. I completely enjoy being a mom to my wonderful little girl.
I guess I should have written this a few months ago, but oh well, better late than never! To be perfectly honest I've been working on this post for about a month, but it's been stop and go. I think I'll make this a 3 part post. One on pregnancy, one on labor and one about how huge breastfeeding is here in Norway.
With Pia being my first child, the only experience I have with being pregnant is from Norway. I really have no complaints about all the prenatal and post-postpartum care I received during that time. This isn't a bias towards Norwegian vs. American healthcare, while there are differences I think the quality of care is basically the same. This is based on the care I received. My pregnancy wasn't hard, but it wasn't by any means a walk in the park. I tried and tried not to complain. Even though there's plenty to complain about during pregnancy, it just feels wrong to complain about growing a child. Growing a baby is hard work!
During the course of my pregnancy many small weird little problems popped up. I feel like a poster child for prenatal Norwegian healthcare. To be as clear as possible with my experience of the healthcare I've received during my pregnancy I can take you through the 9 months to properly explain the prenatal care I received in Norway. I should also add, no two women are the same, no two pregnancies are the same, no two babies are the same. My experience with pregnancy and birth isn't going to be like the next woman's just as her's isn't going to be like another woman's.
Month 1: I had a gynecologist appointment for something completely unrelated to pregnancy. During the ultrasound the doctor discovered a baby. :-) Pia was a nice surprise, but considering I had already been feeling sick, "off", and "different" (though at the time I just thought it was jet lag), it didn't surprise me too much to find out I was 4 weeks pregnant. I was especially impressed that during the time a woman is pregnant her already cheap universal healthcare is free. That is, of course, unless she were to go to a private practice. Since this was a specialist I went to, the cost would have been around 400 NOK, but only cost 100 - or roughly $17 USD. I was then given a prescription for folic acid, blood tests to ensure my HCG levels were normal, which they were. In fact they were a bit higher than normal, but still within the normal range. I was then told to come back for a follow-up at 6 weeks for another ultrasound and to *gulp* make sure there was a heartbeat as the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy is quite high. Let's just say the next 2 weeks were nerve-wracking.
Month 2: Okay, the heartbeat was clearly visible and quite high. If I remember correctly it was in the 140s.
I began my monthly check ups with my regular doctor. Forget seeing an obstetrician in Norway. You see your regular doctor and/or a midwife. I was given a "Helsekort for gravide" (health card for pregnant) which I was going to post, but realized there's some very personal info on there like mine and my husband's person numbers. Just a basic check up was given at my 11 week appointment and an ultrasound and blood test, which also included testing for toxoplasmosis. My doctor took her time with me to discuss anything and everything with me. She gave me a couple of books to read and she took the time to answer the questions I had written down. My doctor loves ultrasounds, so she offered one, but only if I wanted it and of course I said yes. We went into a small room outside her office to check on the baby who was doing just fine. :-) I was also given some medication to combat the morning sickness, which was all day sickness really, but the medication didn't help much.
Month 3: At 14 weeks I had another appointment. My general physician wanted to do another ultrasound and of course I wanted to see the sweet baby. I was told by a friend who shares my doctor to bring the hubs with me for this check up because she will say the sex of the baby at the first chance unless I didn't want to know. The ultrasound was good and she told us she was 60% certain we were having a girl. Those aren't too great of odds considering a guess is 50% sure. At 16 weeks my nausea and morning sickness was gone.
Month 4: I think it was somewhere around 18 weeks we went to the gynecologist for a more in depth ultrasound. We got to see the baby's organs and how they were functioning, their size, her size and we got to know the sex of the baby - a girl.
Month 5: At this month I started having hip pain. It hurt to lie still, it hurt to walk, it especially hurt to walk up and down stairs and hills. At my next doctor appointment I was told it was "bekkenløsning" or pelvic girdle pain and was sent to a chiropractor as well as a physiotherapist who specializes in prenatal and postnatal care. She also encouraged me to go to her water aerobics classes, which I did. This was another thing free of charge. The chiropractor appointments however, were not.
