HypnoBirthing Blog

As we conclude our exploration of maternity care in Andalusia, this article covers the prenatal visits and healthcare procedures during the final trimester of pregnancy. For the first and second trimester check the links.

Consistent with my previous articles, remember that these are guidelines, and you always have the freedom to make informed choices about your healthcare.

Important preliminary consideration: Each medical procedure and recommendation during this trimester is voluntary. Healthcare recommendations are not immutable laws, but suggestions to be carefully considered. Always take time to research, ask questions, and make decisions that align with your personal health philosophy and individual circumstances. If you need help to gather information don't hesitate to contact me. I will be more than willing to get you to some good sources of information. 

As a continuation of our exploration of maternity care in Andalusia, this article focuses on the prenatal visits and healthcare procedures during the second trimester of pregnancy. Consistent with the previous article, it's important to remember that while these are standard recommendations, you always have the freedom to make informed choices about your healthcare.

Informed Choice and Medical Procedures

As an expat preparing to give birth in Spain, one of the most daunting challenges you might face is the language barrier. Communication is crucial during pregnancy and childbirth, and not being fluent in Spanish can add an extra layer of stress to an already intense experience. But don't worry! With the right preparation and tools, you can overcome these language barriers and have a positive, empowering birth experience. Here are five effective ways to bridge the communication gap:

1. Learn Key Pregnancy & Birth Terms and Phrases 

In Spain, just like in most developed countries, a woman is offered an ever-increasing variety of tests. These tests and scans available throughout your pregnancy vary from early ultrasounds to blood tests for gestational diabetes. Each serves a specific purpose, whether it's confirming your due date, screening for potential chromosomal conditions, or monitoring your baby's growth and development.

During pregnancy, you will be making lots of decisions, many concerning tests and scans. These are tools designed to provide information and support, not to cause unnecessary stress or anxiety.

Even in a healthy pregnancy, it is considered normal to have lots of check-ups. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, and although offered to everyone, not all tests and scans are valid or useful for everyone. So be critical and ask yourself if you really feel all the tests are fitting for you and your partner, your situation and your life values. Also, I speak of them being offered to you, but sometimes it can feel like you have no choice in the matter. That is a misunderstanding. You can always say no and/or ask for more information.

As a resident in Spain, whether you're working for a company or are self-employed, you have access to the public healthcare system throughout your pregnancy. Public healthcare in Spain is organized regionally, by autonomous community, which means it can vary somewhat in the different regions of Spain. For this article,  I use the information provided by the Andalusian Health Service ¨Servicio Andaluz de Salud (SAS)¨, which offers the medical care for all pregnant women residing in the region, so this includes Malaga and Costa del Sol, where I am based. If you've elsewhere in Spain it might differ slightly, but in general it will look more or less the same. 

How maternity care is arranged in Spain in short

Being pregnant is an exciting time and especially if it is your first, time you will probably be searching what suits best and what is advised but doesn't necessarily feel good for you. Once pregnant, you-ll receive loads of well meaning advice from everyone; your mom, siblings, mother-in-law, friends, and even neighbours or total strangers. Remember that advice is just that: advice. It´s up to you weather to take it or leave it. Some advice will probably be outdated, some will be not suitable for you, and some may fit just right.

Here are five essential tips to guide you through this remarkable time:

Everyone by now knows drinking water and eating healthy is good for your overall health, but why is this important during pregnancy? Let´s have a look.

"That sounds so freaking scary! Do I have to?

That would have been the first thing I thought a few years ago when reading the title. And yes, if you desire an empowered, beautiful pregnancy, birth, and motherhood experience, this would be the way to go. According to me, that is…" 

My own journey

How will you honour your placenta?

There are many options:
💛 Eat the placenta

🧡 Incapsulate it and take it as medicine 

💙 Make a placenta print art and hang it on your wall

🩵 Make placenta and/or cord art

💜 Plant it on a beautiful spot or underneath a tree

🤍 Keep baby attached to the placenta until the cord lets go by itself

❤️ Donate to the hospital

🩶 Nothing…. Dispose as medical waste

I don't like baby showers, at all!

Now you know.

Mountains of gifts for the baby, a ´diaper cake´, silly games like eating peanut butter from a diaper or drawing baby bodysuits... YIKES! NOT for me!

Worst of all? All the ladies attending seem to think it's a good idea for the mother-to-be to hear their horror birth stories and then one tries to top the other!

That is my idea of a nightmare before I would have to start my own birthing journey.

Are you also not a big fan of baby showers and looking for a less commercial way to celebrate a mother that is soon to give birth?

Why would you refuse constant CTG monitoring?

In Spain, as in many parts of the world, constant CTG (Cardiotocography) monitoring during labor has become a common practice. CTG monitoring also called Electronic Metal Heart monitoring (EFM), is the constant (registered on paper) monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat. This type of monitoring uses ultrasound technology. 

The constant monitoring is not compulsory. You have the right to refuse and explore alternative options, but why would you? Many women find it reasuring and assume that with the monitoring they and their babies are safer. But is this assumption true?

In this blog post, I will delve into the reasons why you might want to reconsider constant CTG monitoring and the alternatives available to you so you can make your own informed choice!

This article was written in collaboration with Esmarel Gasman of Dalalou Natuurlijk a webshop for natural postpartum products, blog on natural and conscious pregnancy. If you want to read the FAQ in Dutch click here.

What is the function of oxytocin?

This article I wrote in collaboration with Esmarel Gasman van Dalalounatuurlijk.nl If you like to read the article in Dutch clic here. 

One of the key components of your pregnancy cocktail