There is a set procedure when you have pre-eclampsia.  If A doesn’t work then you move onto B, and if B doesn’t work then you move onto C.  Each step increases in intensity and depending on how your body reacts to each step will greatly impact on the next.
I was admitted into the maternity [...]

Usually the more babies you have the bigger they get.  Unfortunately, we are also up against genes as Moose is your stereotypical Norwegian at 6′7″.  (I find it very odd that the world thinks Norwegians are tall because the higher you go up in Norway the shorter they get.  Must have something to do with [...]

What I took away from my last Ultrasound appointment was how forthcoming the information was.  I didn’t have to pry it out of the physician and I believe it is because I knew what he was talking about from the get-go.  Over the years I have done a lot of study on pregnancy and birth [...]

Ink drawing of “Fangen Moder” by Einar Wullum, Trondheim, Norway (1901)
Everyone knows that breastfeeding is best for the baby.  In the first weeks of breastfeeding important antibodies from the mother are transferred to the baby to give them a good start in life.  Breastfeeding can also help mother lose those extra pounds she put [...]

In the last 1000 years in Norway, it was common for Norsemen to have hordes of kids.  This was largely due to the survival rate but also the more kids, the more farmhands you had working.   These days it is most common for Norwegian families to only have two kids.  Because of this, Norwegian [...]

Each maternity/labour ward is different.  If you are having your first baby in Norway I would suggest you arrange a tour.
Because I live in a small city (Tromsø is actually the fifth biggest city in Norway but only has 70,000 people!) some pregnancy and birth services are not available.  One of these services is birthing [...]

Whether you are seeing a doctor or midwife, regular ‘controls’ are generally the same in terms of check-ups: heartbeat, blood pressure, tummy measurements.  However, the experience of going to a midwife for controls in Norway can be very different than seeing a doctor.

Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), Cappella Scrovegni a Padova – Depiction of Midwife Salome [...]

Nowadays most people find out they are pregnant through a home pregnancy test. When they test positive the next step is to book a doctors appointment. In Norway this is called a pregnancy check-up (Svangerskapskontroll) and (because the compound word is such a mouthful) medical practitioners often use the word ‘kontroll’ (or control [...]

This post is a general introduction to pregnancy and birth in Norway.  In future posts in this series “Having a Baby in Norway” I will go through procedures, information and experiences in detail.  If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments section below so everyone can benefit from the answers.

Having [...]

Like every Christmas, we over-eat, over-spend and make a New Years resolution that next Christmas things will be different.  Last year, (Christmas 2008), I definitely had my fair share of pepperkaker, trimmings and marsipan pigs.  A week after Christmas I had to walk around with the top button on my pants undone!
Then came the heaviness, the sleepiness [...]