Month 6: At month 6 I had gained 42 lbs or about 18 kilos. Sure, I was eating everything in sight, but I was beginning to get curious about gestational diabetes. While in America, I checked my blood sugar level when I could and every time I checked, it was a high reading. Upon returning to Norway, I visited with my midwife and told her my concern. My urine test only showed very little sugar, but she sent me to the hospital for glucose testing first thing the next morning. I wasn't happy because I had to fast and not drink anything the night before. Being pregnant and not able to eat for 8-9 hours was enough to give me those terrible pregnant mood swings I never had unless lack of food was involved. I drank the glucose drink, which was bad, but not that bad and waited 3 hours. All 3 hours of waiting for the glucose to take effect, I felt nauseated, shaky and sick. I finished my test, then received a call later that day confirming gestational diabetes. I was then referred to my regular doctor, who then referred me to an endocrinologist.
Month 7: I had my first few appointments with my endocrinologist, was told all about the diabetic diet (I wanted to cry at first, but really it wasn't as bad as I first thought), I was given insulin (which I did have to purchase at the pharmacy - about 400 NOK for many insulin pens) and had weekly appointments with the endocrinologist. When I was told about the insulin, I left his hospital office crying. I was so scared and thought I was sick. I was reading horror stories about huge gestational diabetic babies and the effects it can have on both mother and child. I was scared, but was eventually eased with every doctor, hospital, endocrinologist appointment. I was given weekly ultrasounds to monitor Pia's growth and to ensure she wasn't growing too large.
Somewhere around week 32, in the mix of all of this, we had an ultrasound which was worrisome. The midwife performing the ultrasound found "something" in Pia's pelvic region. She sent a doctor in and he was concerned it was some sort of dilation in her urinary tract, but he sent us for a more in depth ultrasound to Rikshospitalet in Oslo, or translated to English, the national hospital. Upon having a thorough ultrasound - they were even counting tiny fingers and toes, the doctor at Rikshospitalet presumed it was an ovarian cyst in Pia and assured us it is somewhat common in baby girls as they share their mother's hormones. The view in the ultrasound wasn't completely clear enough, so we were rescheduled the following month.
Month 8: Week 35 we discovered Pia was still in breech position and this concerned my midwife because considering my height, she didn't think it was likely Pia would turn around on her own and I was unwilling to let anyone externally manually turn my baby around. No thank you! So instead, I was lectured on C-sections as this is the best and safest route to go with a breeched baby. I went home and emailed friends who I knew had C-sections asking them for all the details. I watched videos on C-sections. I prepared myself for it. I didn't need for my midwife to tell me Pia was breech positioned. It felt like something the size of a grapefruit was in my diaphragm - her head. Trust me, the heartburn was a nightmare during this time!
I believe my biggest fear of having a C-section wasn't being cut open, though that scared me as well. It wasn't the recovery, but that did scare me before I found out all about it. It was the fear of losing my moment with the sweet baby I'd been carrying for 9 months. When my midwife explained how they would do the C-section, she told me they would show Pia to me, but hand her to to my husband, Arild, and they'd go into another room as the operating room was kept cold. I can understand that, but I feared I'd miss out on the skin-to-skin contact, every motherly instinct I have craved and I feared I'd miss out on immediately breastfeeding my little girl. I feared Arild would get those first moments with her and of course I'd be jealous, but there'd be no other person in this world I'd want to have those first moments with her if I couldn't.
Week 37 I went back to Rikshospitalet where my husband and I were comforted in knowing that the "growth" or cyst inside Pia was shrinking. What a relief! Around this week, I also woke up one morning and called Arild when he was at work to tell him I couldn't find Pia anymore. He laughed at me! I was completely serious. I didn't know where she went to. I couldn't feel the grapefruit anymore. My regular weekly hospital appointment later that day confirmed that she did turn. My fears of having a C-section were over.
