Giving birth in Sweden
Posted on 07. Jan, 2010 by Gabriel in Swedish Language
You can tell a lot about the culture of a people by examining the activities and customs around the big moments in life – the funerals, weddings and births. (födslar)
One step above examining, is actually experiencing….and I got the opportunity three days ago to experience the birth of my second child in Sweden. Herman Alexander. He’s a beautiful boy and a rock star. (rockstjärna)
If I was to have another child, I would choose Sweden over any other country…which, according to my wife, won’t matter, because we won’t be having another one. She keeps repeating over and over again “this is the last one, this is the last one!”
Giving birth in Sweden versus the United States
I could write a thesis about the differences between giving birth in Sweden compared to the US (that’s where I come from so it’s the only informed comparison I can make), but I’ll lay out a few of the key points here: (some of you may never need this, or are too young to care, so sorry if this bores you)
In Sweden, midwifes (barnmorskor) manage the entire pre, during and post birth process. Unless there are complications, the only time you see a doctor is after the birth to check the eyes, ears, heart and other important things.
The entire process around birth is managed with as little intervention (ingrepp) as possible. And it works, as Sweden is the safest place in the world to give birth, according to a recent report by Save the Children. Sweden also tops the list as the best place in the world to be a mother and a child. The United States ranked 27th.
The C-section rate is lower in Sweden (around 17%) than in most other western industrialized countries. With 31.1%, the United States has the second highest rate among these countries.
Like I said, I could go on and on, but I think you see where I’m getting here.
Obviously I think giving birth in Sweden is a positive experience…and despite the ongoing pain, my wife agrees.
Does anyone have an experience they can share or any opinions on what I’ve written. I’m sure some of you strongly disagree and I welcome a lively debate. This tends to be a contentious issue. (fråga)
And before I pull my deeply jealous daughter off of my newborn son’s skull, I must relate one more important detail. In Sweden, birth is free (gratis).
Congratulations Gabriel! All my best wishes to the whole family and lycka till!
Congratulations on your new baby!
Here in Brazil people can have their babies for free in public hospitals, where natural childbirths are more common, but in private hospitals the rates are unbelievable. So much that c-sections are considered the new “normal”. Everytime that a woman says she wants to have her baby through natural childbirth, someone will go “are you mad?”. So if one wants to go through the natural process, they have to find a doctor that supports that desire. That’s sad.
So happy to hear of your new baby, congrats. to you and your family, Questions: what do you mean when birth is free (gratis). Does that mean that the Swedish government pays for you medical expenses to have the baby?
@Rhonda…Thank you for your nice words. Yes, no money is exchanged at all, the Swedish government covers all expenses. Birth is completely covered under Swedish healthcare.
@Leticia…I have heard that Brazil has one of the highest C-section rates in the world. I think Italy is the highest among western industrialized nations. Actually, if you can believe this, my wife gave birth completely naturally, without painkillers:-)
Congrats Gabriel!
Thanks for the post, I also think that Sweden would be a great place to bring up a child. At what age to Swedish kids typically start school?
So although my Swedish gf is moving to England soon I would like to move to Sweden later on, and you never know…!
I had also heard that in Sweden the maternity and paternity work leave is longer than most Westen countries, is that true?
Thanks Tom.
Kids typically start school at the age of 7 in Sweden. Maternity and paternity leave is amazing in Sweden. For my first child my wife took a year and I took 5 months. The government pays 80% of your salary up to a certain limit…which I think is around 42,000 kronor per month. If you make more than that per month, you’ll won’t get any extra. However many companies pay an extra 10% based on your salary. I feel guilty when I talk to my siblings in the states who have small children….there’s no comparison.
What’s the situation in England?
