About two weeks after the birth of your baby a health nurse (helsesøster) will call to make a home appointment with you.  You don’t have to have one (this time we chose not to) but it is a good idea for first time mothers.
The health nurse visit is for you to discuss any concerns you [...]

In the first couple of days after birth the baby goes through a series of standard tests and checks.  This is no different in Norway, however, I find that Norwegian Maternity staff rarely tell you what they are up to.
As soon as the baby arrives the midwife will check over the baby – breathing, movements, [...]

* Warning: Some of the information in this post is not for the faint-of-heart.  I feel that the information is important for two reasons: 1. It gives an example of the ideas and procedures of the Norwegian birthing system, and 2. I have yet to find any resources that discuss some of the ’secret’ things [...]

Roan Magnus was born August 2009, weighing 4.25 kilograms and measuring 53cm.
Roan (r-r-roo-ahn) means ‘tree with red berries‘ or Rowan Tree.  The Rowan tree provides food for the birds during the long, cold winters.
Magnus, after Farfar, means ‘great‘ in Latin and is a royal name in Norway.  It was a popular name during the [...]

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 [...]

Pre-eclampsia is one of those pregnancy diseases that is good to know about but not good to worry about.  It usually occurs in first time pregnancies after 20 weeks.  The symptoms are vague but include high blood pressure, protein in urine and oedema.  It is not really known what causes it but it affects the [...]

There is not much to do in the last appointments with your doctor and miwife the week before you give birth excpect the same old checks.  You might arrange your stay in hospital – hotel or materniy ward – fill in some more information forms, (which also helps the system collect statistics on how many [...]

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 [...]

At my last doctors appointment (yesterday) there were some symptoms that have caused concerns.  My normal doctor is still on holidays (a Summer hazard of Norway – everyone disappears for six weeks all at the same time) so I had a very young female doctor.  Two scary words were brought up at the appointment: [...]

One of the hardest things to do when having a baby in a bi-national family is choosing names for your baby.  Most Norwegian names will get you teased in English speaking countries and a lot of English speaking names will be mispronounced in Norway.  As Moose and I live in Norway we thought it appropriate [...]