During month 8, I completely finished my Birth Plan. I highly recommend any woman, especially first time mothers, to bring a written birth plan with them to the labor and delivery department. Looking in hindsight, I know nothing really went planned with labor and a lot of this is completely out of a woman's control, but all my wishes and requests were respected concerning Pia's postpartum treatment.
Month 9: All my doctor appointments finally slowed down and my pregnancy seemed somewhat normal for a nice change. I could finally relax at the end of my pregnancy. My doctor at our regular hospital visits decided it was best to induce me due to having gestational diabetes. Pia wasn't a big baby. Her waist size was a tad large, but her weight was completely normal and healthy.
My last appointment with the endocrinologist was 3 days before my induction date where I was told I could stop my insulin the night before my induction. I was also lectured on staying healthy, not letting myself get overweight, so on and so forth as I am pre-dispositioned for a high chance of getting diabetes later in life. I was also told to come back to the endocrinologist fairly early into my next pregnancy as the chances of having gestational diabetes in a subsequent pregnancy are about 80%.
Overall, I have no complaints with the Norwegian health care system through out my pregnancy. I did make the mistake of asking questions to others working with me who weren't my primary doctor or midwife and that caused me to receive conflicting answers to my questions, but I just decided to keep asking and of course it's best to ask questions to a person you trust and who is experienced enough to properly answer your questions. The quality of healthcare was great in my opinion. I felt like I was cared for and listened to as a patient and my baby was treated as a tiny, but very real person. I, of course loved that I had no outstanding medical costs. All that was really out of pocket was the chiropractor (which my father in law graciously paid for the first visit for me) and my insulin, needles and glucose strips. One difference I have noticed at least in my prenatal care opposed to how things are done in the United States, is I was never checked towards the end of my pregnancy to see how dilated I was. I admired how with my experience in the health system, professionals seem to be more occupied with risk factoring. Of course this may leave a little less room for personal choice. The only thing I wished I had done differently is maybe control my eating and tried to manage my uncontrollable appetite from the beginning of the pregnancy.
At 40 weeks and one day pregnant, I was induced. Pia was born the next day. :-) I will continue in another blog about the labor. Again, I have no real complaints about that either. :-)
 |
| My sweet baby. |
 |
| She's a very cheeky little girl. |
I guess I should have written this a few months ago, but oh well, better late than never! To be perfectly honest I've been working on this post for about a month, but it's been stop and go. I think I'll make this a 3 part post. One on pregnancy, one on labor and one about how huge breastfeeding is here in Norway.
With Pia being my first child, the only experience I have with being pregnant is from Norway. I really have no complaints about all the prenatal and post-postpartum care I received during that time. This isn't a bias towards Norwegian vs. American healthcare, while there are differences I think the quality of care is basically the same. This is based on the care I received. My pregnancy wasn't hard, but it wasn't by any means a walk in the park. I tried and tried not to complain. Even though there's plenty to complain about during pregnancy, it just feels wrong to complain about growing a child. Growing a baby is hard work!
During the course of my pregnancy many small weird little problems popped up. I feel like a poster child for prenatal Norwegian healthcare. To be as clear as possible with my experience of the healthcare I've received during my pregnancy I can take you through the 9 months to properly explain the prenatal care I received in Norway. I should also add, no two women are the same, no two pregnancies are the same, no two babies are the same. My experience with pregnancy and birth isn't going to be like the next woman's just as her's isn't going to be like another woman's.
Month 1: I had a gynecologist appointment for something completely unrelated to pregnancy. During the ultrasound the doctor discovered a baby. :-) Pia was a nice surprise, but considering I had already been feeling sick, "off", and "different" (though at the time I just thought it was jet lag), it didn't surprise me too much to find out I was 4 weeks pregnant. I was especially impressed that during the time a woman is pregnant her already cheap universal healthcare is free. That is, of course, unless she were to go to a private practice. Since this was a specialist I went to, the cost would have been around 400 NOK, but only cost 100 - or roughly $17 USD. I was then given a prescription for folic acid, blood tests to ensure my HCG levels were normal, which they were. In fact they were a bit higher than normal, but still within the normal range. I was then told to come back for a follow-up at 6 weeks for another ultrasound and to *gulp* make sure there was a heartbeat as the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy is quite high. Let's just say the next 2 weeks were nerve-wracking.