Hi,
I enjoy the emails you send about Sweden. I am putting a little bit of effort to teach myself Swedish and this resource is a useful addition to that effort. I live in Connecticut and had been, for twenty years, the director and accomaniest for an annual Saint Lucia Festival, that was sonsored by a local chapter of Vasa http://www.vasaorder.com/ . The performers (aged 4 through 18) would sing about twenty songs in Swedish and perform several Scandinavian folk dances. One of the families involved came from Sweden and the parents told me that the accent I the kids acquired in the songs I taught them was pretty close (I was very pleased with that). Our performance was at a Lutheran Church that was established by Swedish immigrants during the late 19th century. I had been told by an organ builder visiting from Sweden that the style of this church was typical to the style of churches built in Sweden during that period of time.
Anyway I no longer am able to run this annual performance and nobody was interested in taking over from me so unfortunately this is no longer being done. I do want to pass on my wife’s and my ethnic heritage to my grand children. I currently have two, Natalie (age 2 1/2) and Samuel (age 4 months). I’ve already given them several children’s books in Swedish (my wife’s ethinc background), German (the other part of my wife’s ethinc background) and Polish (my ethinc background). We had an exchange student, Renate, from Switzerland stay with us for a year when Erica (our oldest daughter) was one year old. Renate has a five year old daughter and Sent Natalie a Swiss dress for Christmas. (These are sold in the tourist cities of Switzerland). I had been president of the local AFS (club that arranges for exchange students http://afs.org/afs_or/home) for several years after we hosted Renate. Janiche was an exchange student from Norway. She brought with her a Norwegian folk costume and participated in our Saint Lucia festival. She taught several songs in Norwegian and a folk dance. We included these in our show ever year since then. In the spring Norwegian folk costumes for young children are sold and we will be sending Janiche some money to buy one for Natalie and one for Sam.
After this rather verbose introduction I shall come to my point. Do you know a source where I could purchase a Swedish ethnic outfit for a three or four year old girl?
Thanks
Ed G
GRATTIS Gabriel!!! You and you wife must be SO happy with such a lovely family! =)
Now, I just have to ask, ’cause I’m kind of stunned after reading your post, do pregnant women in Sweden give birth AT HOME?? don’t they go to a hospital then?
What about the complications that there might be during the process? how can a midwife manage to solve them?
I’m sorry for all the questions, I know it’s a lot at once, but i never expected to hear that nowadays “midwife” was a still a job! =)
Lycka till!
Births are covered here in Canada too, but we don’t have the very, very generous maternity and paternity leave you have in Sweden.
One of the first things I really noticed the first time I went to Sweden was the high ratio of men pushing baby strollers. A lovely sight to behold!
In the United States there is in increase in the number of non-hospital births
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_21/sr21_040acc.pdf
It is also becoming more typical for ObGyn practices to include nurse-midwives on their staffs ….
Hi Kenia,
No, most women in Sweden give birth in hospitals or in birthing clinics in hospitals. In Sweden, midwives work in hospitals and birthing clinics. They receive a high degree of training and education and they are the main responsible people for delivering babies. But since you mentioned it, I must say that I’ve read a lot about this subject and know some people who have had homebirths and they loved it. And studies say it’s just as safe for mother and baby as long as there are no pre-existing problems.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7998417.stm
Congratulations!!
Sorry, my experience was poor, but then it was my first birth and I was relatively alone (except for a very first time daddy, my husband) in a country where I didn’t speak the language (since corrected).
But the bad experience started with the required enema (no longer required, I understand) and the cold shower, which pretty much set back my contractions so that we had to wait and wait. My sister in the states was encouraged to walk and walk and walk up and down the stairs and her birth went fine, whereas in my hospital (in Malmö) I just lay there and did nothing and nothing happened.
It was really stressful, not good for labor of course, and then the complications — the midwives (who changed with shifts, unlike my sister’s nurse in attendance, who didn’t leave until the job was done) often contradicting each other about the course of action necessary.
Finally they did the last resort, called in a doctor, who immediately intervened. Baby was actually in danger when she was removed by suction. They placed her on my stomach and my first words to her were, “My poor baby” until she was whisked away for revival and I was whisked away for surgical repair.
Then afterward, the required stay at the hospital was murder, as they expected me to care for my baby while I was suffering from very painful stitching up of the damage below (the surgeons, by the way, were wonderful). I begged to be allowed to go home early so at least my husband could help!
