[Help request!] Positive test…living in a foreign country - need advice!

[saltlifefisher97]

Hi everyone. I’m so relieved such a subreddit exists! Is there a wiki for us helpless newbies?

So my wife got a positive test yesterday. We’re excited, but in shock at the same time. I woke up in a state of panic today…we have literally NO IDEA what to do next. Our situation is also a little more complicated than the average:

We’re expats currently living in Istanbul, Turkey (I’m here for work). We are learning the language but only really know basics, although a lot of private hospitals have interpreters. We don’t plan on staying here indefinitely, so I’m incredibly anxious about how our transition will be if my wife is (a) still pregnant or (b) we have an X-month old baby. We have no idea how to find a decent hospital and all the highly recommended ones are very far from where we live and unfortunately we don’t have a car (long story; Turkey has a lot of big problems right now including absurd car prices).

We have lots of questions…

1. What’s an OB? - searching other newbie posts everyone seems to recommend going to see their OB. We have no idea what this is.
   1. What are prenatals, where can we get them, and how do we know which ones to take?
   2. When is the latest my wife can fly while pregnant?
   3. What are the community’s most recommended books on pregnancy? (Wish there was a wiki/FAQ)
   4. Any other advice to ease our nerves of going through a pregnancy in a foreign country?

Thank you! I may post again as questions keep coming up.

Edit: typos

 

[keyboardguy23]

@saltlifefisher97 Hello, fellow expat here!

1. It’s a pregnancy/childbirth doctor.
2. Vitamins specifically formulated to suit the needs of pregnant people. Not sure about Turkey but where I live you can get them at a pharmacy or online.
3. Internationally I believe it’s like late 20 weeks?
4. This will depend on your style and how you want the birth to be, so I recommend you look into that first.
5. If you’re not already, definitely join expat groups online (like on Facebook) for your area. They often have a lot of info, and depending on how big the expat community is there might even be one for pregnancy.

 

[saltlifefisher97]

@keyboardguy23 Thanks!

Hello, fellow expat here!

It’s a pregnancy/childbirth doctor.

Like a gynaecologist? Who do we ask to see at the hospital?

This will depend on your style and how you want the birth to be, so I recommend you look into that first.

Could you elaborate? We really have no idea.

 

[grace302015]

@saltlifefisher97 An OB is an obstetrician, which is a doctor whose specialty is pregnant people and child birth. A gynecologist is a doctor whose specialty is vulvas/vaginas, etc. In the US at least, some doctors have both specialties and those departments can be combined depending on the hospital (OB/GYN). The department appropriate for a pregnant person would have the word Obstetrics or OB somewhere in there. Good luck!

 

[saltlifefisher97]

@grace302015 Thank you!

 

[keyboardguy23]

@saltlifefisher97 So I’m not really sure how the Turkish system works, but where I live there are a few different types of hospitals/places to give birth. You can go to big university hospitals, womens hospitals, various sizes of birthing clinics, etc, and once you have a place you want you call and make an appointment. Figure out what’s in your area and where you want to go. Again can’t speak for the Turkish system so unless somewhere here knows, you’ll have to do outside research on that.

This kinda goes into the next question you have. People have their own opinions/ideals on how they want to give birth. Some feel comfortable going to a big hospital, some prefer smaller birthing centers. Some people really want no medical interventions (no epidurals etc) and some people do. Some people want to be able to move around and change positions while birthing, some don’t care about just laying in bed with their feet up. Some want to exclusively breastfeed, some want to do only formula, something in between, etc. There’s a lot of stuff to consider. Again not sure about Turkey, but depending on your preferences this can influence what type of place you give birth in. Definitely do your research about all things birth to get an idea of what works best for you and your family, but also understand that plans can change and sometimes things don’t go the way you want.

 

[saltlifefisher97]

@keyboardguy23 Okay, thanks for clarifying. I have no idea where we can research these things here, since the language barrier is so vast for us. But I’ll start by asking some close friends. Thank you.

 

[chou91]

@keyboardguy23

1. I'm in Aus and I'm fairly sure you're free to fly until 28 weeks. From 28-36 weeks you need medical clearance, then flying is either not allowed or highly highly not recommended from 36 weeks.

 

[keyboardguy23]

@chou91 Yes, that’s what I meant by late 20 weeks (as in like 26~) but couldn’t figure out how to word it lol

 

[saltlifefisher97]

@chou91 Thank you!

 

[katrina2017]

@saltlifefisher97 To add info that others haven't - prenatal vitamins only must include folic acid/folate and start ASAP. Other often recommended ones are iron and vitamin D. Don't just go for a multivitamin as some vitamins are not pregnancy safe (vitamin A).

You get Pregnancare in Turkey, and it's formula is international so should be a good choice

 

[saltlifefisher97]

@katrina2017 Thank you! We will ask our doctor once we find one.