Month 2: Okay, the heartbeat was clearly visible and quite high. If I remember correctly it was in the 140s.
I began my monthly check ups with my regular doctor. Forget seeing an obstetrician in Norway. You see your regular doctor and/or a midwife. I was given a "Helsekort for gravide" (health card for pregnant) which I was going to post, but realized there's some very personal info on there like mine and my husband's person numbers. Just a basic check up was given at my 11 week appointment and an ultrasound and blood test, which also included testing for toxoplasmosis. My doctor took her time with me to discuss anything and everything with me. She gave me a couple of books to read and she took the time to answer the questions I had written down. My doctor loves ultrasounds, so she offered one, but only if I wanted it and of course I said yes. We went into a small room outside her office to check on the baby who was doing just fine. :-) I was also given some medication to combat the morning sickness, which was all day sickness really, but the medication didn't help much.
Month 3: At 14 weeks I had another appointment. My general physician wanted to do another ultrasound and of course I wanted to see the sweet baby. I was told by a friend who shares my doctor to bring the hubs with me for this check up because she will say the sex of the baby at the first chance unless I didn't want to know. The ultrasound was good and she told us she was 60% certain we were having a girl. Those aren't too great of odds considering a guess is 50% sure. At 16 weeks my nausea and morning sickness was gone.
 |
| Early in the 1st trimester - Around month 1-2. |
 |
| "A person is a person no matter how small." - Dr. Seuss |
Month 5: At this month I started having hip pain. It hurt to lie still, it hurt to walk, it especially hurt to walk up and down stairs and hills. At my next doctor appointment I was told it was "bekkenløsning" or pelvic girdle pain and was sent to a chiropractor as well as a physiotherapist who specializes in prenatal and postnatal care. She also encouraged me to go to her water aerobics classes, which I did. This was another thing free of charge. The chiropractor appointments however, were not.
Month 6: At month 6 I had gained 42 lbs or about 18 kilos. Sure, I was eating everything in sight, but I was beginning to get curious about gestational diabetes. While in America, I checked my blood sugar level when I could and every time I checked, it was a high reading. Upon returning to Norway, I visited with my midwife and told her my concern. My urine test only showed very little sugar, but she sent me to the hospital for glucose testing first thing the next morning. I wasn't happy because I had to fast and not drink anything the night before. Being pregnant and not able to eat for 8-9 hours was enough to give me those terrible pregnant mood swings I never had unless lack of food was involved. I drank the glucose drink, which was bad, but not that bad and waited 3 hours. All 3 hours of waiting for the glucose to take effect, I felt nauseated, shaky and sick. I finished my test, then received a call later that day confirming gestational diabetes. I was then referred to my regular doctor, who then referred me to an endocrinologist.
 |
| Wearing both pink and blue the day we found out the sex of our baby. Of course the most important thing was knowing she was doing good and well. :-) |
Month 7: I had my first few appointments with my endocrinologist, was told all about the diabetic diet (I wanted to cry at first, but really it wasn't as bad as I first thought), I was given insulin (which I did have to purchase at the pharmacy - about 400 NOK for many insulin pens) and had weekly appointments with the endocrinologist. When I was told about the insulin, I left his hospital office crying. I was so scared and thought I was sick. I was reading horror stories about huge gestational diabetic babies and the effects it can have on both mother and child. I was scared, but was eventually eased with every doctor, hospital, endocrinologist appointment. I was given weekly ultrasounds to monitor Pia's growth and to ensure she wasn't growing too large.