I mean, just try to get the nurses out of the coffee lounge — I actually fainted in the shower after pulling on the emergency cord over and over again waiting for someone to come. And then they dumped my child back in my arms because they said, “your baby won’t be calm for me”. So, can’t say much for their training.
Plus, sleeping in a room with 3 other mothers and their babies — and participating in their visits — was for the birds. All in all a very traumatic experience that came back to hit me again when I was lucky enough to deliver a second child — attended a class for mothers whose first births had been traumatic, which helped.
This second birth was in Finland . . . on the Aland Islands, a Swedish-speaking territory of Finland. Of course, first births can be very hard, I was older than the average mother, and I was new in a new country — so all this factors into my bad experience. But I recommend checking out Mariehamns sjukhus in Åland if you have the option.
@Gabriel, thanks for your explanation. It was an interesting article,i was not aware of that. But I still don’t see the point, mostly when you’d have to run to a hospital in case of complications. So, i think i stick to hospitals =)
Hi Gabe, First of all..CONGRATS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY !!!! I live in the United States and gave birth in the mid 70′s to my first two children and in 1980 to the final child. My last child was delivered in a birthing room in the hospital. My doctor usually had the Mom walk back to their hospital room from the birthing room. There are many birth stories out there…some good some bad. I had three natural births with my husband in attendance for support both physically and mentally. My experiences were good. I used doctors for the process but they did not interfere with my personal plans for the birth of my children. They respected my wants and desires and were supportive. In my opinion many of the ‘bad’ experiences that happen could have been prevented by the woman having an in depth knowledge before the birthing takes place. Yes, there can be pushy doctors but you pick up on that early in the pregnancy by discussing your desires and expectations with them. If you are not happy with the feedback that you get from the doctor then you can move onto someone who respects what you want for you and your baby. Also it is good to have something in place to help keep you under control during the labor process. I chose Lamaze for my three births and I was successful at handling the discomfort and keeping control of the situation both drug and intervention free. It can be a scary and harrowing experience for a woman if she is not prepared….there in lies a good percentage of the negative outcomes. Birthing is a personal experience and should be done according to one’s personal desires. Heck, I even saw women bonding with dolphins during their pregnancy then giving birth in a water tank protected from the dolphins by a thick piece of glass. Now that is not my cup of tea but it is their prerogative to do so if that is what floats their boat. Each birth should be unique unto the mother and child no matter what constitutes ‘their kind of birth’. It should not have to be defended nor attacked, just enjoyed. Referring to the ‘cost’ factor…you got me there Gabe !!
Linda W.
Hi Gabriel, congratulations for your baby. I have the oportunity of studying in Sweden this year 2010, and my wife and I are trying to have a baby these months.
I am worried about bringing my wife to sweden. What can you suggest, would it be easy since I would be studying a master in Stockholm?. I’d like my wife give birth in Sweden.
Thank You
Eduardo
eduv@aloe.ulima.edu.pe
Congratulation Gabriel,
I’ve just found that I am pregnant this morning, but I am coming with my husband to Stockholm for a master in this late August. Actually I planned to have baby three years later. I am still struggling whether I should keep this baby or not. I really worry that it would be very expensive for me to have a baby in Stockholm.
Please kindly give me some advices, thank you very much! Tackar!
Hi Christine,
I can’t make that major choice for you, but I’ve never heard any stories of someone having a baby in Sweden and it costing too much money. I suggest your husband talk to his Master’s program leader and get in contact with Swedish authorities to determine how it works when giving birth in Sweden if you are just moving there.
I don’t think it should be any problem at all.
Good luck with whatever choice you make!
Regards,
Gabriel
What is free? Can you tell how much do you pay in taxes in Sweden?
hej! im jordanien and im gonning to give birth in sweden, my baby is due on august..my first baby was born in jordan & it was a good experince..im really scared about having my second baby here in sweden but after reading your article im alittle bit relifed thxx!!