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Far From the Home I Love

Pregnancy and Childbirth Around the World

For general information about pregnancy, "I have used a lot of the pregnancy Web sites," Oestreicher says. She also uses Usenet newsgroups to keep in touch with other pregnant women around the world.

Julii Brainard, currently of Loughborough, England, about 100 miles north of London, was pleased to discover that every woman in the UK is entitled to a home birth, and that midwives handle most pregnancies. "But," she stresses, "doctors do push hard for hospital births, even if only the midwife is involved in the end."

Brainard was less thrilled to discover that a Health Visitor (a social worker/community nurse) will monitor her and her baby for up to five years. "It's hard, being a foreigner, to figure out what role the HV really has to play," Brainard says. "I've never been at the blunt end of a social worker's inquiries, and I definitely didn't like it. But I'm told I'll be stuck with her or someone like her for the next five years, so best to smile sweetly and ignore her."

Currently 10 weeks into her pregnancy, Brainard's overall impression is that "Women in the UK have a lot more choice [than women in the United States] in practice, even under nationalized health care."

But Brainard hits the nail on the head: No matter where you give birth, "we all know it's a bit of a lottery." Even the most familiar surroundings won't ease morning sickness, and your best birth experience just might be the one that's farthest from home.