What it feels like to give birth in France?

In this blog post, I will share with you my hospital experience here in France. Just so you know, I've never been hospitalized in my life like being admitted for few days in the Philippines. Thank goodness I don't have to experience that because I could not afford to get sick. Although I experienced as an outpatient for minor surgery in Cebu, I just went home after. But the smells in the hospital, I just don't like it.

Giving birth is a different experience and the hospital experience here was astounding. It feels like I was giving birth in a hotel. I had my own room with a spacious bathroom. The food doesn't feel like hospital food. I am not sure how to say this but I think most of the people in the Philippines don't like to eat the food prepared in the hospital. They prefer to buy food from different fast-food chains.

The Hospital Food

There are three meals in a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, I had bread, butter, fruit jam, coffee with milk/hot chocolate/hot tea of your choice, and orange juice. For lunch, you always have a starter, the main course, fruits, and dessert. For dinner, it's the same for lunch but the menu will change daily. Sometimes I had couscous, beef, pork, fish, lasagna and other normal French meals.

Cesarean Section Delivery for Both Babies

I have different experiences with C-section deliveries for both kids after giving birth. With my son, the firstborn, it was traumatic for me because I was in labor for 12 hours. The next day, the midwife told me an emergency CS was needed. It took me four days before I was able to get out of the hospital bed. Confined in the hospital for 10 days. Fortunately, my son was perfectly fine. My body wasn't able to recover easily. I felt like I was too lazy to move or do the home chores and just wanted to stay in bed. For several months, I felt so sluggish.

With my daughter, the second-born, I knew already that it will be CS delivery again. I was in labor at home early in the morning without any idea that I was really in labor. Until I asked my friends on FB and told me to go to the hospital. I just waited for my turn to be in the delivery room since there were five moms ahead of me. It was quick compared to my first, around 4 PM, the baby was out. The next day, I got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days. Now at 2 months postpartum, I can move and do some home chores. Maybe I will have a separate post on this about the details.

I'm Alone in the Hospital at Night

My husband never sleeps overnight in the hospital as he had work to do. Also, he had to attend to our son to give food, give a bath, and change diapers. So he visited me in the morning and in the evening. The midwives were there to give me my meals and I just give them a ring when I need help with the baby. My son never visited me in the hospital because of chickenpox.

Two CS deliveries within Two Years

I felt like I was pregnant for two years straight. There was a time I got depressed because I felt I don't own my body anymore. I lost my freedom. The pandemic made us stay at home and not traveling. The mom-guilt of not taking care of my son because I was in my last trimester. We faced a health crisis: we got covid, I got shingles, my husband and son had chickenpox. It wasn't easy.

Although I really suffered during pregnancies and after giving birth to the first child, somehow I was very chill and relaxed after giving birth to the second. I am fortunate that my two kids are perfectly fine. Right now, I just need to be healthy and improve myself so that I can help my husband doing the home chores.