Somewhere around week 32, in the mix of all of this, we had an ultrasound which was worrisome. The midwife performing the ultrasound found "something" in Pia's pelvic region. She sent a doctor in and he was concerned it was some sort of dilation in her urinary tract, but he sent us for a more in depth ultrasound to Rikshospitalet in Oslo, or translated to English, the national hospital. Upon having a thorough ultrasound - they were even counting tiny fingers and toes, the doctor at Rikshospitalet presumed it was an ovarian cyst in Pia and assured us it is somewhat common in baby girls as they share their mother's hormones. The view in the ultrasound wasn't completely clear enough, so we were rescheduled the following month.
Month 8: Week 35 we discovered Pia was still in breech position and this concerned my midwife because considering my height, she didn't think it was likely Pia would turn around on her own and I was unwilling to let anyone externally manually turn my baby around. No thank you! So instead, I was lectured on C-sections as this is the best and safest route to go with a breeched baby. I went home and emailed friends who I knew had C-sections asking them for all the details. I watched videos on C-sections. I prepared myself for it. I didn't need for my midwife to tell me Pia was breech positioned. It felt like something the size of a grapefruit was in my diaphragm - her head. Trust me, the heartburn was a nightmare during this time!
I believe my biggest fear of having a C-section wasn't being cut open, though that scared me as well. It wasn't the recovery, but that did scare me before I found out all about it. It was the fear of losing my moment with the sweet baby I'd been carrying for 9 months. When my midwife explained how they would do the C-section, she told me they would show Pia to me, but hand her to to my husband, Arild, and they'd go into another room as the operating room was kept cold. I can understand that, but I feared I'd miss out on the skin-to-skin contact, every motherly instinct I have craved and I feared I'd miss out on immediately breastfeeding my little girl. I feared Arild would get those first moments with her and of course I'd be jealous, but there'd be no other person in this world I'd want to have those first moments with her if I couldn't.
Week 37 I went back to Rikshospitalet where my husband and I were comforted in knowing that the "growth" or cyst inside Pia was shrinking. What a relief! Around this week, I also woke up one morning and called Arild when he was at work to tell him I couldn't find Pia anymore. He laughed at me! I was completely serious. I didn't know where she went to. I couldn't feel the grapefruit anymore. My regular weekly hospital appointment later that day confirmed that she did turn. My fears of having a C-section were over.
During month 8, I completely finished my Birth Plan. I highly recommend any woman, especially first time mothers, to bring a written birth plan with them to the labor and delivery department. Looking in hindsight, I know nothing really went planned with labor and a lot of this is completely out of a woman's control, but all my wishes and requests were respected concerning Pia's postpartum treatment.
Month 9: All my doctor appointments finally slowed down and my pregnancy seemed somewhat normal for a nice change. I could finally relax at the end of my pregnancy. My doctor at our regular hospital visits decided it was best to induce me due to having gestational diabetes. Pia wasn't a big baby. Her waist size was a tad large, but her weight was completely normal and healthy.
 |
| 39 weeks. I almost needed a wheelbarrow to cart around my big belly. :-) |
My last appointment with the endocrinologist was 3 days before my induction date where I was told I could stop my insulin the night before my induction. I was also lectured on staying healthy, not letting myself get overweight, so on and so forth as I am pre-dispositioned for a high chance of getting diabetes later in life. I was also told to come back to the endocrinologist fairly early into my next pregnancy as the chances of having gestational diabetes in a subsequent pregnancy are about 80%.
Overall, I have no complaints with the Norwegian health care system through out my pregnancy. I did make the mistake of asking questions to others working with me who weren't my primary doctor or midwife and that caused me to receive conflicting answers to my questions, but I just decided to keep asking and of course it's best to ask questions to a person you trust and who is experienced enough to properly answer your questions. The quality of healthcare was great in my opinion. I felt like I was cared for and listened to as a patient and my baby was treated as a tiny, but very real person. I, of course loved that I had no outstanding medical costs. All that was really out of pocket was the chiropractor (which my father in law graciously paid for the first visit for me) and my insulin, needles and glucose strips. One difference I have noticed at least in my prenatal care opposed to how things are done in the United States, is I was never checked towards the end of my pregnancy to see how dilated I was. I admired how with my experience in the health system, professionals seem to be more occupied with risk factoring. Of course this may leave a little less room for personal choice. The only thing I wished I had done differently is maybe control my eating and tried to manage my uncontrollable appetite from the beginning of the pregnancy.
