Giving birth in Berlin

Hello everyone,
If most of you are from Charlottenburg then we could go to Graffiti, a little restaurant right beside U-Bahn Adenauer (U7- Intersection Kufurstendam and Adenauerstraße. There is lots of space outside for everyone to fit in. Otherwise, on the same block there is a Coffee Mamas and a Dunkin Donuts. Tell me what you think :-)

Hello All!
I will start a new topic with "Mums & bumps meeting in Berlin" and post each week the time/venue there. Really hope to see some mums& bumps for coffee/tea!
Speedy

Hello!
I have started a separate forum to discuss the meeting times/places. ("Mums & Bumps meeting Berlin"). Please check it there and I really hope to see you this week!
Cheers,
Speedy

Hi, I am new to this forum but this looks like a great resource for me. My husband is German and we are planning on having our baby there in October and I've been looking for an English-speaking mid-wife and a hospital to have the baby at. I will be staying near the Mitte area but I am hoping one of you can give me a recommendation and where to start. I would like to have a mid-wife before I travel there, which will be sometime in August. It sounds like you all have had good experiences! Thank you very much.

Here is an online listing of hebammen (midwives) in Berlin

www.berliner-hebammenverband.de

When I clicked on Mitte, and select an English speaker I got these listings...

Hebammengemeinschaft am Engelbecken
10179 Berlin, Engeldamm 64, Tel. 27 59 09 49
H B Sv Gvb Gym Sb Rbg
Naturheilkunde, Yoga f. Schwangere, Gebvorb. für Frauen/Paare, Babymassage, Akupunktur, Moxa
www.home.hebammen.de/engelbecken
Sprachen: Engl., Franz.

Nella Bauer
10435 Berlin, Choriner Straße 31, Tel. 33 98 12 71
Sv Gvb Gym Sb Rbg
Bachblüten, Homöopathie, Babymassage, Hilfe bei BEL, Naturheilkunde, Stillgruppe, Woendgebvorb., Moxa
Sprachen: Engl.

Petra Walczyk
10179 Berlin, Engeldamm 64, Tel. 27 59 09 49
H B Sv Gvb Gym Sb Rbg
Yoga f. Schwangere, Babymassage, Woendgebvorb., Akupunktur, Gebvorb. f. Frauen
Sprachen: Engl.

Lioba Ball
10969 Berlin, Ritterstraße 63, Tel. 61 28 92 02
B Sv Sb
Fußreflexzonenmassage, Hilfe bei BEL, Homöopathie
Sprachen: Engl., Franz.

Hi,
I am an American now living and working here in Prenzlauer Berg as a Midwife. Originally I am from Northern California and have now been here about 6 months. I have also just started working with a birth house called Geburtshaus Maja. I have learned tons about German healthcare and all the intricacies surrounding birth here. If anyone out there needs an English (and I also speak Spanish) speaking Midwife or childbirth classes please contact me. hebammevanessa@yahoo.de or you can get in touch with me through the birth house- www.geburtshaus-maja.de 030.4458671

Chantal
Best wishes and good luck for a successful pregnancy and delivery. The fun really begins once the baby is here. Unfortunately my midwife is not officially taking patients and is doing so only by referral by the doctor that she works with. She has multiple other commitments and only sees 2 patients in any given month. This is a change from when she cared for me. Westend does offer a list of their qualified midwifes who do outside visits. I know the do differentiate by language. Anke Dahl delivered me at Westend. She was great and her English was not bad. I don't know if she does home visits etc. But you could ask for her at your delivery. Again all the best.
Monique

Hello,
I just moved to Berlin from New York City, where I worked as a doula, which is a childbirth educator, pregnancy, labor, and delivery coach. The first piece of advice I can offer is stop watching birth shows on tv. They are highly unrealistic and over-dramatized. The second, is when choosing a doctor or midwife (I recommend a midwife, but either way), go with your gut feeling. If you do not feel comfortable with the person or his/her practice, you will have a tougher labor. Choose someone who sets you at ease. Tour the hospital and talk to the nurses on staff. I have no ideas whether or not doulas are allowed in the labor and delivery ward here in Germany, but I am more than happy to help anyone in any way I can, whether it is answering questions about what to expect during labor, how your partner can help, how to prepare, etc. I am also a certified pre-natal yoga teacher, so I would be happy to teach in that capacity as well. Feel free to ask any questions. And remember, your body was built perfectly to carry and deliver your baby.

Hello,

I am fairly new to Berlin and just found out I am 10 weeks pregnant! I am thankful to have found a good English speaking doctor... A first relief in the 1001 questions I have!

Does anyone know anything about maternity leaves? I am married to a German citizen but have not yet worked in Berlin as such... I am busy with my Integration Courses for the time being... I have heard that I might be entitled to a maternity leave but I am not sure of this... Has anyone been in this stituation? Is there any government support for new Mothers in my situation? Any recommended web sites where I can find out about such things?

I thank anyone with information on this topic!

'is there any government support for new Mothers in my situation? Any recommended web sites where I can find out about such things?'
Hi Flocon, there is a place near Frankfurterallee U-Bahn station in Friedrichshain called Balance. They are a wealth of information about where financial help can be found.
The address is Mauritius Kirsch str. 3. The phone number is 030 5536792. I had a meeting with a lady called Hoffman who seems to be their english speaker and she was extremely helpful in giving me advice about where to go and what forms to fill out etc..there is a lot of beauraucracy involved.
It is importamt to apply for the help before the baby is born, otherwise it can be difficult.
Also, if you haven't found a good doctor yet, my gynacologist in Prenslauerberg speaks great english and is very good.
Good Luck. My baby is due in 1 month. Nina

Ah just saw you have a doctor!

