What You Need in Hospital When Having a Baby
Having a baby in Italian republic tin can be quite different than having a infant, especially if it's your first, in the country where you grew upwardly. Afterward hearing so many stories from friends and family unit in the States, I was certain I knew everything there was to know about the hospital delivery for my first pregnancy. I was incorrect. When you're in Italy, you lot have to get with the catamenia because you never know what to look.
Even if yous read nigh giving nascency in Italy from Moms in Rome, Milan, Florence or Vicenza, it doesn't matter. Each province/region in Italy is different with its own set of rules and ways of doing things. That is pretty much the instance with everything, whether it's having a babe, trying to get residency, registering a foreign automobile, whatever. So here is my experience with having a babe in Italian republic, specifically in the region of Emilia Romagna and specifically in the province of Ravenna.
The first deviation was my favorite.
Weight Gain During Pregnancy in Italy
Every OBGYN and every doc related to your pregnancy in Italy will tell you lot that you shouldn't gain more than than 9 kilos (roughly twenty lbs) during your entire pregnancy. I can't tell you lot how wonderful that is to hear, especially in the latter months of your gravidanza when you lot've already crossed the 30 lbs mark. So much fun. All my friends in the States, no thing how thin or heavy pre pregnancy gained well over 35 lbs. I gained 37, maybe more than. Permit'southward say I stopped looking when at that place were two weeks left to go. I mean, I wasn't aiming to gain as much weight as I could only information technology was difficult to stay under 20 lbs is all I'1000 saying. Thankfully half my weight gain flew off during delivery.
I concord gone are the days when it'south okay to tell pregnant women to stuff their faces with any they want… but not all women are built the aforementioned. At 5'9 and a size 8 pre pregnancy, I wasn't the size of a standard Italian woman.
People volition touch your belly.
Italians love babies and they love to look at pregnant women. People yous don't know i.e. strangers will say "Auguri" or best wishes to you in the street, at restaurants, in public toilets. That's not then bad. Information technology'south when the hands beginning reaching for your abdomen that it becomes a chip weird. I started coughing profusely whenever I felt my personal space was nearly to exist invaded. No thanks.
Costs of Having A Infant in Italy.
Everything is Free. If yous are resident, yous can have a doctor part of the national healthcare system, follow your entire pregnancy and give birth at a public infirmary all for free. I believe you wouldn't have to pay anything even if you are not resident and must give birth while in Italy. I had a individual OBGYN (mainly because none of the public docs spoke English language and it was taking me a while to become significant due to Hashimoto's illness) for which I paid monthly visits to. Simply I gave birth in a public infirmary for which I paid zero.
I besides opted for more in depth pre natal screening tests (the Bi-test here in Italia between the 11th and 13th calendar week of gestation) which toll us about 800 euros. This was a level above the basic screening tests offered at no cost and a level beneath the amniocentesis test, which I did not practice. An IUI (intrauterine insemination) in this region volition cost you almost 1,100 euros per endeavour and IVF (in vitro fertilization) almost five,000 euros per round. In that location is a subsidized clinic in Florence that charges approximately 500 euros per IVF round if you are resident in Italy and under the age of forty.
The delivery may be gratis BUT Baby items are actually expensive in Italian republic…
…compared to the U.South. I am decumbent to shopping locally for items wherever I am, whether its groceries, dress, furniture, etc only baby items in Italian republic come at a hefty premium, really hefty. Information technology was something I couldn't justify spending on. We're talking 50% to double the price, whether it was at PreNatal, Toys or smaller infant stores. And the premium was on everything from apparel, to bottles, to strollers, etc. So… I got everything from Amazon.information technology. I had to search a lot to find well priced, comparable items from reputable sellers but I did information technology.
My baby registry was also created through Amazon.it. Don't brand your relatives and friends buy from a registry set up on Amazon.com and send it to Italy. The aircraft costs and duties for customs are insane. A few visits to Google Translate and the familiar buttons and interface of Amazon make information technology easy for anyone to utilize the Italian Amazon.
Want to set a infant registry on Amazon.it ? Here'south how.
P.S. if y'all're however having trouble, just open Amazon.it in Google Chrome and it will translate the pages for yous
BUT the Italian Government also gives you money for having a baby aka the Baby Bonus
So Italian republic has one of the lowest nativity rates in Europe. I'm sure expenses have a lot to do with information technology. Maybe if the baby items in the stores weren't so ridiculously priced, people would be having more than babies! With a national average later taxation bacon of around 1,300 Euros per month, who can blame Italians for not reproducing. Enter the Baby Bonus. If you had a infant later on 2017, the Italian Government gives any Italian resident regardless of nationality and income, even me, 800 Euros (amount may have increased in 2019) per child. There are fifty-fifty further incentives, like a monthly stipend, if your salary or lack thereof qualifies you. Furthermore, in 2019, discounts are now available on formula and other items for new moms. Give thanks goodness. Visit INPS for more information and how to utilize.
An epidural is not guaranteed in Italy, not even close.
Yes, let me say that once again. You do not have the right to pain meds while giving birth in Italy. You have to phone call the hospital beforehand to make sure they administer them. Our local infirmary, merely 5 minutes abroad, did non! So I had to choose a hospital 40 minutes away just to ensure that I could get 1. Wanna hear something funny? I wasn't allowed to get one in the finish because I dilated too fast! But anyway, there are other procedures that y'all must follow well before your due date to ensure you have admission to an epidural.