At 40 weeks and one day pregnant, I was induced. Pia was born the next day. :-) I will continue in another blog about the labor. Again, I have no real complaints about that either. :-)
Comments
I just wanted to say about diabetes that I think a lowcarb diet might help alot for it, and heartburn, and plenty other things. A couple links:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSeSTq-N4U4
www.dietdoctor.com
And thanks for updating your blog, it's been interesting reading, and a happy new year to you!
Thanks again!
My experience is that eating a little carbs will tempt you to eat more, and makes it more difficult to stay away from it.
You'll notice that you might have a carb-addiction, but the more you stay away from it the more you can handle it. And don't be afraid of saturated fat, it is good for the body and the skin, and prevents heartburn because of continual intake of fat will not clog the gallbladder. Lack of fat causes a massive amount of gall to come into the stomach if there is just a bit of fat intake, causing heartburn. I don't know in relation to pregnancy though.
Also doctors don't agree on this, so follow your body, and what works for you. But I think you can get rid of your diabetes if you stay off carbs completely.
Anyhow, that's for you to decide :)
Best wishes for you and your little family in the new year, and I hope to see more posts on your blog, it's interesting to see countries from a different perspective. And thank you for your answer :)
I don't know if you would like to read my very small, new blog, but here is the link.
http://norwaywithlove.blogspot.sg/
Love,
Rita
Kind regards, Lucy
Rita: Congratulations on moving to Norway! I will surely follow your blog. Sorry to hear you still have issues related to bekkenløsning. :-(
Lucy: Hi there! Yes about the epidurals... this is exactly why I mentioned asking questions to only people you trust and carrying a birth plan. I made the mistake of asking many people questions and getting varying answers. Some women had me so scared I would not get an epidural if I needed one. My midwife was helpful with me, but I was also very adamant about expressing if I ask for one, I better get one. I have very mixed feelings about this issue and am still a bit confused. I made sure to be very clear in my birth plan how I felt about an epidural and I was put on a list for the anesthesiologist to visit when I decided I needed one. That is my experience, but yes, I was very scared I'd have to go through labor without an epidural, which is fine if that's what a woman wants, but I was definitely keeping that option open knowing I was getting Pitocin.
Hilarie
Jacqueline Hodges @ Back and Neck Center of Brick
Endelig har du bestemt å slanke og å legge på litt muskler? Bra. Du ser etter det beste treningssenteret hvor du kan trene litt? God tenkning. Har du kanskje også tenkt å skaffe deg en Personlig Trener? www.formex.no tilbyr dette, ikke sant? Men du mener du at det bare er Hollywood-kjendiser som trener sånt.
Du er ivrig til å dra til det første treningssenteret. Der løfter du vekt, løper på tredemøllen, sykler og gjør så mange pushups og situps som du kan. Men dagen etterpå kommer problemene. Det verker i hele kroppen og du må utsette den neste turen til treningssenteret. Det kan også hende at du aldri drar dit igjen – du mener at du ikke er egnet til den type mosjon.
Dette er bare et drastisk eksempel på feil du kan ta i forhold til trening, form og din egen kropp. Det er ikke bare at du sannsynligvis slutter, men også at sånne drastiske anstrengelser kan være svært skadelige for din helse. Derfor anbefales det at du søker om hjelp og veiledning hos de profesjonelle. Finn en Personlig Trener. Heldigvis finnes det et treningssenter i Stavanger av akkurat den type, som kanskje er det beste i hele Norge, hvor du kan trene med hjelp av kvalifiserte og erfarne veiledere.
Personlig trener Stavanger