What it’s like giving birth abroad

When Erica Weber moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, and subsequently began preparing to deliver her first baby, as she told BabyCenter, she did “what any normal American” would do, and pictured the birth with “a tribal drum circle, in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by animals to the tune of ‘Circle of Life.'”

Of course, that wasn’t exactly how things played out. But navigating the birth preparation process in a foreign country didn’t come without its fair share of surprises. Erica says, “Initially I did what I assumed was ‘normal’ and booked a highly recommended OBGYN and a local hospital as my birth plan. Little did I know that South Africa has a very high cesarean section rate, and that my doctor had a 95 percent caesarean rate.”

Erica jokes that she and her husband Christopher “ran from Edward Scissorhands like we were escaping the Zombie Apocalypse,” despite their doctor’s strong protestations. Instead, they partnered with a midwife, doula, and birthing center that followed a more natural, holistic approach.

The countdown to welcoming baby was in full effect!

Here is a time lapse video that chronicles Erica’s pregnancy.

When it was go time, Erica jokes, “during labor it doesn’t matter what country you’re in because it feels like you’re on another planet anyway!” And although this first-time mama couldn’t have pictured her birth experience happening the way it did, she says everything was, basically perfect.

Scroll through the emotional images that chronicle the day Erica and Christopher welcomed their first baby, Rae, across the globe.

To coax labor along, Erica says, “My husband and I walked, squatted, climbed stairs, massaged, breathed, [and repeated mantras].” She calls her birth coach the “Richard Simmons of doulas,” who was determined to Jazzercise the baby right out of her!

“After 30 hours of natural, unmedicated labor, I gave birth sitting in the water of a big bathtub, surrounded by candles, in a birthing center,” Erica recounts. “There were no tubes, no bright lights, no machines. The playlists I had created for the various stages of labor were turned off, and all that was left was the sound of water and my breathing. While the labor wasn’t pretty, the birth was truly beautiful.” She adds, “Africa is rich with a culture that’s connected to the earth, and at that moment I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be.”

And interestingly, that “meant to be” experience included pulling out her baby, and cutting her own umbilical cord!

Of course, there were moments when Erica thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, a feeling any laboring woman on any continent can relate to. “My husband held my hair while I vomited from exhaustion, caught me when my legs were starting to give out during the stair climbs.”

Having that support meant everything, since she and Christopher were worlds away from family and friends. But ultimately, all that mattered was that baby Rae was here, happy and healthy.

“If I had to sum up the experience [of having a baby abroad] in one word it would be ‘transformative,'” Erica tells BabyCenter. “Not only did giving birth give me a confidence and connection to myself like I had never known before, but doing it so far from familiar surroundings, and in such a beautiful environment changed me.”

She offers these tips for women who are considering giving birth abroad:

Find out your options – OBGYNs and hospitals are not the only safe method of child birth. Research online, join expat forums, or Facebook groups, and ask questions, so you know the lay of the land.
Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor questions – In many countries, it can come off as disrespectful if you ask questions about someone’s education, experience, philosophy, etc. I had a very experienced OBGYN, that I felt intimidated by, and it took until our third visit for me to get the answers I really needed from him, which led me to choose a completely different option in the end.
Go to a class – If I had never gone to a prenatal yoga class, then I would have never met my yoga teacher, who vouched for the birthing center that I ended up using. Research online is a good place to start, but the best way to get information is from people who have been there, and you feel are like-minded.

Read about baby Rae’s first year of life here, which included visiting 30 countries on four continents, and take a look at the vivid photographs that captured her journeys: