Dutch Programs for Pregnant Women

Everywhere requires adjustment from the place before. Even though I find Amsterdam to be a pretty close ideological match to San Francisco there have obviously been several areas where I've gone from confusion, to learning, adjusting, and finally understanding; of course the Dutch method of dealing with Pregnancy is no exception.

First off, there is a huge push here for home births. Everyone is assigned a midwife, and I've heard of people having to switch midwifes simply because they were being overtly pressured away from their choice of hospital birth. As with many arguments, there is scientific evidence on both sides; but in this case, most people recognize the mothers comfort should override others ideals. Second off you have the government required home inspection and post care nurse. This sounds much more fascist than it is, it's actually quite wonderful and shows the level of importance put on the safety of the child. Some people think that this could be invasive, the government should be less involved, smaller, etc; but I think there is also evidence that people just can't always be trusted, whether it be due to ignorance or negligence having a nurse come to your house and inspect your preparedness isn't such a bad thing. After the birth another nurse (Kraamzorg) will be at the house for 8 days to help with light cleaning, cooking, teaching you how to bath and breastfeed, etc. Historically these tasks were cared to by family, but times have changed and many find their families further and further away.

The one thing that has made me feel the most at home (and at ease) was Pregnancy Yoga with Lillith Turk at the the Active Health Center. I'm a bit biased because I LOVE YOGA. The class I've been taking is in English and just lovely. It is the one thing that feels like home. The studio could be in California, Vermont, Venezuela, or Amsterdam. In the studio there is no discussion of which birth method is best, no pressure to adapt to a new system, no need to explain why you have chosen a different system; just neutral discussions, stretching, and relaxation.

I highly recommend this class/series to any English speaking expectant Mother in Amsterdam. Our class was full of women from all nationalities and Lillith welcomes new students to come for a free trial class :)

Enjoy!

Amsterdam Charm

I took this recently with Hipstamatic on my iPhone. Fun! Charming!!

accidental expat

hi.

i really do love my home country, america. well, parts of it; but this is not a place for politics. i'm starting this blog because i've suddenly found myself in the role of expat and i'm finding the immersion process more challenging than i originally imagined.

for a former san franciscan, holland is not the most foreign place in the world; but below the surface there are enough differences that i think a guide is very helpful. i've read several (out of date) blogs from other women who went through this process, so i'm just trying to share some up to date information :)

i hope it helps and i'd love to hear about others experiences, too. i'd imagine a few other of my friends (also recent expat females from other parts of the world) will be contributing, too. we want to share as much helpful information as possible.

i hope that other expats who find this blog, will also find holland to be absolutely wonderful and worth all of the 'transition time' woes.