An Expat Talks about What is Was Like Having a Baby in Kuwait City, Kuwait

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Kuwait City

How recently did you give birth in the country that you are reporting on?

June 2009

Describe your experience giving birth there. What type of facility did you go to? What (if any) type of pain management did you use? How long did you stay in the hospital? Was it a positive experience? Etc...

I went to a private hospital (Royale Hayat) even though they were not included with my insurance. Prenatal office visits were about 20KD a piece, the lab tests weren't very expensive. Doctors in Kuwait want to do an ultrasound every visit, so if you don't want that you have to say so. They are also used to their patients just accepting whatever they say without questioning and doing things without telling you. So, you really have to be proactive and assertive about what you do and do not want. My goal was a natural childbirth. Except for being induced with prostaglandin gel and sweeping membranes, that is what I had. The labor and induction rooms have "birth" balls. The induction rooms also have jacuzzi tubs. I wrote a birth plan, my doctor as well as the nursing staff read it and they abided by it as much as they could. I was free to move around during labor without being attached to the monitors constantly. The only problem really was that when it came time to push, my doctor wanted me in lithotomy position. I said no and she accepted me being in a side-lying position. I stayed two nights in the hospital. It was a positive experience overall. The only issue I had postpartum was that they did a blood sugar test on my daughter without my consent and tried to tell me she was going to have to have formula instead of exclusively breastmilk. I kept my daughter with me in my room the whole time. They waited to cut her cord until it stopped pulsing and they did not give her the hepatitis B vaccine- all per my requests.

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How did you choose your doctor, midwife or other type of medical professional?

I chose Dr. Khalda based on the recommendation of a friend. Based on the experiences of two other women delivering with her, I would no longer necessarily recommend her. Previously, she was very supportive of natural birth. The experiences of my two friends have caused us to doubt her dedication to natural birth.

If you were to have another child in this country, would you do anything differently in terms of preparation and/or the delivery?

If I were to have another child in Kuwait, I would get a second opinion if the doctor said I needed to be induced, or any other medical procedure.

If a friend of yours living in the same country were expecting a baby, what advice would you give her?

I would recommend my favorite books, because there are not prenatal classes for first time parents. I would recommend delivering at Royale Hayat because they are the most natural-birth-friendly.