Offset, call the hospital to see if they give them. Two, sign upwards for the mandatory class offered by the hospital almost epidurals. Three, yous must get an ECG at least one month prior to the due engagement. Four, y'all must run into with the anesthesiologist well before the due date. And just a alert, docs in Italy in full general are much more conservative near administering them. So, fifty-fifty if you check all the boxes similar I did, you lot may not become one in the end. Be prepared for that. The book about Hypnobirthing I read in my 2d trimester came to some practiced use.
Many people don't speak English in Italy…
…not even doctors and other health care professionals. After living hither for more than 2 years, I became accepted to this and prepared merely you may find that a bit scary in the delivery room. Afterward meeting the docs and nurses at the maternity ward of the hospital I was set to deliver in, all of them reassured me and my husband in Italian that at that place is a universal language all understand when delivering a baby. That is indeed very true. Luckily, my assigned, awesome obstetrician knew a fair amount of English. I believe all would have went smoothly even otherwise. Learn the Italian words for push, end, pain, etc "spingere, ferma, dolore" for your own peace of mind.
P.Southward. My whole delivery squad at Ravenna were female! I loved it. Towards the terminate of my infirmary stay, I learned that my last bank check up was to exist done by a male OBGYN and I asked for a female one 🙂 No problem.
Lab levels are Strict
My pre-pregnancy fasting claret sugar was eighty, then 86 during pregnancy, which is totally NORMAL. I was flagged for being at risk of gestational diabetes. I couldn't believe it. And so later on my get-go trimester, I had to record my blood carbohydrate after every meal with 1 of those little machines that prick you. Even though my blood sugar never surpassed 110 later ane hour of eating or went to a higher place 90 for fasting levels, I had to prick myself 3x a twenty-four hours for the rest of my pregnancy. It was also noted in my "file" on the computer system. So every doc and infirmary visit I had for the 2nd and 3rd trimester lead with "oh i run across you are at chance for gestational diabetes" in Italian. No I AM NOT. Again, then much fun.
Y'all can have a birth plan merely understand that none of information technology may be followed.
If y'all are the type of person that needs a ten page birth plan followed, don't have a baby in Italia. Again, you must get with the flow. The only instructions on my "birth program" (a one pager given at the gratis, public birthing classes during pregnancy for you lot to take to the hospital when in labor) was that my husband remain with me at all times given the possible linguistic communication barrier and that I wanted the baby to remain with me after nascence.
Some hospitals in the southern regions of Italy don't allow your partner in the delivery room. Some hospitals whisk the baby away for tests and measurements right after delivery. I stated that I wanted that done later if everything went smoothly. Then when I gave birth, our son was immediately given to me and fed that important colostrum and nosotros had skin to skin contact for several hours. I also opted for the infant to sleep with me in my room for those mandatory 48 hours in the hospital mail service delivery.
My delivery room in Italy was huge and informal!
I was wearing the H&Thou Mama shirt I arrived at the infirmary in during my whole commitment. My hubby remained in his jeans and sweater, no hospital gown for either of us, no surgical mask or gloves for him. Glenda, my obstetrician, right after the baby was built-in said to the states in English language "where'southward the music". (Loved her!) So I grabbed my phone from my pocketbook and turned on the eighty's playlist from Spotify. Of course Roy Orbison'southward "You Got It" came on as I held my newborn son for the starting time few minutes of his life. I nonetheless tear up every time I hear the song.
This is Glenda, my obstetrician property our newborn.
The public hospitals in Italy can be basic and so bring your toiletries, slippers, robe, a towel (my hospital had towels, diapers, pads etc but some others don't). post partum pads, mesh underwear, lip balm, a couple of onesies and outfits for your newborn, diapers and whatever else you need to make yous experience comfortable. Click hither to come across my initial Baby Registry on Amazon.it Below are some items I took to the hospital and other things I found really useful during and after pregnancy.
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Overall Hospital Experience of Having A Baby in Italy
I liked the hospital I delivered in. It felt like a friendly maternity ward, the nurses and obstetricians were lovely and breezy. In that location was none of that medical hierarchy stuff you lot discover in usa, where someone in a sterile white coat (anybody treats similar God) is followed effectually past all the nurses. I was comfortable with them handling my newborn. Also, the food was pretty good. I got to choose from a menu for every meal. Even though they had put me on a low sugar meal plan (for no freaking reason whatsoever…every bit stated earlier), I had what seemed like decent cuts of meat and not-soggy vegetables, tagliatelle with ragu, fresh fruits for dessert, etc. A lot of times, I shared my nutrient tray with my husband.
Apart from the positives, there were a few things I did detect irritating. I arrived at the hospital around 9 pm and the front doors were already closed off so nosotros had to walk from the parking lot downward an countless corridor and upwardly the elevator to the maternity expanse while I was experiencing more than mild contractions. What irritated me the most is that in between contractions, I had to sit down in an office and go through my whole medical history AGAIN, even though everything was written in my file.
I likewise didn't like that towards the terminate of labor, random doctors and nurses were entering my commitment room. I was comfortable with my team of iii… random people please go away! Terminal but not least, all rooms are double rooms. In some hospitals, you can pay to have it be private if information technology'due south a slow night. My hospital didn't accept that machinery available. I got lucky though, no one was in my room.But in order for my husband to spend the dark, he had to pay 170 Euros (roughly $190) per night! That was a bit steep for such a vulnerable fourth dimension. Not cool.Oh yes, there are also a lot of walk-ins everyday into your room post commitment. Docs in the morning, cleaning ladies, food service, nurses to accept your vitals.. it felt like a never ending stream.
Other than that, the overall feel was a positive one.
Have you given birth in Italia? Drop me a comment below with your experience or if I left anything out!
Another one of my guy… just because
Source: https://thetravelcaptain.com/having-a-baby-in-italy/
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