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!

Keeping Busy!

So I've just reached my 4 month and 1 week Dutchiversary and it seems like I've barely grazed the surface of the wide range of activities that Amsterdam must have to offer. I've searched through the usual ways I would back home, hoping to find like minded people who want to share activities. For some reason for the first four months my Google searches for 'running partners Amsterdam', 'creative people Amsterdam', etc; were coming up short handed. But everything changed this week.

I found two AMAZING sites this week that have quickly filled up my calendar with exciting upcoming events.

First off, Meet-up. I had tried Meet-up in San Francisco years before with less than ideal results (even though I have a friend there who swears by it), so it didn't immediately come to mind. It was buried deep in my mental database. Anyway! I have joined about 15 Meet-up groups. It's a mixed bunch of Dutch locals and Expats, which I find wonderful. There are groups for cultural activities, fitness, cooking, language; just about everything you could want. VERY HAPPY.

Secondly I found a site called Creative Amsterdam. Truly though, it's so much more than a website...it's what I've been looking for ever since I came here. Luckily years ago I registered with one of the affiliates so I was able to join easily. I'd imagine that you can almost instantaneously join an affiliate and then join Creative Amsterdam, I don't think the sign up process is meaning to be exclusive. Rather they seem very inclusive and I'm excited to have found such an amazing source and access point to Amsterdam's amazing creative minds.

Fun fact: Amsterdam is the 5th largest creative hub in the world.

Good luck!