I've been pregnant and gave birth in Singapore with my first kiddo in 2012. So now I have the experience of being pregnant here in Trondheim and it has been interesting. There are some big differences to the care provided and there are both negatives and positives with both my experiences. I think I am extremely lucky to be in Norway for this pregnancy because pregnant women have access to very good health care services here. Prenatal visits are free and women have a right to see either a General Practitioner (fastlege) or a midwife (jordmor) here. General advice is for you to have your first visit with a GP or midwife at 12 weeks of pregnancy. You are expected to get your own prenatal vitamins and educate yourself on prenatal care. You will then have a blood test screening for certain infectious diseases, a blood count and a blood type check. All women have one ultrasound scan in week 18-20 ( which corresponds to the fetal anomaly scan). You are then seen at weeks 24, 28, 32, 36, 38 and 40. My GP advised me to have one extra follow up at 16weeks, and I also had the glucose tolerance test done. ( It is not routine here, but I requested it).
The main thing you would notice is that for a healthy pregnancy- you may not see an obstetrician at all during the prenatal period. The midwife will be the main carer in most cases, or your GP if you prefer it. You can chose who you would prefer to see for the appointments and can see a mix of both.
The one thing I found hard to accept was the lack of prenatal screening and early ultrasound scans. Many Norwegians chose to see a private gynaecologist early on before 12 weeks. ( I did as well)
Prenatal screening is offered if you are above 37 years old, or if you have a family history that might require it. This can be hard for anyone who has experience of pregnancy elsewhere to accept, as they may be used to the different prenatal screening options available to them in other countries.
The attitude here is that pregnancy is a normal process that needs little intervention, but there is still sufficient monitoring to pick out the higher risk cases and help them. In early pregnancy, miscarriage can occur, but it is viewed as something that happens. This may reduce some of the unnecessary anxiety many women go through when they have a too early ultrasound and are unsure of their dates, and are unable to see fetal pole or heart beat. I'm learning to embrace this attitude of normality in pregnancy, and learning to relax, and let go of my anxieties.
What are prenatal appointments like? You bring along your early morning urine for a urine dipstick test at every visit. They check your pressure, a doppler scan is done for the baby's heartbeat, the symphisial-fundal height is measured, your weight and blood pressure are taken. The have a chat about how you are feeling and try to address your concerns.
In Singapore, I saw an obstetrician at every visit, they were more frequent and we had an ultrasound scan at almost every visit. Is this good? There has been some indication that over monitoring and excessive scans in the last trimester could lead to more unnecessary interventions. I might try to remember to talk about this more after I have experienced the third trimester here.
The first visit with the midwife here we had an hour long chat, just so she can get to know us. I'm looking forward to more follow up with the midwives for the rest of this pregnancy. I saw my GP for the first half and that was great too, because I like my doctor.
I've had pelvic girdle pain issues with the first pregnancy and now the second. I'll write more about my experiences with that in another post.
On a personal note, morning sickness sucked bad, and not having the same access to cheap, good, cooked food as I did in Singapore has been a bit hard. Having to still cook when everything made me gag was a challenge. I miss many things from back home, and cravings can be hard to satisfy. I miss green leafy vegetables, desserts like chendol, good tropical fruits, and some other comfort foods.
Is there anything you would like to know about prenatal care here or in Singapore? Drop me a message. : )
For the pregger mums out there, wear wool, walk every day and take your fish oil as the Norwegians say and good luck with your pregnancy.
