How did it compare?

Us, as a family of four

One question that I've gotten quite a bit since Baby H came along is: How has having a baby in the US compare to having a baby in Switzerland? They were very different experiences in a number of ways, some good, some bad, but different. My doctor was also very interested, as in her opinion, Switzerland is viewed as the pinnacle of socialized medicine.

As I said, they were different. To start off with, before the baby arrives in the US you start going to the doctor once per week. I don't recall doing this with K Bear; maybe it was every two weeks when we got to 36 weeks? Additionally, if you are going to a public hospital in Switzerland, your doctor will not deliver the baby, as they don't have privileges at the hospital.

I had one appointment with the hospital doctor who would deliver K Bear prior to her arrival so she could get familiarized with us and we could meet her, but other than that I saw my doctor until I delivered, then not again until my six-week follow up after K Bear arrived. One HUGE advantage of this is that your doctor is generally on time for her routine appointments, as opposed to the ones in the US where who knows how long you'll have to wait.

 

As far as the delivery experience, I can't really compare. Mostly because Baby H came so much faster than K Bear. We were at the hospital for about 15 hours before K Bear arrived, and it was a total of three before we had Baby H in our arms. And yes, I did have time to get an epidural...I don't know how people do it without. Both were good experiences- loved our midwife in Switzerland and loved our nurse here too. In both places, the doctor pretty much comes in to catch the baby upon arrival.

Post-delivery is where Switzerland really outdoes itself, and I can now see why my friends in the US thought I was crazy when I said we would stay in the hospital for a number of days. We stayed in the hospital for about four days after K Bear was born, and it was a great experience. In the US, not so much. After 36 hours I was so ready to get out of there and get home.

In Switzerland you typically have one nurse caring for you who only disturbs you when necessary; not meaning for random crap they think they need, they typically come into your room if you want them there for something. In the US, on the other hand, they tell you is that you need to rest, but I have never seen so many people come in and out of a room at all hours of the day and night as I did at the hospital here. BK finally had to tell the head nurse to put a sign on the door for no one to come in to do things. Whether it was taking my vitals, doing a test on Baby H, cleaning, bringing a meal, or whatever...there was constantly someone in and out of my room. It was crazy, and I couldn't wait to get out of there!

The other thing is how much it costs to have a baby here. With private "first tier" insurance in Switzerland, having K Bear did not cost us anything. As in, zero dollars. I think we have pretty good insurance here through BK's employer, but we're getting bill after bill for Baby H's delivery, hospital stay and random other stuff, and it adds up.

On a side note, I know many of you may be thinking...it's because Switzerland's taxes are so high that medical care is so good and so affordable. Not so much. Our tax rate in the US is higher than in Switzerland. So yes, I do think there is a solution to our health care system mess the US is in right now.

The last thing would be more about aftercare. In Switzerland, a midwife comes to your home for 10 visits after the baby is born. She does all of the routine things that you do when you see your pediatrician here at two days, two weeks, one month, etc., such as weighing, checking on eating, helping with breastfeeding, and checking mom to make sure things are normal there. In fact, in Switzerland, you don't actually see your pediatrician until you go in at two months for your child's first vaccination. So having to get out and go to the pediatrician when we were a day out of the hospital was a bit of a shock.

And even though I didn't deal with this, Switzerland actually has the "worst" maternity leave in Europe, with only 14 weeks paid leave (80% pay). Most women I knew on maternity leave actually took way more time than that. And even though being a stay-at-home mom is not for me, I also very much realize that I am not, and would not, be ready to leave Baby H at daycare right now. And don't worry, I also very much realize how fortunate I am to have this choice right now.

Baby H's arrival