Hi!

Unfortunately the last message from this thread was dated a while ago and i needed some updated info on giving birth in Berlin..

1) Can anyone suggest a good doctor in Tiergarten area?? I am 5 months preg. and the Doctor I go to is just awful and short with me and does not make me feel happy about my pregnancy at all..

2) How does the Midwife thingy work really?? Is it covered by insurance? How many months do they have to be booked in advance? Can anyone recommend a 'Good' and 'sympathetic' Hebama.. who speaks english pref...

3) Can anyone recommend a good prenatal class in Mitte/tiergarten area?

I appreciate any help/recommendations for the above.

1. Read number 2 before deciding changing doctors.

2. In Germany the most important thing is the midwife, under normal conditions it is the midwife who will deliver your baby, it is very important that you develop a good relationship with her. The costs of the midwife are covered by your insurance. Your current doctor can give you the list of midwives working in your area (midwives do not like to travel more than 5 km).

3. We are going to Maja but it is in Prenzlauer Berg and they do not have English classes at the moment. I know there is a place somewhere close the the sbahn ICC with classes in English. The basic classes (like preparation) are paid by the insurance but only your part, not your partner's. Most of the other classes are not covered (yoga, etc) but sometimes they will pay for them if you really need them (i.e. having back pain, etc). Your midwife sill sort all your problems and give you enough information.

Thank you for your reply Krieg!

I have not been able to find a substitute doctor yet and am going for my 20th week scan on Friday to the same 'lovely' doc of mine who gives the impression that being pregnant is not a thing to celebrate at all.. ARRRGHH!!

I guess you are right, i should just probably ignore her and concentrate on finding a good Hebamma. I have found various sites listing scores of midwifes, however I dont know how to decide on one in particular without someone actually telling me ' go for her,, she's really nice'. Thanks for your tip about the 5 km radius.

I will check on the pre natal classes that you suggested.

Thanks again.

Im not sure about the 5km radius.. I had a hebamme from steglitz when I lived in reinickendorf...

Hi newbeinberlin,
If you look on the previous page (page 3) at the post by 'midwife-V' I'm pretty sure it's from Vanessa who worked at the geburtshaus Maja. She is really nice and was the supporting midwife for our recent home birth, she's from the US as well. I think she now works through an in-house geburtshaus at a hospital in Charlottenburg. Sorry I don't have any links. She's included an email address in her post. I also have her number if you want to PM me or maybe PM her directly. She doesn't work at Maja anymore. Our first child was born at the Maja geburtshaus and our second was a home birth. Our main midwife Magdalena for both births is also highly recommended as she was one of the reasons we chose to stay in Germany for our second birth! She's also speaks english well. I can PM you her number too.

Thanks so much for that info Dangermouse!

I saw Vanessa's post yesterday and have already sent her an email. I would be so grateful if you could PM me the number of Magdelena.

As this is my first pregnancy I am sceptical about home birth. Is a 'geburtshaus' similar to a birth centre in the UK where no pain relief is used? I would like the option of the pain relief being available just in case... My pain threshold is extremely low. How did your homebirth go? How old are your children now?

I have another question, Is the detailed organ ultrasound done by the regular Gynaec or is there is a special place one has to go to in Berlin? I am in my 21st week now and my doctor did not mention anything about this particular check as yet... I found out via the internet and later another TT member said that she was going somewhere else.

Hi again, as I've mentioned before, I am not an expert, my wife is 31 weeks pregnant from our first son, we are both foreigners here.

Gerburtshaus and Hospitals make (maybe once a week) something called "Infoabend", you can go there and get your questions all sorted out. We are going soon to one Infoabend at a hospital, maybe next week.

The detailed ultrasound (called here "3D") is not done by your normal Frauenartz, we did it in a place in Friedrichstr, and some other people we know did it as well in the same place. We had to go there twice. When it is the time your Frauenartz should send you there and organize the appointment for you, but you are already in your 21st week, maybe you should ask.

I narrowed my hebamme list down by 1. languages spoken and 2. proximity. Then I just started calling them to see if they were taking new clients. Some of them were super booked out so that narrowed it down. In the end, it came down to personality and friendliness over the phone. You can always interview a few before you decide! My OBGYN was/is Dr. Eva Dudik and I find her quite good but she is very low key which some people interpret as cool or stand offish. I ended up having a difficult pregnancy + birth but Dr. Dudik was there for me and I think that's what matters the most.

Hello again. We took the preparation course last weekend at Maja. What we learned is that in a Gebursthaus you get no pain relief at all. And we learned as well that the procedures at the hospital are basically the same. Giving birth in Germany is very hippie is you ask me.

My husband and I will be moving to Berlin from Denver CO in September and I am five months pregnant. I do not speak the language and would love to find a reccomendation for an english speaking doctor or mid-wife. I hope to meet with some doctors/midwives when we visit to find housing in August. This will be our first baby. Any advice?

Thank you. Natalie

Hi Natalie,
I am 4.5 months pregnant with my first and will also deliver in Berlin. I'm already in Germany but won't be in Berlin till this fall. The website for the US Consulate has a list of ob/gyns that speak English. The midwife recommended to me was Juliane Wolkers, although I haven't yet contacted her. One of my German friends used her and had a great experience with her. You should be able to find her via Google. If you want to stay in touch, feel free to PM me!

I had a very good doctor when I was pregnant and I would recommend him (that is if you don't mind having a male doctor)...his name is Dr. Altinoez in Templehof. You can pm me if you would like more information.