Giving Birth in Senegal, Canada, and the US - What's the Difference?
When people hear that I gave birth to Isabella in Senegal, they often ask what that was like. They must imagine I laboured in some hut in the jungle, and are surprised to learn that my experience was not entirely different from delivering Evangeline in Ontario. The differences, however, are notable.
1. My Doctor: In Ontario, my doctor was not on call the night I went into labour, so one of her associates delivered Evangeline. I only met her once a couple weeks before my due date. I had previously assumed my doc would be there when the time came, and was pretty disappointed to find out that in Canada, that's actually the exception rather than the rule. In Senegal, the same ObGyn who oversaw my pregnancy from day one delivered my baby. Dr. Ba trained and worked in France for many years before returning to her native Senegal to set up her practice. She really understood N. Americans well, having delivered several missionaries' babies. As she was saying goodbye after Isabella's birth, this traditional Muslim woman gave Dan a big hug. It was touching.
2. The Hospital Food: Southlake Hospital in Newmarket is excellent on many levels, but its cuisine is not one of them. The food was dreadful, and the portions were small. I think Lean Cuisine TV dinners would have been more appetizing than what I was served. Clinique de la Madelaine in Dakar, on the other hand, served us some of the best food we'd ever eaten in Senegal. No joke. And the portions were big enough that Dan and I could split the meal, complete it with some fruit from the fruit stand outside the hospital, and be satisfied. (Every hospital should have a friendly lady selling fresh fruit outside its doors, don't you think?).
3. Our Daughter's Trauma: Evangeline's was minimal. Her apgar score was nine out of a possible ten, meaning she was in excellent health. She stayed by our side almost from the moment she was born, except for a brief visit to the pediatrician. Isabella's apgar score was three, as she was born with the cord wrapped around her neck twice and appeared lifeless when she came out. She spent her first four days of life in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, where she was warmed in an incubator, monitored closely by her doctor, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Dakar, and fed and attended to day and night by nurses.
4. The Nurses: Honestly, both the nurses in Senegal and in Canada had good bedside manner. I can't complain. My favorite nurse at Southlake, Kim, paid me the best compliment while I paced around with my princess in a hideous hospital gown. "From the back, you can't even tell you've had a baby! You look great!" Those were affirming words for a new mom feeling like a heifer! In Senegal, while I recall the nurses and caregivers being great overall, one woman made a comment I'll never forget. She took one look at my body and said, "Your tummy is still so big. You still look pregnant." You can put that on a list of words any post-partum woman never wants to hear!
What's funny is that I'm American, but have never given birth in the US. In preparation for delivery in early December, I checked several websites that told me what to pack for the hospital. "You won't need pads, diapers, or wet wipes - those will be provided for you." So, imagine my surprise when I found out that none of that is provided here. It hadn't occurred to me that in the US, health care is big business, while in Canada, it's a government service. Socialized medicine is fantastic (go ahead and hate on Obamacare, people, but in Canada, it works!). I walked out of the hospital with a baby in my arms, free of charge! But, to keep costs down, they cut back on amenities that are taken for granted in the US. It wasn't a big deal - they had diapers for sale, and the kind nurses spotted me everything else I needed. I wasn't in the least bit deprived, even if I might have enjoyed a few more creature comforts - at a hefty price - in the US. And since this baby factory is closed for business, I'll just have to imagine what it would be like to give birth there!
1. My Doctor: In Ontario, my doctor was not on call the night I went into labour, so one of her associates delivered Evangeline. I only met her once a couple weeks before my due date. I had previously assumed my doc would be there when the time came, and was pretty disappointed to find out that in Canada, that's actually the exception rather than the rule. In Senegal, the same ObGyn who oversaw my pregnancy from day one delivered my baby. Dr. Ba trained and worked in France for many years before returning to her native Senegal to set up her practice. She really understood N. Americans well, having delivered several missionaries' babies. As she was saying goodbye after Isabella's birth, this traditional Muslim woman gave Dan a big hug. It was touching.
2. The Hospital Food: Southlake Hospital in Newmarket is excellent on many levels, but its cuisine is not one of them. The food was dreadful, and the portions were small. I think Lean Cuisine TV dinners would have been more appetizing than what I was served. Clinique de la Madelaine in Dakar, on the other hand, served us some of the best food we'd ever eaten in Senegal. No joke. And the portions were big enough that Dan and I could split the meal, complete it with some fruit from the fruit stand outside the hospital, and be satisfied. (Every hospital should have a friendly lady selling fresh fruit outside its doors, don't you think?).
3. Our Daughter's Trauma: Evangeline's was minimal. Her apgar score was nine out of a possible ten, meaning she was in excellent health. She stayed by our side almost from the moment she was born, except for a brief visit to the pediatrician. Isabella's apgar score was three, as she was born with the cord wrapped around her neck twice and appeared lifeless when she came out. She spent her first four days of life in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, where she was warmed in an incubator, monitored closely by her doctor, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Dakar, and fed and attended to day and night by nurses.
4. The Nurses: Honestly, both the nurses in Senegal and in Canada had good bedside manner. I can't complain. My favorite nurse at Southlake, Kim, paid me the best compliment while I paced around with my princess in a hideous hospital gown. "From the back, you can't even tell you've had a baby! You look great!" Those were affirming words for a new mom feeling like a heifer! In Senegal, while I recall the nurses and caregivers being great overall, one woman made a comment I'll never forget. She took one look at my body and said, "Your tummy is still so big. You still look pregnant." You can put that on a list of words any post-partum woman never wants to hear!
What's funny is that I'm American, but have never given birth in the US. In preparation for delivery in early December, I checked several websites that told me what to pack for the hospital. "You won't need pads, diapers, or wet wipes - those will be provided for you." So, imagine my surprise when I found out that none of that is provided here. It hadn't occurred to me that in the US, health care is big business, while in Canada, it's a government service. Socialized medicine is fantastic (go ahead and hate on Obamacare, people, but in Canada, it works!). I walked out of the hospital with a baby in my arms, free of charge! But, to keep costs down, they cut back on amenities that are taken for granted in the US. It wasn't a big deal - they had diapers for sale, and the kind nurses spotted me everything else I needed. I wasn't in the least bit deprived, even if I might have enjoyed a few more creature comforts - at a hefty price - in the US. And since this baby factory is closed for business, I'll just have to imagine what it would be like to give birth there!
Even though you haven't given birth in the U.S., you're so right about the price tag. I'm not so bothered by Obamacare, and it sounds like an exemption to the requirement for businesses to pay for abortion is in the works. Everything else I've experienced is similar to your Canadian experience--mediocre food, switch of doctors, and one doctor saying I didn't look human after giving birth (granted I didn't). Glad you had a healthy baby and didn't have to pay for more than a few supplies!
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